Folk Suite For Violin and Orchestra (Misfits)
On the 12th of July 2026, the Moseley Misfits, the B30 Ensemble and the Birmingham Drum Battery performed one of our most challenging yet rewarding orchestral concerts, playing Sarah Farmer’s Folk Suite for Violin and Orchestra to a supportive audience of friends and family under the direction of Dan Watson.
Our groups have been working towards this concert since the end of the spring term and the Music Seekers’ Big Shows. This was a very different repertoire from what we normally do, challenging us by exposing us to unusual time signatures (15/16 and 11/16), long, unrelenting musical passages and many different musical styles that we had not explored before.
During our workshop day on the 12th of July, we were joined by Sarah Farmer as our soloist and Dan Watson as our conductor. This was very exciting, as they are highly skilled, charismatic professionals who worked with our groups, bringing the piece together within a few hours. This was no mean feat, as that day was the first time the three ensembles had performed the piece together.
Everyone had a really great time despite the heat. Many felt a great sense of pride and achievement after performing the piece and learning so much from the experience.
We’d like to say a massive thank you to Sarah Farmer for allowing us to use her piece of music and accompanying us on the day as the soloist, as well as Dan Watson, who managed to pull us all together within such a short space of time.
