| Orchestra | Conductor Leader |
Rehearsal Venue/Times | Contact | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![[link]](./gif/notelink.gif) Bathgate Concert Orchestra | Marco Marzella Angela Smith | St.John's Church Hall Bathgate Friday evenings 7:30 | ![[email]](./gif/hppmlbox.gif) Morag Gent 01506 843 207 | Bathgate Concert Orchestra is a voluntary group of musicians who meet on Friday evenings for rehearsal and performance of show music and light classics for fund-raising, education and entertainment. |
| Colinton Amateur Orchestral Society | Hector Scott | St Cuthbert's Church Hall, Westgarth Avenue, Edinburgh. Tuesday evening 7:30 | Lynda Grant | An amateur orchestra that plays a variety of music ranging from baroque to 20th century. |
| Dundee Symphony Orchestra | Robert Dick Alan Torrance | Monday evenings at Gilfillan Church, Whitehall Crescent, Dundee from 7:30pm to 9:45pm | | The Society was founded in 1893 by a group of enthusiastic amateur performers. The orchestra has a core membership of some thirty, mostly amateur, players. Extra players are brought in when necessary. |
| Edinburgh Chamber Orchestra | Alberto Massimo Alison Galbraith | Morningside United Church, Holy Corner, 15 Chamberlain Road, EDINBURGH. Wednesday 7.30-9.30pm | Jennifer McGregor 0131 449 6153 | All string players welcome, especially cellists |
| Edinburgh Philharmonic Orchestra | Robert Dick | St.Michael’s Church, Slateford Road | Robert Dick 0131 332-8747 Corrinna Kearsley 0131-467-1532 or Rebecca Sawyer 0131-229-8230 | A new orchestra which aims to entice big audiences to raise money for charity. |
| Edinburgh Players Opera Group | Mike Thorne Philip Taylor | One weekend opera course per year in Portobello Town Hall, Edinburgh. Usually the last weekend in September (Fri – Sun). | Philip Taylor 01368 850235 | An annual course in Edinburgh rehearsing and performing a complete opera with full orchestra and professional singers. Having now worked through the entire Ring, Tristan, Parsifal and Die Meistersinger, we’re returning to the Ring and 2008 will be Das Rheingold. Vacancies for strings and harps. Grade 8+ standard. Players from outside Edinburgh very welcome! |
| Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra | Gerard Doherty Philip Taylor | The Reid Memorial Church, West Saville Terrace, Edinburgh Wednesdays 8.00-10.15pm | Rob Saunders 0131 447 3871 | New strings always welcome; some openings for brass and percussion |
| Edinburgh University Chorus | Ewan Armstrong | Tuesday during term time, 7-9pm, St Peters Church Hall, Lutton Place, Edinburgh. | Dom El Beih | EUMS Chorus is a non-auditioning SATB choir. It is conducted by Ewan Armstrong and all are welcome to rehearsals. |
| Edinburgh University Sinfonia | Iain McLarty | Saturday in term time in Reid Concert Hall, Bristo Sq, Edinburgh 10.30am - 1.30pm | Nick Fletcher | Wind, Brass and Percussion are auditioned during Freshers' Week. It is non-auditioning for strings. A grade 6 or 7 standard is expected but all are welcome so do come and join us. |
| Edinburgh University Symphony Orchestra | Russell Cowieson | Rehearsal 6.30-9.30 every Monday during term time. | Jenny Clark | EUMS Symphony Orchestra is a fully-auditioning orchestra. Auditions take place during freshers' week. Standard Grade 8+. Students and non-students welcome. |
| Edinburgh Wind Orchestra | Theresa Charlton | 7 Warriston Road EDINBURGH 7.30 Mondays | 01506 854489 / 07917 367 089 | Vacancies in all sections (woodwind, brass, percussion) Friendly, social atmosphere. Interesting mix of music. No auditions and quality instruments available for loan. Does regular concerts. |
| Glasgow Chamber Orchestra | Peter Jones | Tuesdays from 7.30pm-10pm, Cowcaddens Campus of Glasgow Caledonian University. | | Keen to recruit a bassoonist and brass players (horns and trumpets mainly needed) |
| Glasgow Orchestral Society | Marco Romano, Eric Dunlea and Colin McKenzie | Monday evenings from 7:30pm to 9:30pm in the Community Central Hall, 304 Maryhill Road | Donald Gibson (secretary), 0141 942 7754 Meg Munck, 0141 946 6667 | We play a wide range of music from the classical era to the present day, and have also commissioned works from eminent Scottish composers such as John Purser and John Geddes. Vacancies exist in some sections, particularly in the strings. |
| Glasgow Sinfonia | Gerard Doherty | Mondays, 7.30pm at Woodlands Methodist Church, Woodlands Road, Glasgow | | If you live in, or around the Glasgow area and are interested in joining up, please contact us by email. Although we are an amateur orchestra, our standard is quite high, so ideally players should have passed Grade 7 or above. |
| YMCA Glasgow Wind Orchestra | Michael Philip | Renfield St Stephens Church - Fridays, 7:30 - 9:30pm | Noreen Thompson, (0141) 423 6185 | Regular vacancies in woodwind, brass and percussion. |
| Grampian Concert Orchestra | Dr Tim Tricker | St Ninian’s Episcopal Church, King Street, Aberdeen. Mondays 7:30 to 9:45 | 07831 223422 | GCO is a friendly and informal community orchestra, which rehearses and performs all year round. We welcome new players Grade 6 or above on any instrument - no auditions. |
| Helensburgh Orchestral SocietyNEW | Robert Baxter Christine Sinclair | Victoria Halls, Helensburgh, on Monday evenings at 7:30 | Alice Gee | Helensburgh Orchestral Society performs a broad programme at two concerts a year, in March and December. We run a chamber music weekend each autumn and occasionally have toured further afield. Membership is open to players of grade 5 or above, with no auditions necessary. At the moment we are particularly looking for lower strings, French horns and a trombone. |
| Isle of Man Wind OrchestraNEW | Paul Dunderdale | Every thursday during school term time | Joanna Drysdale | |
| The Kelvin Ensemble | Guest conductors | Normally rehearse for two intensive weekends before each concert. | 0798 660 9764 | The student-run orchestra of Glasgow University. We’re happy to hear from any students in Glasgow who want to play. |
| Kintyre Orchestral Society | | Saturday afternoons in the Heritage Centre Hall from 3 to 4.30, Campbeltown Kintyre. | Jacqueline Fitzgibbon 01586 830181 | No audition necessary,we are either late starters or returnees and play easy arrangements of music like Singing in the rain, movements from Pictures at an Exhibition and a wealth of extracts from Handel's Water Music. |
| Lanarkshire Cecilian Orchestra | Tommy Fowler Dr Peter McCabe | St. Andrew’s Parish Church Hall, Glasgow Rd, Blantyre. Thursdays 7.15pm - 9.15pm, September to May in school term times. | Gail Graham | New members always welcome, particularly strings (and particularly cellos). Wide range of music types from overtures and symphonies to film themes and show medleys. |
| Leith Community Concert BandNEW | Frederick Frayling-Kelly | St.Margaret's Episcopal Church, 170, Easter Road, Edinburgh EH7: Thursdays 7.30 -9.45pm. | Director of Music 0131-554-0568 | A concert and marching band with a wide repertoire of music. Entry around Grade 5, but promising players not quite at that level may be taken. No formal auditions. A friendly, busy band with a core of experienced players who are happy to advise and encourage newcomers. There are vacancies in all sections. Recent performances in Germany and Belgium. At home several concerts per year plus participation in the Festival Cavalcade, Norwegian Constitution Day Parade, the Leith Festival Tattoo etc.. |
| Lomond & Clyde Community OrchestraNEW | John Grant | Saturday 10.00-12.00 noon, St Michael's Church Hall, William Street, Helensburgh, Argyll & Bute | Ruth Sinclair | The orchestra is for all orchestral instruments, all abilities and all ages from primary school to pensioners - all that is needed is one year's playing experience, an instrument, music stand and a willingness to play music and enjoy yourself! We play a wide range of music from classical to modern with public performances at various times throughout the year, especially at Christmas. We're really in need of string players, oboes and bassoons at present - and we'd like additional adult members. We don't hold auditions - everyone is always welcome. |
| Meadows Chamber Orchestra | Peter Evans | Spedding Micklem (Chairman) | The MCO has performed regularly and with critical acclaim to audiences in Edinburgh and many parts of Scotland for almost 30 years. | |
| New Edinburgh Orchestra | Tim Paxton Joanna Michael | Nicolson Square Church, Tuesdays, 7 - 10 | Wind playersString Players | The NEO is a friendly orchestra which performs 3 concerts a year which include new works, some commissioned by or written for the orchestra, as well as established classical repertoire. |
| The Open Orchestra | Andrew Lees Laurence Egar | Wednesday (7.45pm - 9.45pm), September to June at: Cluny Church Centre, Cluny Drive, Edinburgh | | There are vacancies in the String and Brass sections. |
| Perth Symphony Orchestra | Allan Young Lorna McGovern | Wednesday evenings, 7.25-9.45 p.m. During term time, Perth Academy | | We are always happy to welcome new members, especially brass and string players. No audition is necessary but we do ask for commitment to regular attendance at rehearsals and concerts. |
| Phoenix Wind Band | Bill Phillips | Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. at the Society of Musicians, 3 Belford Road (near Dean Bridge), Edinburgh | Liz Wight | Running free workshops in February and March 2006 to encourage lapsed players back to performing music. |
| The Really Terrible Orchestra | Sir Richard Neville-Towle | Wednesdays at St George's Music Rooms, Edinburgh. Generally 8pm | Peter Stevenson, Chairman | " the Really Terrible orchestra has rapidly become one of the highlights of the Edinburgh Fringe. Why this group of [very] modestly talented musicians should presume to perform in public is beyond anybody " |
| The Rehearsal Orchestra | Levon Parikian Edmund Reid | Weekend courses in London and Manchester; annual week-long course at the Edinburgh Festival | Anne-Marie Norman 020 7820 9994 | Not a regular weekly orchestra, nor strictly amateur, but has for many years rehearsed and played in London as well as around the country |
| St Andrew Amateur Orchestral Society | John Mortimer | James Gillespie High School - Tuesday evenings, 7:15pm - 9:15pm (mid September through to early May) | Frank Glynn 01383 860265 | The orchestra is always interested to hear from potential new players: strings, wind, brass etc. (although we cannot always guarantee vacancies in all sections). |
| St James Orchestra, Paisley | Eric Dunlea Alan Laing | in the Free Church, St Ives | Tom Ferguson 01505 816132 | St James Orchestra is always pleased to welcome new members. No formal audition is necessary while previous experience of orchestral playing is helpful but not essential. For string players, experience to around Grade IV/V standard will be adequate - orchestra players are always happy to help new members get "up to speed". |
| Scottish Borders Community OrchestraNEW | Guest conductors Lucy Cowan | Various evenings for individual groups – see website for details | SBCO office 01573 228464 | We invite players of grade 5 or above to join us for regular practice groups taken by professional musicians and play in occasional chamber performances and twice yearly orchestral concerts. Concerts are held in the main towns of the Borders under a guest professional conductor, usually with a professional soloist. In addition we perform in schools, care homes and hospitals. |
| Scottish Sinfonia | Neil Mantle Michael Rigg | Concert weekend and three Sunday afternoons beforehand | | The orchestra is a mixture of professional players, instrumental teachers and amateurs, who aim to make music to the highest standard of which they are capable. The orchestra is organised concert by concert, and changes in size according to the programme requirements. |
| The Skye and Lochalsh Orchestra | Rosemary Bungard Margaret Cormack | Twice monthly, August - April/May. Saturday 10 -12.30 (main orchestra) 12.45 – 2pm (training orchestra) | Rosemary Bungard 01478 660248 | Founded 3 years ago, approximately 60 members divided between the main orchestra and the string training orchestra. We give 2 main concerts a year in December and April/May, the Christmas concert is a fundraiser for local charities. |
| Solway Sinfonia | Geoff Keating John Phillips | 4 Sunday afternoon rehearsals for each of 2 main concerts per year. | Nick Riley (Chairman) | Founded in 1997 and drawing members from round the Solway estuary, we give two concerts a year, one in Dumfries and one elsewhere in the region. Our website, www.solwaysinfonia.org.uk gives full details of our history, concerts, rehearsals etc. |
| Stirling Orchestra | John McGonigle Lois Stewart | Wallace High School, Stirling. Thursdays 7:15 - 9:30pm, September to May. | | Keen to recruit any strings and bassoons, trumpets and trombones. |
| Stockbridge & New Town Community Orchestra | Louise Martin Donald MacLeod | Thursday evenings at 7.30 at the Stockbridge Parish Church on Saxe-Coburg Street, Edinburgh | Infoline 0792 985-0483 | Friendly for-fun group working to 2 - 3 concerts per year. Grade 3+, no audition. Currently recruiting strings (especially 'cello and viola) and brass. |
| The Yetholm Sinfonia | Geoffrey Emerson Tony Kime | Rehearses on the concert day, concerts mainly given in Kelso's octagonal Old Parish Church | Geoffrey Emerson 01 573 420 279 | An occasional orchestra, but giving eight concerts in 2007, with a subdivision called Border Blowers. Last Orchestra in Scotland! |
If you have any information you'd like to appear here about a non-professional orchestra you conduct, play in or know of, let me know: