MUSIC by Bach, Elgar and Vivaldi rang through Govan Old Parish Church as the first in a series of concerts was launched this week by a community orchestra.
Founded last summer by the acclaimed conductor Paul MacAlindin the Glasgow Barons began its first season – Serenades of Govan Old – on Thursday night with further concerts next month and in July.
As well as pieces by the classical composers, Thursday night’s programme also featured new songs written and sung by Scottish folk singer Ainsley Hamill about Govan folk. These included songs about Mary Barbour who led the 1915 Rent Strikes, Peter Barr, the Victorian horticulturist who became known as the Daffodil King, and the swimmer Belle Moore, who won a gold medal as a member of the British relay team at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.
MacAlindin, who has worked with orchestras in Finland, America and New Zealand, received worldwide acclaim for establishing the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq which flourished against all odds in a country at the epicentre of conflict and performed all around the world. As well as founding the Glasgow Barons he is currently involved in a number of other musical projects.
The Glasgow Barons’ second concert this season will take place on Friday 22 June at Govan Old Parish Church, where the programme will include Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings and Britten’s Simple Symphony. The third concert, also at the church, includes Dvorak’s Serenade for Strings.
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