Chetham's Symphony Orchestra has an outstanding international reputation as one of the finest young orchestras in the world. The CSO enjoys an impressive concert diary and has performed at venues including The Bridgewater Hall, the Barbican, Royal Opera House, Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, The Hall for Cornwall, Leeds and Huddersfield Town Halls, Chester and Durham Cathedrals, Selby Abbey, Westminster Central Hall and regularly at the Lancaster Concert Series and Lichfield Festival. Internationally, the orchestra has performed in the Netherlands, Spain, Germany the USA and the island of Ischia at the invitation of Lady Susana Walton.
'The Sorceror's Apprentice' by Dukas - performed by Chetham's Symphony Orchestra
Enthusiasm, high playing standards and a total commitment are some of the qualities guest conductors have expressed about the orchestra when working with them. The impressive list of guest conductors includes Sir Mark Elder, Benjamin Zander, Paul McCreesh, Dimitry Liss, Franz Anton Krager, Vassily Sinaisky, Diego Masson, Jac Van Steen and Yan Pascal Tortelier.
The CSO'S CD recordings have received praise from critics and music lovers alike, and include Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No.5, Mahler’s Symphonies No. 4 & 6, Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10, Dvorak's New World Symphony, Rachmaninov's Symphony No.2 and Symphonic Dances, Vaughan Williams Sinfonia Antartica, and Walton's Henry V: A Shakespeare Scenario. The orchestra regularly broadcasts on local and national BBC Radio and Classic FM.
Other highlights in recent years include the world premiere and commercial recording of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies' High on the Slopes of Terror, conducted by Stephen Threlfall, as part of the 2001 Festival of British Youth Orchestras in Glasgow, and an outstanding concert partnering the BBC Philharmonic, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 featuring former students Wayne Marshall, Peter Donohoe and David Hill - the first such collaboration of its kind in the UK.
"When I worked with the Chetham's Symphony Orchestra, I found them to be a remarkable group of young musicians. Given the school's reputation, I had expected them to be full of talent. What was even more thrilling was their ability to engage in the musical problems of a vast Mahler symphony, and stretch themselves way beyond my wildest dreams. Breaking such barriers must surely be what Chets is about!"
- Sir Mark Elder
"Chetham's Symphony Orchestra performed with a richness many professional orchestras might envy"
- The Independent
