Wycombe Abbey Orchestral Concert 2026
25 February 2026 - Performing Arts
This year’s Orchestral Concert was held in the gilded splendour of Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Square. Described by Sir John Betjeman as the ‘Cathedral of the Arts and Crafts Movement’, it provided an inspiring backdrop to our concert showcasing Wycombe Abbey’s three orchestras and Clarence soloists.
The evening opened with Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of our Head of Strings, Mr Acosta. The first piece featured Chloe (UVI) characterful performance of Weber’s Andante and Rondo ungarese, full of Hungarian style and rhythms. This was followed by a first for Wycombe Abbey, a glittering Concerto for Two Flutes by Franz Doppler, sparklingly delivered by Mille and Sophie (UVI).
We then had another Wycombe Abbey first with Henrietta (UVI) delivering a dramatic performance of movements from Poulenc’s atmospheric Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani before Chamber Orchestra concluded their set with the first movement of Suk’s Serenade for Strings. Sinfonia, conducted by Miss McClure, closed the first half with a spirited performance of the last movement of Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 – his final symphony.
The combined forces of all three orchestras, totalling more than 110 players, started the second half performing Shostakovich’s popular Waltz. The massed forces sounded splendid in the resonant acoustic of Holy Trinity. Last to the stage were the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Mr Reid. They were joined by our Music Prefect, Judy (UVI), giving an accomplished and impressive performance of the first movement of Schumann’s virtuosic Piano Concerto in A Minor. We were then transported to Scotland as Fiona (UVI) gave a lyrical interpretation of the third movement of Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. Our final solo was another piece by Bruch, the atmospheric Kol Nidrei, a Jewish Prayer originally inspired by the Jewish Community in Liverpool. Chloe (UVI) delivered a compelling, emotional interpretation of this cello masterpiece. The concert culminated in the hedonist excitement of the ‘Danse Baccanale’ from Saint-Saëns’ opera, Samson et Dalila.
We are grateful to all the performers for their hard work and commitment during the year and to the audience members for supporting this special evening celebrating the achievements of Wycombe musicians.
Mr Stefan Reid
Director of Music
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