Larghetto
THE ORCHESTRA
ESO is a Chelmsford-based Orchestra formed in 1949 that plays three to four concerts per season. We choose adventurous programmes that feature the large symphonic works of the 19th and 20th centuries, along with contemporary pieces. We pride ourselves in bringing world class soloists to Chelmsford and have also provided a platform for many young artists both from Essex and the national scene.
Rooted in our community we are proud to have supported a range of local charities over the years. We are committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and audiences through a range of concerts and workshops aimed at local children and young people.
Having given years of study to our instruments we enjoy the musical and social rewards of working together in our weekly rehearsals, under our professional leader and Music Director. We come from many walks of life and are united in a passion for music which we love to share with our audiences in live performance.
Introducing our Music Director – Matthew Andrews
Matthew Andrews is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he studied composition with Professor Robert Saxton, piano with Susan Alexander-Max, and conducting technique with Alan Hazeldine. He received further tuition with composer Simon Bainbridge and conductors Christopher Adey and Peter Stark.
In demand as an orchestral trainer, Matt has been a visiting conductor to the Guildhall School of Music (Junior Dept.), Wells Cathedral School, is a Musical Director in the Essex Youth Orchestras programme, and taught orchestral conducting technique at the Guildhall.
His debut with Norwich Philharmonic Orchestra in 2010 performing Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony led to Matt’s immediate appointment as Principal Conductor. In celebration of their 175th anniversary, Matt conducted a special performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in front of a two thousand-strong audience at the 2016 Norfolk & Norwich Festival.
Matt was appointed Principal Conductor of Prometheus Orchestra in 2022, a post he also holds with Sinfonia Tamesa in London and Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. He has been de facto Artistic Director of the Resonate! McKinsey Music Festival in Kitzbühel for twenty years.
Matt frequently appears as guest conductor with groups including the Academy of St Thomas, Tallis Chamber Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of St Albans, Hertford and Essex. He has performed at the Manchester Jazz Festival, and conducted the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Amadeus Orchestra, North London Chorus and Opera Lab.
Matt was assistant to composer Geoffrey Burgon, recording Merciless Beauty with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and the BAFTA award-winning soundtrack Longitude with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Matt is also an award-winning consultant in the creative industries. He has managed more than sixty projects in education, broadcasting and the performing arts, and in 2003 received an award from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts. He has worked with the BBC, Danish Business Council, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, University of Liverpool, Creative Partnerships/Arts Council England and Performing Arts Labs. Matt’s company Creative Imperative also manages international music festivals for its client McKinsey & Company.
PHILIPPA BARTON – Leader
Philippa leads a busy and varied life as a freelance violinist, leading a number of ensembles, such as the Kings Chamber Orchestra, and Essex and Colchester Symphony Orchestras. She plays all around the country and further afield with various other orchestras, such as English Touring Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the London Mozart Players and the City of London Sinfonia.
As a soloist, Philippa has a growing repertoire, including concerti by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Bruch, Mozart, Bach and Vivaldi. She has also collaborated with the pianist, Alisdair Hogarth, in several recitals, playing programmes including sonatas by Franck, Elgar and Debussy.
Philippa is passionate about working with young people, leading educational workshops, chamber music groups, coaching for Essex Youth Orchestra, and teaching individuals, privately and at Felsted School.
Her own education was at the Royal College of Music, studying with Dona Lee Croft and Trevor Williams. Shortly after leaving college, she spent several years playing with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, before returning to London to continue with her freelance career.
The Essex Symphony Orchestra grew out of the Chelmsford Festival Orchestra which had been formed before the Second World War to accompany choirs competing in the town’s annual Essex Musical Association ‘EMA’ Festival. The first orchestral concert took place in 1949 under founding conductor William (Billy) Bush and leader Arthur Davison, the young Canadian violinist who had recently arrived in London. In the same year Dr Stanley Vann was appointed Cathedral organist and soon showed an interest in the orchestra. He took over as conductor in 1952 and persuaded the members to expand it into a full symphony orchestra and adopt its current name.
Since then the Orchestra has performed across the county, in The Shire Hall, Civic Centre, The Corn Exchange, Thurrock Civic Centre, The Hoffman Hall, Harlow Sports Centre, King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford High School for Girls, Cressing Temple, Brentwood Cathedral, Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff School, Thaxted Church, Felsted School Chapel, Loughton Academy and Davenant Foundation School, as well as in our home of Christ Church, Chelmsford. ESO played in Harwich at the Film Festival in 1998 and the International Music Festival in 2014 and 2016 and appeared in a joint concert with the Essex Police band in Chelmsford in 2002.
Choral performances during the early years saw the Orchestra perform under the guests invited to adjudicate the choral competitions including world famous conductors Sir Adrian Boult, Sir Charles Groves, Sir David Willcocks and Antony Hopkins. Repertoire performed included the requiems by Brahms, Mozart, Verdi and Fauré; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius and the Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams. The Orchestra accompanied the last ever EMA concert in Davenant Foundation School, Loughton, in 2011.
By the 1970’s ESO was performing to packed houses and was able to engage famous soloists of the day such as Leon Goosens, John Lill, Alfredo Campoli, Phyllis Sellick, Peter Katin and Ian Wallace. The introduction of leading soloists has remained one of the ESO’s missions and we have been able to bring the finest musicians to Chelmsford. We are pleased to have provided a platform for many young talented artists, both from Essex and from the national scene, often supported by the Countess of Munster Trust. We have enjoyed long associations with a series of Music Directors including Antoine Mitchell (1984 – 2004), Justin Doyle (2005 – 2009) and Tom Hammond (2009 – 2019) who was succeeded by Robert Hodge. Read more …
