Richmond Chamber Orchestra
North Yorkshire's pocket-sized orchestra
OUR MOST RECENT CONCERT
Sunday July 21st at 3.00pm
in St Mary's Church, Wycliffe, DL12 9TS (near Barnard Castle)
The Flowering of English Music
Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Greensleeves
Warlock Capriol Suite
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Holst St Paul’s Suite
Britten Simple Symphony
Vaughan Williams Five Variants of Dives and Lazarus
The concert was presented in association with The Friends of the Bowes Museum. We are delighted to have worked with them, and hope we may be able to work again on presenting a concert in the museum itself.
The concert was also the first time we have presented a small scale concert to suit a specific place. With only 9 players and a harpist we made music written for larger forces work in a refreshing and immediate way. 'Mini-concerts' are something we aim to develop further.
A few audience responses.
'We thoroughly enjoyed it: the choice of music perfectly complemented the special ambience of St Mary's. Everyone we spoke to commented on it being a really special afternoon.'
'Enormously enjoyable. After three curtain calls the orchestra was finally allowed to leave, such was the appreciation!'
Join our mailing list
Join our mailing list to keep in touch with developments and future concerts. We will only send you the occasional email about our own activities. After our concert in Wycliffe Church, we will be playing in schools and care homes in the autumn and early 2025, and are planning a Christmas concert.
On Sunday April 6th 2025 we are returning to the Georgian Theatre, Richmond to celebrate our first anniversary. The programme is entitled 'Our Friends in the North'.
What is the music of the north, in the UK and across Europe? Is it dour and dark or rich and vibrant? Come and find out what we've chosen: some familiar pieces and some possibly unfamiliar.
By then we will have played three further concerts. In October 2024 we are playing in a Care Home in Leyburn; in February we present a schools' event near Thirsk, and in March a concert of new music by Richmond composer Fiona McDonagh. Details to come soon.
Previous concerts and reviews.
March 3rd 2024 in the Georgian Theatre, Richmond
Corelli Concerto Grosso Opus 6 No. 2
Mozart Piano Concerto in A major K414
Grieg Holberg Suite Opus 40
Janacek Suite for String Orchestra
'It was rather like having an orchestra playing to you in your front room!' Audience member.
'Very impressed...thoroughly enjoyed it.' Audience members, by email.
'The players soon showed their strengths, especially in the second half. They were clearly enjoying themselves!' Richmondshire Today.
June 30th 2024 in Grinton Church, Swaledale
Bach Brandenburg Concerto #3
Elgar Serenade for Strings
Tabakova Suite in Old Style
Vivaldi Summer from Four Seasons
Finzi Romance
Vaughan Williams Dives & Lazarus
Read Will Stephens' review in Richmondshire Today.
I hadn’t heard of the Richmond Chamber Orchestra until June 30th, when a Dales friend persuaded me to go and hear them. After their Summer Concert in Grinton Church I’m very pleased I have now. It really was a perfect programme for a summer’s day, cheerful and bright, accomplished and with lots of variety. The RCO seems to be a rather unique ensemble, with a superb professional violinist, Philippa Mo, in charge, and a mix of professional players, semi-pros, and gifted amateurs. It all makes for infectious enthusiasm and a strong rich sound. A string orchestra with additional harpsichord, tambourine, bass drum and harp really is a bit unusual too!
They played Bach, Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Finzi, Vivaldi (‘Summer’ from the Four Seasons of course) and a piece no one seemed to know, Suite in Old Time by Dobrinka Tabakova. The viola player Alyssa Moskowitz delivered a virtuoso solo part passionately, and the piece was a great discovery, with mysterious sounds and beautiful harmonies. Philippa Mo’s interpretation of Summer was fast and furious: her bow was a blur, and she had the orchestra clinging on for dear life! Italian summers aren’t quite the same as Yorkshire ones, with people overcome by the heat and flies, thunderstorms and gales. The Vaughan Williams variations on the well-known folk and hymn tune Dives and Lazarus was another magical piece unknown to me, with harp and shimmering strings. The most English piece had to be the Elgar Serenade for Strings, one of my favourites, and the orchestra got the variety of moods just right.
All in all the RCO was a discovery for me, and apparently for quite a few of the large enthusiastic audience. If you want top class music-making and a great mixture of familiar classics and new discoveries, go and hear them.
ARCO: SUPPORTING THE RCO
The photo above shows the end of our June 30th concert in Grinton Church. A fabulous venue and a large enthusiastic audience. We can present concerts like this partly because of the generosity of our supporters. We are immensely grateful to Richmond Town Council and the Abstract Group of Companies for supporting us, and to our ARCOs, who as you will see below, contribute to our activities. We need more of them. Find out below how you could contribute. If you think that our aims are worthy of support, being one of our Associates will be a rewarding experience. You will know that you are helping us to encourage young players, to bring music to people who may not often hear live classical music, and to champion living composers as often as we can. (String players will know that arco means playing with the bow as opposed to pizzicato!).
Becoming an Associate of the Richmond Chamber Orchestra
Associates will be closely involved with the orchestra. You can come to a rehearsal, meet the players, meet the soloists, invite us to play for an event of your own. Get updates (no spams), prior booking for concerts (useful if we are playing in a small venue), and an annual social event at one of our concerts. Your contribution will be acknowledged in our concert programmes, unless you would rather remain anonymous.
Becoming an ARCO costs £25.00 a year, £35.00 for a couple.
Please email us from the mailing list link below. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
Business Associates
If you are involved with a business and would like it to be associated with the Arts, you can become a Business Associate. In return for your support your business will be acknowledged in everything that we do: online on our site and on social media, in publicity and in concert programmes. You and a colleague or partner will also be welcome to the Associates' benefits as outlined above.
Please email us from the mailing list link above. We will get back to you as soon as we can.
Becoming a Business Associate costs £35.00.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE!
Finding a Platform
Finding a Platform
Finding a Platform
One of the USPs of the RCO is to offer a platform to outstanding young players, as soloists or members of the orchestra.
Morvern Scrivener, the soloist in our opening concert, is the first. We are looking for the next one! Get in touch, or ask your teacher to contact us, and we'll see what we can do.
Photo of Morvern Scrivener in rehearsal for the March 3rd concert. (photo David Francis)
Finding a Job
Finding a Platform
Finding a Platform
No, we can't offer you a job, not yet at any rate! But we can help you understand how to stage a concert, the most effective way to present your publicity, contacting artists, organising orchestral parts, what a concert day requires, and so on.
Social Media
Finding a Platform
Social Media
Promoting events via Facebook, Instagram and other social media sites is crucial to success. If you think you'd be good at it and want to learn how to choose and manage material for different audiences, get in touch.