Essex Symphony Orchestra (UK) History
The Essex Symphony Orchestra is a Chelmsford based subscription orchestra, rehearsing on Monday evenings from September to July. Typically we perform from four to six concerts per season. We try to choose adventurous programmes, and with nearly sixty members we have the resources to perform the large scale symphonic works of the 19th and 20th centuries. Our Musical Director is Justin Doyle. (See his profile linked above.)
In 1951, Dr Stanley Vann, our president today, took over as conductor of the Chelmsford Festival Orchestra, which had existed as a string orchestra under William Bush for many years, having been formed for the purpose of accompanying choral works performed at the annual Essex Musical Association Festivals held in the Corn Exchange* Chelmsford, Essex, England. From 1949 the Festival Orchestra also gave purely orchestral concerts, and so 1949 is the accepted birth year of the Essex Symphony Orchestra and was used as the point of reference for our 50 year celebration in 1999. In 1951 Dr Stanley Vann persuaded the committee to augment the Chelmsford Festival Orchestra to a full orchestra and rename it 'the Essex Symphony Orchestra'.
The Essex Symphony Orchestra has had strong associations with Chelmsford Cathedral in the past - two of its former conductors, Derek Cantrell and Philip Ledger were also Masters of Music at Chelmsford Cathedral. The Essex Symphony Orchestra has rehearsed and performed with the Chelmsford Singers over the years and 2004 saw a revival of this co-operation with a joint performance of Haydn's Creation under Peter Nardone in the Cathedral in December.
Together with the combined choirs of the Essex Musical Association, the Essex Symphony Orchestra has performed under world famous conductors - Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Charles Groves, Sir David Willcocks and Anthony Hopkins. Recent choral performances have included the requiems by Brahms, Mozart, Verdi and Fauré; Mendelssohn's Elijah; Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, and the Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams.
Over the years we have been able to bring the finest soloists to Chelmsford and we are pleased to have provided a platform for many young talented artists, both from Essex and from the national scene, through the good offices of the Countess of Munster Trust. Most of our concerts are given in Christ Church, New London Road, Chelmsford, but we also play regularly in the Essex Musical Association's annual concert, usually in Thaxted Church, and in special events at venues such as Cressing Temple and Chelmsford Cathedral.
Some idea of the scope of our concert and community work can be gained from our archive page and the links therin.
In 2004 Antoine Mitchell completed 20 years as conductor of the Essex Symphony Orchestra, and then decided that it was time to move on in his career and so the concert on the 20th of November 2004 was his last as our regular conductor. Under his baton the standards of our orchestra were much improved.
The Essex Symphony Orchestra is affiliated to 'Making Music' (formerly the 'National Federation of Music Societies').
*Demolished in 1969, along with a splendid coaching inn, the 'White Hart', to make way for a shopping precinct.