Our Conductor : Jacques Cohen
As well as conducting the Aylesbury Symphony Orchestra, Jacques is Music Director and Principal Conductor of one of the UK 's finest orchestras, the Isis Ensemble. He has recently conducted concerts with the premier orchestras of both Bulgaria and Romania: Sofia Soloists and George Enescu Philharmonic, and he is Principal Guest Conductor with the City of Oxford Orchestra. He has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bombay Chamber Orchestra and guest conducted literally dozens of orchestras both in the UK and abroad. He has been Music Director of several major opera productions and is Music Director of the Seychelles International Music Festival. He is a regular guest conductor at the Royal and Trinity Colleges of Music in London where he has conducted concerts and directed master classes.
He has recorded CDs for a variety of labels, notably Meridian, with whom he recently recorded the critically acclaimed Music for Strings CD with the Isis Ensemble. He has conducted performances of both his own music and that of other composers on radio and television including a momentous performance of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Three Screaming Popes for BBC Radio 3.
Jacques conducts an extremely wide repertoire from Monteverdi to the present day and is a passionate advocate of music by living composers. At the same time his performances of the mainstream classical and romantic repertoire have been widely acclaimed for their uniquely fresh and exciting quality. He is also an enthusiastic communicator and has a growing reputation for his ability to explain music in an entertaining way and get audiences more involved in concerts.
His highly distinctive, passionate voice as a composer has won great admiration (and enjoyment) from both listeners and fellow musicians. His compositions include: Passion Fragment (The Denial of St. Peter) premiered by the Isis Ensemble and Lloyd’s Choir with a quartet of international soloists to a rapturous reception in April; Yigdal, performed by, among others, the Yehudi Menuhin Orchestra (who also toured it in Europe and the UK), Sofia Soloists and Isis Ensemble (who also commercially recorded it); Quiet Music which has had over 20 performances with different orchestras; Three Nottingham Dances, commissioned by the Nottingham Philharmonic and performed to great acclaim; and a Tuba Concerto, commissioned by the great tuba player Oren Marshall, His Fantasias, Canons & Fugues, premiered by the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra, and Elegy on a Floating Chord, winner of the Surrey Sinfonietta Composition Prize, have both been performed and broadcast several times internationally. Other commissions include the exciting Pantheon for the National Youth Wind Ensemble of Great Britain in 2005 and Castle Lament for the Primrose Piano Quartet due to be recorded and toured by them later this year. Other works for choir and orchestra include large-scale Songs of Innocence and Experience premiered at St. John Smith’s Square In 2005 and Jubilate, commissioned by Berkhamsted Choral Society. Other works have been performed at the South Bank in London and at the Royal Albert Hall and he has written music for BBC television.
His arrangements and orchestrations include Brahms’ First Clarinet Sonata arranged for clarinet and strings and premiered in London by the Isis Ensemble with Sarah Williamson last year and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for strings which was given a sensational premier in July.
Future plans include the completion of a large-scale orchestral piece and his one-act opera Magic Potions.
Jacques read music at Oxford where he conducted the main university orchestra and performed several of his own compositions. When leaving Oxford, he was awarded the Conducting Scholarship at the Royal College of Music where he later won the Tagore Gold Medal, the College's prize for its most outstanding student. Since then he has won several other awards including the August Manns Conducting Prize, and the Constant and Kit Lambert Award. He took First Prize in the British Reserve Conducting Competition and was also a prize winner in the Leeds Conductors' Competition.
Our Leader : Mark Warner
Mark started playing the violin at primary school, being taught by Susan Hallam through the Oxfordshire County Music Service. At the age of 12 he was the youngest member of the Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra, which he went on to lead in his final year of membership, involving concerts in both the Royal Festival and Royal Albert Halls. Whilst studying music at the University of Hull, he took lessons from David Greed, the leader of the Orchestra of Opera North (formerly the English Northern Philharmonia), and took part in their student training scheme. This involved playing with a number of international conductors (including Paul Daniel and Sian Edwards) and soloists (including John Tomlinson and Larry Adler). After obtaining a first class honours degree, he became tutor at Hull University for a year, before moving back 'down South' to Aylesbury to get married. After initially working as a peripatetic violin teacher for Oxfordshire, he changed career direction and trained as a computer programmer with a large consultancy in London. He is currently employed as Software Development Director for Prologic plc in Berkhamsted, and from 1997 to 2003 was leader of the Dacorum Symphony Orchestra.
The Charles Pope Memorial Trust
The Charles Pope Memorial Trust is a grant awarding, charitable body, operating in the Aylesbury Vale area for the benefit of music students of all ages. It was founded in 1983 in memory of Charles Pope, a former teacher at Aylesbury Grammar School, who made an outstanding contribution to musical life in Aylesbury and it is to him that several of Aylesbury's present music societies, including this orchestra owe their origin.
Small grants are available to assist with the cost of musical education. Applicants must have lived or been educated in the area administered by Aylesbury Vale District Council for 2 years or more and be able to demonstrate some musical competence. Applicants may be of any age and there is no fixed limit on family income.
The Trustees meet three times per year to consider applications. All applications are considered on their individual merits, taking all financial and other circumstances into account.
Application forms are available from the address shown below and should be submitted by the end of October, middle of February or the end of May, in order for references to be taken up prior to the meeting.
If you would like to help the work of the Trust, please consider making a donation - the Trustees are very grateful for any help, large or small. If you are a UK tax payer, it may be possible for the Trust to reclaim income tax on donations to further benefit the Trust's work (without the need for a Covenant). For further information, or to make donation, please contact;
The Secretary
Charles Pope Memorial Trust
77, Regent Street
Leighton Buzzard
Bedfordshire
LU7 3JY
Contact Us
Aylesbury Music Centre
Membership
Membership is open to musicians of all ages, subject to ability and vacancies (auditions are not compulsory). Whilst there is an annual subscription, new members are only asked to subscribe 50% for their first season once any trial period has concluded.
Vacancies
We currently have vacancies for all string positions, particularly cellos and double bass. Grade 7 or above required. Please contact us using the form above if you are interested in joining.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals take place on most Wednesdays evenings during school term times, between 7.30pm & 9.45pm from September until May with an extra one on each Friday before a concert in The Aylesbury Music Centre, Walton Road, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP21 7ST
History
Presidents:
1953 - 1978 : Elliott Viney
1979 - 1982 : Charles Pope
1984 - 1998 : Iris Loveridge
1998 to date : Freda Roberts MBE
Conductors:
1949 - 1979 : Charles Pope
1961 - 1974 : David Aylett
1979 - 1980 : Roy Harrison
1980 - 1993 : Michael Eardley
1993 - 1994 : Roy Harrison
1994 - 2001 : Duncan Hinnells
2001 - 2003 : Hugh Molloy
2003 to date : Jacques Cohen
Leaders:
1949 - 1960 : Nora Bell
1960 - 1987 : Vaynka Field
1987 - 2003 : Myrna Fleet
2003 to date : Mark Warner
