A short history of the Cambrian Orchestra.......
The Cambrian Orchestra was the brain child of two horn players, Jacqui Blore and Matthew Ellis. In the autumn of 1995 there were few opportunities for orchestral players, especially wind and brass players, to play in the local ensembles due to their subscription based memberships.
This lead to the idea of forming an orchestra which had no settled membership. Players would be asked to commit a limited amount of time - at the beginning two or three Sunday afternoon rehearsals in St Margaret's Church Hall, Wrexham and then the concert weekend. Several meetings were held with the first conductor of the orchestra, Paul Whittaker, and a name was settled upon - the Cambrian Philharmonic Orchestra. A date was set for the first concert - the 3rd February 1996, the venue was to be All Saint's Parish Church in Gresford and the programme featured cellist Ruth Bingham performing the wonderful Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar.
This was very much a "suck it and see" experiment. They had no idea whether an audience would come or whether the players would agree to give up more of their spare time to play. It's fair to say that they were surprised by the reception they got. A near full house packed the church and the Cambrian was born.
More concerts followed around the North East Wales region and a name was quickly made for quality concerts. Conductors such as Nic Fallowfield and Garry Walker came to work with the Orchestra alongside young, local talent such as Mark Lansom, Robert Guy and Ian Morgan-Williams, as well as soloists from the UK and Europe.
In 1999 building work in All Saint's meant that it was no longer practical to perform there. The Orchestra already had links with St Giles' Parish Church in Wrexham and it seemed a logical place to base the Orchestra, a partnership that culminated in their becoming the orchestra is residence at St Giles' in 2008 and the orchestra became the Cambrian Orchestra at St Giles' (COaSG).
This lead to the idea of forming an orchestra which had no settled membership. Players would be asked to commit a limited amount of time - at the beginning two or three Sunday afternoon rehearsals in St Margaret's Church Hall, Wrexham and then the concert weekend. Several meetings were held with the first conductor of the orchestra, Paul Whittaker, and a name was settled upon - the Cambrian Philharmonic Orchestra. A date was set for the first concert - the 3rd February 1996, the venue was to be All Saint's Parish Church in Gresford and the programme featured cellist Ruth Bingham performing the wonderful Cello Concerto by Edward Elgar.
This was very much a "suck it and see" experiment. They had no idea whether an audience would come or whether the players would agree to give up more of their spare time to play. It's fair to say that they were surprised by the reception they got. A near full house packed the church and the Cambrian was born.
More concerts followed around the North East Wales region and a name was quickly made for quality concerts. Conductors such as Nic Fallowfield and Garry Walker came to work with the Orchestra alongside young, local talent such as Mark Lansom, Robert Guy and Ian Morgan-Williams, as well as soloists from the UK and Europe.
In 1999 building work in All Saint's meant that it was no longer practical to perform there. The Orchestra already had links with St Giles' Parish Church in Wrexham and it seemed a logical place to base the Orchestra, a partnership that culminated in their becoming the orchestra is residence at St Giles' in 2008 and the orchestra became the Cambrian Orchestra at St Giles' (COaSG).
Following the appointment as orchestra in residence at St Giles' they played almost exclusively at the church. However, one cold February evening in 2008 led Jacqui and Matthew to Flint and a meeting with councillor Ian Roberts. The meeting was at the Gwynedd School and it's purpose was to see whether the school would be suitable to host a concert in the town's annual festival, the Flint Festival. The school is a prime example of 1920's educational build and boasts a grand hall. It was (and still is) a wonderful venue and the annual "Last Night of the Proms" was born.
That concert, in July 2008, was conducted by the internationally renown brass band conductor Russell Gray and marked the start of his association with the Orchestra. Russell became a regular and popular conductor of the orchestra and was appointed Principal conductor in the same year, Mark Lansom also taking the role of Musical Director.
April 2013 saw the end of the collaboration with St Giles. Over the 5 years of the residency it became clear that the arrangement was restricting the orchestra in programming and venue, and a search for new venues began. The last performance at St Giles' was their acclaimed performance in the St Giles' Chamber Festival, which featured the international violinist Tom Bowes performing the violin works of J S Bach. The concert featured a performance of Bach;s wonderful concerto for Violin and Oboe, performed by two young, local musicians destined for the colleges of London, Bethan Allmand (violin) and Tom Blomfield (oboe).
That concert, in July 2008, was conducted by the internationally renown brass band conductor Russell Gray and marked the start of his association with the Orchestra. Russell became a regular and popular conductor of the orchestra and was appointed Principal conductor in the same year, Mark Lansom also taking the role of Musical Director.
April 2013 saw the end of the collaboration with St Giles. Over the 5 years of the residency it became clear that the arrangement was restricting the orchestra in programming and venue, and a search for new venues began. The last performance at St Giles' was their acclaimed performance in the St Giles' Chamber Festival, which featured the international violinist Tom Bowes performing the violin works of J S Bach. The concert featured a performance of Bach;s wonderful concerto for Violin and Oboe, performed by two young, local musicians destined for the colleges of London, Bethan Allmand (violin) and Tom Blomfield (oboe).
As one door closed, another quickly opened. While searching for a rehearsal space for the 2013 Flint Festival concert Theatr Stiwt in the village of Rhosllanerchrugog was mentioned. A visit quickly followed and a rehearsal booked. This led to a concert being booked for the 25th January 2014. The concert, conducted by Mark Lansom, was subtitled "Classical Favourites" and drew upon a lighter repertoire.
A new opportunity presented itself in 2017 when Bridget and the team at the Black Park Chapel, in Halton, contacted us with a view to start a chamber music festival. The first festival took place over the weekend of the 26th, 27th and 28th May 2017 with events such as s string instrument masterclass with Richard Howarth, quartet concerts and a concert from ourselves. This inaugural festival was successful and led to a repeat in 2018.
Click here to read about some of the conductors, soloists and past programmes.
A new opportunity presented itself in 2017 when Bridget and the team at the Black Park Chapel, in Halton, contacted us with a view to start a chamber music festival. The first festival took place over the weekend of the 26th, 27th and 28th May 2017 with events such as s string instrument masterclass with Richard Howarth, quartet concerts and a concert from ourselves. This inaugural festival was successful and led to a repeat in 2018.
Click here to read about some of the conductors, soloists and past programmes.