NEWENT is believed to be one of the first towns in England to get its very own symphony, with five movements reflecting five elements of place. It will receive its premiere this month, alongside an exhibition of artworks inspired by the music.

Newent Symphony was written by local composer Bill Anderton to promote and celebrate the best of music and art in Newent.

Bill said: “I created this symphony to give something back to my home town, but also with the express intention of bringing music and art together. It’s taken over seven months to complete and is the most ambitious piece that I’ve come up with so far.

“I wrote five movements for the symphony based on the five areas that most represent Newent to me – the lake, daffodils, the Market Square, the Onion Fayre and also May Hill. While composing, I envisaged artists creating their interpretations of these movements in order to accompany the symphony and thereby provide a more complete performance.

“I have always believed Newent was particularly invested in grass roots classical music and I wanted to find a way for this musical heritage to reach an even wider audience.

My inspiration for music has come from art and poetry, and I created a ‘symphony and art’ competition to show how art and music can work together effectively. There have been a number of wonderful and unique entries.”

Local artist, Hannah Ferguson is curating the main exhibition in the Shambles Art Gallery from March 11 to April 1, with an open evening at 7pm on Friday, March 10.

The symphony will be performed on Saturday, March 25 at 7.30pm at Newent Community School and is sponsored by The Notgrove Trust. 

Bill added: “Competition entries will be judged on the night and a prize of £250 awarded by Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, Dame Janet Trotter, to the entry that best represents Newent and best interprets the particular symphonic theme chosen.”

For more information about the concert and the orchestra, visit the website www.newentorchestra.org