Stroud Arts Anthem - Jonathan Trim
Location
St Laurence Parish Church
About
Stroud Arts Festival 80th Celebration
Jon Trim & the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra
We are delighted to announce the inaugural performance of a specially commissioned orchestral work by local composer Jonathan Trim. Created to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Stroud’s oldest festival, performed by the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra, the piece honours the organisers, artists and audiences who have made the festival so special and enduring.
We look forward to welcoming the people of Stroud and the surrounding district to this very special event.
The idea of water flowing through the Five Valleys runs through the whole work, giving it kinship with a previous orchestral commission from 2004 "Heart of the Five Valleys". A similar flowing "river" motif is shared by both works.
The work opens with a folk-like melody to reflect the people of our town and their creative and artistic vibrancy. The main theme is an epic anthem-like melody which stands as a solid foundation throughout the work to represent the nature and stunning countryside of the Five Valleys.
A lively middle section reflects the bustle of the town and its industrial heritage. A musical epigram based on the word STROUD makes a solitary appearance in a gentle elegiac string section celebrating those we have lost along the journey.
The work ends in hymn-like grandeur with a self quotation from the conclusion of my choral/orchestral work "Severn Meadows"
Jonathan Trim 2026
Jon Trim & the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra
We are delighted to announce the inaugural performance of a specially commissioned orchestral work by local composer Jonathan Trim. Created to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Stroud’s oldest festival, performed by the Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra, the piece honours the organisers, artists and audiences who have made the festival so special and enduring.
We look forward to welcoming the people of Stroud and the surrounding district to this very special event.
The idea of water flowing through the Five Valleys runs through the whole work, giving it kinship with a previous orchestral commission from 2004 "Heart of the Five Valleys". A similar flowing "river" motif is shared by both works.
The work opens with a folk-like melody to reflect the people of our town and their creative and artistic vibrancy. The main theme is an epic anthem-like melody which stands as a solid foundation throughout the work to represent the nature and stunning countryside of the Five Valleys.
A lively middle section reflects the bustle of the town and its industrial heritage. A musical epigram based on the word STROUD makes a solitary appearance in a gentle elegiac string section celebrating those we have lost along the journey.
The work ends in hymn-like grandeur with a self quotation from the conclusion of my choral/orchestral work "Severn Meadows"
Jonathan Trim 2026