Weston Youth Orchestra
Weston Youth Orchestra was founded in 1958 by C.A. Griggs, the local Youth Co-ordinator, and Edward Lamb, a local violinist and violin teacher and operated until 2019. Edward Lamb was the first conductor of the orchestra and Dennis Cole was the first leader. On Edward Lambs retirement, Dennis took over as conductor of the orchestra. In the 1960s, a junior orchestra was formed to cater for the varied range of ages and abilities.
Over the past 60 years, the orchestra enjoyed tours to various European countries, including France, Germany, Poland and Sweden. Joint concerts have also been held with other ensembles, including Brass Bands, Folk Bands and African Choirs.
In 2009 Dennis Cole was awarded an MBE for his work with the orchestra and other local groups. Diane Parfitt took over as conductor of the Senior orchestra in 2017, with Dennis remaining the Orchestra’s Director. In 2019 the two orchestras were merged to cater to the current level of membership.
Sadly the orchestra ceased due to Covid-19, and did not restart due to the number of children learning classical instruments in the area.
Alumni
The orchestra had many prestigious alumni, including:
Nigel Hess
Nigel was a member of the Weston Youth Orchestra from 1968-1972 as a regular orchestra member, a soloist (Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 1) and also composing pieces for the orchestra. Nigel went on to study music at Cambridge, becoming Musical Director of the Footlights Revue, before embarking on an extremely busy and successful career as an award winning musical director and composer for TV, film and theatre.
Some of the TV themes you may know include Vanity Fair, Maigret, Dangerfield, Ballykissangel, Wycliffe, New Tricks and Hetty Waithrop Investigates. Nigel’s best-known film score is Ladies in Lavendar which was nominate for a Classical Brit Award.
Nigel was also house composer for the Royal Shakespeare Company and contributed scores for twenty productions, including the Tony Award winning Broadway production of Much Ado About Nothing and Cyrano de Bergerac.
Peter Harrison
Pete was a member of the orchestra in the 1980s. He studied at the Royal College of Music and after graduating went on to follow a busy career as a performer and conductor.
Pete has played extensively in West End productions and is a regular guest conductor with many orchestras including Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Concert Orchestra & Manchester Concert Orchestra (for Raymond Gubbay Ltd.) and the Russian State Symphony Orchestra (Novaya Rossiya).
Education has also been a large part of Pete’s musical career and he currently teaches at the Royal Academy of Music Junior Department and Wells Cathedral School as well as tutoring for the National Youth Wind Orchestra of Wales.
Anne Stephenson
Anne played violin in Weston Youth Orchestra in the 1970s and went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. She has since performed with Paul Weller and toured the world as a part of her 3 years as a member of The Communards. Having also performed with Suede, The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Madonna, the Manic Street Preachers and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Anne is truly in demand as a violinist.
Frances Dewar
Frances Dewar played violin in the Weston Youth Orchestra in the 1980s and went on to study violin at the Royal College of Music, where she won all the chamber music prizes and gave a recital with her quartet on Classic FM. She completed her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music, gaining a distinction in her postgraduate diploma. She gave concerto performances throughout the UK and in France, Germany and Poland, and was a violinist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Martha McLorinan
Martha McLorinan, a previous leader of the Weston Youth Orchestra, trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where she held a scholarship with the BBC National Chorus of Wales, won the Margaret Tann Williams Prize, and graduated with first class honours. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the judges’ discretionary prize at the Thelma King Award and the ensemble prize at the Royal Over-Seas League.
Martha has toured extensively as both a soloist and as a member of Tenebrae, who have been described as “Phenominal” (The Times) and “Devastatingly Beautiful” (Gramaphone Magazine) and Martha was the mezzo-soprano soloist in Tenbrae’s recording of Judith Bingham’s “The Drowned Lovers” (Music of the Spheres, Tenebrae/Nigel Short), which was nominated for a Grammy.
Danny Farrant
Danny played percussion in the Weston Youth Orchestra from around 1997 to 2003. Since 2006, Danny has been the drummer for the legendary punk band Buzzcocks and had previously been associated with other bands such as Spear Of Destiny, Theatre of Had, Bad Manners and The Alarm.
Danny also composes and some of his work includes Louis Theroux’s Bafta nominated “Dark States” documentary and the Emmy and Bafta nominated documentary “White Right, Meeting The Enemy”.
What Orchestra Members And Their Parents Say...
Chloe joined the Weston Youth Orchestra when she was eight years old. As well as the social side she has developed her love of music through playing a varied orchestral repertoire which has done wonders for her sight reading skills. She has also on many occasions been able to develop her solo playing during concerts.
Fantastic, friendly and fun.
Makes you feel welcome and is a great way to enjoy playing your instrument with other like-minded children.
WYO has given our son amazing musical opportunities over the years – thank you.
Being a member of WYO has improved my playing considerably, especially my sight-reading, and I have made friends that will last a lifetime!