Open Doors: Fine Music for Free
VICTORIA KINGHAM
Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, under the redoubtable leadership of Marcio Da Silva, have deservedly secured funds to enable them to perform no less than seven free concerts during the month of July. Called HPO Open Doors, these concerts offer unmissable opportunities to hear live classical music performed by some of the finest musicians on the South Coast.
At Christ Church St Leonards the HPO ensemble – a subset of the orchestra – will perform the much-loved favourite, Prokoviev’s Peter and the Wolf – accompanied by a puppet show explaining the action. For the older generation, they will also play a selection of tunes from The Sound of Music.
After that there is a ‘Choral Immersion’ at St Clements Church in the Old Town – a selection of elegant choral work by composers spanning four hundred years. They are: William Byrd, one of the greatest Renaissance choral writers; Brazilian 19th century composer José Nunes Garcia, born to impoverished parents, grandson of two slaves; and the extraordinary American composer Eric Whitacre, born in 1970, who turned from a techno-pop synth whizz to a fully-fledged composer during an instant of choral epiphany – and learnt to read music only after he entered music college. His choral music is completely, viscerally, beautiful.
Then there’s an open-air afternoon concert in Alexandra Park on the bandstand, with the HPO wind quintet playing favourites by Mozart, Puccini, Bizet, and Rossini. After that comes a full orchestral concert at the White Rock Theatre with selections from Carmen, Saint-Saёns’ Danse Macabre (you may know it as the theme from Jonathan Creek!), Ravel’s Mother Goose suite and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. This promises to be a highlight of the series – familiar music played excellently in familiar surroundings – and free.
The last two concerts are Holst’s Planets in the grounds of Battle Abbey at twilight, and a final Wine and Song recital at Christ Church. These concerts are sure to be exceptional and more especially, a unique opportunity for those to whom classical music is unfamiliar or who fear it may be inaccessible, expensive, or too serious. Go along, and experience the joy of creative humanity at its finest.
Tickets and details: hastingsphilorchest ra.co.uk/hpo-open-doors-2026. Full season details: hastingsphilorchest ra.co.uk/2025-26-season
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