Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra’s second concert of their 2022-23 season features four 20th-century works from Britain and the USA.

Benjamin Britten’s Piano Concerto, written in 1938, was initially criticised for being too much of a ‘crowd pleaser’. Happily for us, they were correct! Andrew Zolinsky, a regular soloist with SYO and noted performer of contemporary repertoire, joins the Orchestra to perform this sparkling, virtuosic work.

The second half of the programme features another work written in 1938: Aaron Copland’s suite of music from the one-act ballet, Billy the Kid. The six movements depict the life and death of the notorious outlaw in the American wild west, and it remains one of his most popular works.

The first half of the concert opens with Sizzle, an orchestral fanfare inspired by the rhythms of rap, written in 2000 by American composer Margaret Brouwer.

Doreen Carwithen’s overture entitled ODTAA (One Damn Thing After Another) opens the second half, which also includes three short pieces played by Stoneleigh Youth Training Orchestra under its conductor Dan Shilladay.