Recent Concerts

2009/2010 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 12th November 2009	English Martyrs Church York	A Concert in aid of the York Blind and Partially Sighted Society as part of their 30th anniversary celebrations. Visit their website at http://www.ybpss.org/ With guest soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 22nd October 2009	St James' Church Wetherby	A concert of light music arranged by the Wetherby Lions as part of The Wetherby Festival With guest soloist Tracy Bowen

2008/2009 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 4th June 2009	Linton on Ouse Primary School	An concert of music for a younger audience
Thursday 30th April 2009	St. Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel York	A concert to support church fundraising click here for further details
Thursday 29th January 2009	Stockton on Forest Village Hall	An evening of music sponsored by the Rotary Club of York with our guest soloists Tracy Bowen and Emma Tatnall For details of the sponsored charity, please click here.
Thursday 18th December 2008	Acomb Methodist Chrch Front Street York	A Concert of Christmas music with our guest soloists Tracy Bowen and Emma Tatnall

The 2008/9 season was started with our traditional Christmas concert at Acomb Methodist Church, combining a selection of our popular music, Music with a Christmas theme and Christmas carols for the audience to join in. Our guest soloist, Tracy Bowen, was joined this year for the first time by Emma Tatnall, a fellow soprano from York Opera, and they entertained with duets including the 'Duet for Two Cats' by Rossini which proved to be very popular. In January we were invited back to play for the Rotary club in a fund raising concert in aid of their sponsored charity.This year it was for a water purification project in Kerla, Southern India. This is the 6th year the event has been held and we helped raise over £1100 for this worthy cause. The press release for the event, written by the Rotary Club, can be seen here
The Unitarian Church was a new venue for us this year, and gave a rare opportunity to perform in the centre of York. A small, appreciative audience was enteratined with a varied concert of orchestral music, and our guest soloist, Tracy Bowen, performed a selection of songs from both opera and musicals.
The final concert of the year was for the children at Linton School. This is becoming another regular event, and the program is tailored to suit a younger audience. In addition to demonstrating the various instruments of the orchestra, in a novel experiment, some of the children were able to sit in the orchestra for part of the performance to see the stage side of a concert and two of the pupils were invited to conduct the orchestra. This proved to be very successful, and the concert ended with the selection of music from The Pirates of the Caribbean, completing our 2008/9 season.

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2007/2008 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 5th June 2008	The National Centre for Early Music St Margaret's Church Walmgate, York	A special Anniversary concert to celebrate the Orchestra's 60th year. With our guest soloist Tracy Bowen Proceeds to North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre
Thursday 1st May 2008	Linton Primary School	A concert of music selected for a younger audience. In aid of school fundraising to promote music within the school
Thursday 17th April 2008	Forest of Galtres School Shipton-by-Beningborough	A concert of music specially selected for a younger audience
Thursday 31st January 2008	Stockton on Forest Village Hall	An evening of music sponsored by the Rotary Club of York For details of the sponsored charity , please click here.
Thursday 13th December 2007	Acomb Methodist Church York	A concert of Christmas Music with guest soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 1st November 2007	St. James' Church Wetherby	A concert of light music arranged by the Wetherby Lions as part of The Wetherby Festival. With guest Soloist, Jennifer Grant.

The first performance in our 2007/8 60th anniversary season was a return visit to Wetherby in a concert organised by the Wetherby Lions as part of the Wetherby Festival. Held in St James church, the orchestra performed a varied selection of music including Pique Dame overture and Handel's Water Music as well as selections from Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals and theme music from the James Bond films. Joining us for the first time was soprano soloist Jennifer Grant who sang traditional songs from Mozart, Schubert and Puccini, as well as modern favourites by Ivor Novello and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

2007 ended with what is becoming part of the traditional Christmas celebrations at Acomb Methodist Church in a concert of light music, with the audience joining in with a selection of Christmas carols, led by our guest soprano, Tracy Bowen. A few weeks later, on 31st January 2008 we played in a fund raising event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of York, and raised over £1,300 towards their charity, The Yorkshire School in Sri Lanka. The school has been established to help the children following the tsunami in 2004, and is currently in need of funds for books and school equipment.

We played two school concerts, at Forest of Galtres School, and Linton Primary school. These are also becoming regular events and are proving popular with the children and parents. The programme is selected from music which is likely to appeal to a younger audience, and this year's concerts included the theme music from Dr. Who, and a selection of music from the film The Pirates of the Caribbean. The individual instruments and sections of the orchestra are demonstrated as well as an example of how the melodies of a piece of music combine to produce the finished result.

Our final concert of the season was a special event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the orchestra. Organised by the orchestra, and held in the Early Music Centre in York, the programme contained music from the original 1948 concert as well as some of the latest additions to our music library. The event raised over £200 which was donated to the North Yorkshire Music Therapy Centre, who provide a mobile service to promote the use of music therapy throughout North Yorkshire.

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2006/2007 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 19th October 2006	Forest of Galtres School Shipton-by-Beningborough	Proceeds in aid of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance
Thursday 16th November 2006	Wetherby Parish Church	Sponsored by the Wetherby Lions
Thursday 14th December 2006	Acomb Methodist Church	A concert of Christmas Music
Thursday 1st February 2007	Stockton on Forest Village Hall	Sponsored by the Rotary Club of York Proceeds to The Wheelchair Foundation
Thursday 10th May 2007	Linton School Linton on Ouse	A concert of music specially selected for a younger audience Proceeds to the school funds

2006-7 was a year in which the orchestra played 5 public concerts and one private function, starting with a return to Galtres School with a programme for our younger listeners, including the demonstration of the sections and instruments of the orchestra. It was our second performance at the school, and the event was organised to raise finds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. The year ended with a return to Wetherby for a performance sponsored by the Wetherby Lions, and finally our Christmas concert, held as usual at Acomb Methodist Church.
2007 started with a return to the Rotary Club of York, this time held at Stockton on Forest Village Hall, in an event in aid of the Wheelchair Foundation, the result of which was that an additional 24 wheelchairs can now be obtained by the charity. Our final event was another return invitation, this time to Linton school, again with a programme designed for our younger listeners.

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2005/2006 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 20th October 2005	St James' Parish Church Wetherby	Encore A concert of light music arranged as part of The Wetherby Festival
Sunday 23rd October 2005	Riley Smith Hall Tadcaster	A concert of music in the style of the Prom Concerts. With local choir, Tadchorale and soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 10th November 2005	Southlands Methodist Church	A concert arranged as part of the church's anniversary celebrations
Thursday 17th November 2005	Forest of Galtres School Shipton-by-Beningborough	Concert in aid of St. Leonard's Hospice, York and British Heart Research
Thursday 15th December 2005	Acomb Methodist Church	Christmas Music Programme soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 2nd February 2006	United Reform Church Priory Street	A concert in association with The Rotary Club of York With guest soloist Tracy Bowen
Saturday 25th February 2006	Selby Abbey	A concert with the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir and guest soloist Tracy Bowen supporting Selby District Council's 2006 charity appeal
Thursday 16th March 2006	Clifton Parish Church York	A concert arranged by The Friends of York Hospitals
Saturday 13th May 2006	Poppleton Community Centre	A concert in aid of Cancer Research UK For further information on supporting this important charity click here.
Thursday 18th May 2006	Linton School Linton on Ouse	A concert of music specially selected for a younger audience Proceeds to the school funds

The 2005/6 season opened with a return visit to St. James's Church, Wetherby in a concert arranged by the Wetherby Lions as a part of the Wetherby Arts Festival. In addition to selections from a number of musical shows, the programme also included our first performance of Mozart's Exsultate & Alleluya, sung by our guest soloist, Tracy Bowen.
Three days later, was the Battle of Trafalgar Proms Concert, held in the Riley Smith Hall, Tadcaster in aid of the current restoration work being carried out at the hall. The orchestra appeared with Tadchoral to perform a variety of orchestral and choral numbers. The concert included the traditional music associated with the last night of the proms, including Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Brittania and Jerusalem. The community singing was led by our soloist, Tracy Bowen.

November 2005 had two concerts, both played in new venues for the orchestra, and to two different, but highly appreciative audiences. On 10th November we played at Southlands Methodist Church in York with a programme opening with the Dam busters March, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the end of the war; a range of musical selections refrom Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, to the modern Andrew LLoyd Webber musicals, and ending with the Pomp and Circumstance March.
A week later, on 17th November, we made our first visit to the Forest of Galtres School, at Shipton by Benningborough. This was another of our concerts selected for a younger audience and as well as listening to the theme from Harry Potter, the pupils were able to participate in the Sailor's Hornpipe, the Liberty Bell March and the Land of Hope and Glory. The concert also included an introduction to the four sections, and the various instruments which make up the orchestra, making an educational and entertaining evening for the children.

The final concert in 2005 was the Christmas concert held at Acomb Methodist Church in York. This has become an increasingly popular event over the last few years and once again, an enthusiastic audience joined in with the singing of several Christmas carols. The programme also included other festive tunes, and we were joined by our guest soloist, Tracy Bowen in a performance of two movements from Mozart's Exsultate & Alleluya.

2006 brought us back to the Rotary Club in another fund raising event, this time for Rotary's Hope and Homes Africa Hope Appeal. The concert was held at the United Reform Church, in York, which was a new venue for us, and a large audience enjoyed a concert of orchestral music and songs from our guest soloist, Tracy Bowen. The music included our first performance of a selection of music from the recently released film 'Titanic' as well as more traditional pieces.

In February, we took part in a Last Night of the Proms concert, held in Selby Abbey as part of the Chairman of Selby District Council's Charity Appeal of 2005-2006. The charities benefiting this year are:

Hearing Dogs for the Deaf
Diabetes UK - Selby branch
Daisy Chain Campaign to end domestic violence

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2004/2005 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 9th December 2004	St. Oswald's Church, Fulford	Christmas Programme Soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 16th December 2004	Acomb Methodist Church	Christmas Programme Soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 10th February 2005	Bootham School, York	Concert arranged by The York Rotary Club in aid of The Nepal Trust
Thursday 14th April 2005	Acomb Methodist Church	Concert arranged by Acomb Methodist Church in aid of The National Children's Home Soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 28th April 2005	Clifton Parish Church	Concert in aid of Tsunami apeal Soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 26th May 2005	Linton Primary School	A special concert of music selected for our younger audience
Saturday 18th June 2005	Poppleton Community Centre	A concert in aid of the commuunity centre Soloist Tracy Bowen

After a busy 2003-4 season playing 8 public and two private concerts, the orchestra spent the remaining part of 2004 in rehearsal time, both working on some different music from our extensive library, and preparing new music for the Christmas concerts.
There were two Christmas concerts this year, performed at St. Oswald's Church, Fulford, and at Acomb Methodist Church were both well attended and appreciated by the audience. The program consisted of a mixture of Festive music, traditional carols and a few items of light music.
Once again, we welcomed back Tracy Bowen, our guest singer, who performed a selection of seasonal songs

2005 started with two fund raising events, the first at Bootham School, York, in an evening in conjunction with the Rotary Club in aid of the Nepal Trust. The second, on 14th April was held in Acomb Methodist Church in aid of the National Children's home.
We were joined, once again, by our soloist Tracy Bowen, for a performance in Clifton Parish Church on 28th April 2005 for another fund raining event, this time to help the victims of the Asian Tsunami Disaster. In addition to the music and songs, a series of photographs from the area affected by the disaster was presented by Mr. Anthony Cockerill, and the evening raised a substantial sum for the appeal.

The 2004/5 season ended with two concerts, the first at Linton school, where our special programme of music and the introduction to the sections and instruments which make up the orchestra once again proved extremely popular with the children. Our final event, on June 18th and at a new venue for us, was a concert at Poppleton Community Centre. Tracy Bowen accompanied us, with a selection of both classical opera and songs from the shows. The event was well attended and helped raise further funds for the development of the centre.

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2003/2004 season

DATE	VENUE	NOTES
Thursday 4th October 2003	St. James' Church, Selby
Thursday 6th November 2003	St. James's Church, Wetherby	Wetherby Arts Festival Soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 11th December 2003	St. Oswald's Church, Fulford	Christmas Programme
Thursday 18th December 2003	Acomb Methodist Church	Christmas Programme Soloist Tracy Bowen
Thursday 5th February 2004	Early Music Centre, York	sponsored by York Rotary Club in aid of TB Alert Campaign
Saturday 13th March 2004	Riley Smith Hall, Tadcaster	Selby District Council Charity Concert with York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir
Thursday 6th May 2004	Tadcaster Methodist Church	Proceeds to Christian Aid Soloist Tracy Bowen
Saturday 10th July 2004	Harrogate United Reform Church	Harrogate Art and Music festival 2004

2004 started with a concert in early February, held in the York Early Music Centre and organised by the Rotary Club of York in aid of the TB Alert Campaign. The concert was supported by several local businesses, and the evening raised a substantial sum for the charity.

On 13th March a combined concert was held with the York Philharmonic Male Voice Choir at the Riley Smith Hall in Tadcaster. This event was part of the Chairman's Charity Appeal celebrating 30 years of Selby District Council and again raised a substantial sum to be used for helping local people. The concert, which was played to a full house, concluded with the community singing of Rule Brittania, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem in the style of the last night of the London Prom concerts.

On 6th May a performance in Tadcaster Methodist Church was given, with the proceeds of the evening being donated to Christian Aid. We were again joined by our guest soloist, Tracy Bowen, in a successful evening of light entertainment.

The orchestra played for two private end of term concerts at local primary schools in a special program designed to introduce the various instruments and sounds to the children. These have proved particularly popular in the past and we are pleased to be able to have the opportunity to repeat the performance at a second location this year.

The season of public concerts concluded on 10th July with a concert held in The United Reform Church, Harrogate. This was part of the fifth annual festival of Art and Music which combined exhibitions of artwork by local artists and senior students with evenings of musical entertainment.

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Events Prior to 2003

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