Penzance Youth String Orchestra


Penzance Youth String Orchestra is very much a community group whose 23 members all live in Penwith, the most westerly region of West Cornwall.

In an area rarely visited by touring professional musicians the Penzance Youth String Orchestra has contributed significantly to the cultural life of the area with regular performances at local festivals and celebrations as well as concerts further afield. The orchestra is supported by Music Cornwall, principal partner of Cornwall Music Education Hub and ten players are past or present members of South West Music School.

The orchestra will perform the second movement, Allegro Molto, of Shostakovich’s String Quartet No.8 at the Schools Prom, a piece that was composed in just three days in July 1960 during a visit to Dresden, still in ruins following ferocious allied bombardment in 1945. War and destruction were a major influence on Shostakovich’s writing, but the work is essentially autobiographical in nature.

Musical Director: Tim Boulton

Age range of performers: 11-18

Performing:
String Quartet No 8 Shostakovich
ii Allegro Molto