Welcome to the website of the Richmond Orchestra
The Richmond Orchestra is a full size amateur symphony orchestra performing concerts in Richmond-upon-Thames. It provides opportunities for good non-professional players to enjoy playing the classical repertoire, ranging from Bach and Mozart through the Classical and Romantic periods into the 20th Century with music by, for example, Stravinsky, Bartok, Arvo Part and John Adams. We see our musical activities as contributing fully to the cultural, social and educational life of the Richmond community.
Our Artistic Director is Philip Hesketh and our Leader Gill Herbert.
Beside our main concerts - some recent examples of these are on the Recent Seasons page - we do charity, fundraising and educational events. Recent examples:
- Non-stop Sponsored Charity Play-in in East Sheen with Macmillan Cancer Support
- Workshops for young soloists for whom playing a concerto with an orchestra is an invaluable, hard-to-come-by experience
- Informal open rehearsal to raise funds for a local church
- Children's concerts where primary children participate through singing, playing and dancing as well as listening
- Tea dance in collaboration with a local charity
- and we are also planning to work with some young composers to enhance their insights into scoring and performance
- for 2011 we are planning to spend a weekend away at a country venue to work on our ensemble playing and socialise
Players are asked to play for a few rehearsals before being invited to become members. String players will typically be of Grade 7 standard or above.
The orchestra would be particularly interested to hear from trumpet, double-bass and violin players,
If you would like to join us please click here.
Rehearsal Schedule for the current term now appears on the Members Info page.
The Richmond Orchestra is a registered charity.