A star musician in the making is guest of honour at a popular orchestra's latest concert.
Trinity Orchestra has brought in pianist Alexei Petrov to play Tchaikovsky's stirring first piano concerto in the first half of the performance.
The young Russian will have the use of a grand piano especially for the performance at Trinity Church in Hindes Road, Harrow, on Saturday, November 29. The instrument is being loaned by Bluthner Pianos of Mayfair.
Also on the bill are the Valse Triste, a six-minute waltz by Sibelius, and the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz.
Musical director Michael Murray says he picked the programme based on the themes of love and death: "The overall theme is passion and love but with that comes death" he says. "The Symphonie Fantastique is about those ideas and is very exciting."
Michael - by day a horn player for the BBC Symphony Orchestra - has been musical director of the Harrow-based orchestra for several years and the latest concert is the second in a series of seven.
The ensemble is well-established and has been performing in and around the borough since 1992.
Its players are a mixture of retired professional musicians, local amateurs and teachers.
But all are rehearsed intensively and perform to a very high standard. Michael's contacts also mean the orchestra can call on outstanding musicians from further afield like Alexei Petrov, who has been winning international prizes for his piano playing since he was a teenager.
After graduating from the Moscow State Conservatory in 2007, Alexei is now a postgraduate student at the Royal College of Music in London, studying with Vanessa Latarche. He has toured widely in the USA, Germany and Japan.
There will be a short talk about the pieces to be played starting at 7pm. "It's not an idiot's guide to the orchestra or anything like that" says Michael, "It's just a chance to talk about what we'll be doing before everyone starts off and I've got my back to everyone waving my arms about."
As well as further concerts planned for February, March and May, the orchestra has exciting plans to work with Harrow Council on an educational scheme.
