Tomorrow's Musicians Today

The English Schools' Orchestra and Choir, founded in 1994, exists to provide the opportunity for talented young orchestral musicians and singers, still in full time education, to meet and perform with other similarly talented young people from all over the country.

ESO Concert Time

Our principal activity is the annual Orchestra Course, which takes place over the October half-term. This comprises a five-day residential course during which a programme of music is rehearsed for a concert in a national venue on the final afternoon. Recent venues have included St. John's Smith Square, the South Bank Centre and Cadogan Hall in London.

Music for the Annual Concert is always chosen to present a challenge to our musicians - extensive tuition and sectional rehearsals being given during the course by our professional tutors to ensure that such challenge is met with resounding success!

We are also keen to expand our international activities, previous tours being to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane - Australia and Banff in Canada.

If you would like to know more about the Orchestra or Choir, please contact our Orchestra Manager, Dr Diane Davies, using the contact information at the top of this page, or go to our online registration form.

The Lord Lingfield

President's Message

The Lord Lingfield DL

It is a great privilege for me to be President of the English Schools' Orchestra, which continues to provide young people from schools all over the country with the opportunity to play superb music and to enchant their audiences.

The ESO is now more than 25 years old. Throughout its existence it has been supported by a number of generous donors. Their generosity has enabled us to provide hundreds of young people with the opportunity to play in a national orchestra of high repute at some first class venues in this country and abroad.

I would like to thank the following kind people and companies for their encouragement and generosity:

Bob Balchin Signature
President,
English Schools' Orchestra and Choir