Northern Sinfonia Orchestra

Northern Sinfonia is a British orchestra, based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history, the orchestra gave the bulk of its concerts at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne.[1] Since 2004, the orchestra has been resident at The Sage Gateshead. Northern Sinfonia Chorus is affiliated with the orchestra. Michael Hall founded the ensemble in 1958 as the first permanent chamber orchestra in Britain. The ensemble gave its first concert on 24 September 1958 as the 'Sinfonia Orchestra', at the City Hall, Newcastle upon Tyne, and gave 6 concerts in its first season, 1958-1959.[2] Hall acted as the organisation's single leader, in effect as "general manager, secretary, artistic director, conductor, and fund-raiser",[3] though without a formal title. The word "Northern" was added to the orchestra's name in 1959.[4] The orchestra became an established institution in 1959, with Humphrey Noble chosen as the first chairman of the ensemble's management committee.[5] Hall resigned from the orchestra in 1964, but returned as a guest conductor in subsequent years. After Hall's departure, Rudolf Schwarz and Boris Brott took over musical leadership of the ensemble in parallel, with Schwarz being the first titled artistic director of the ensemble. Keith Statham served as the orchestra's general manager from 1966 to 1974. PLAYERS The late James Joseph was the first principal clarinet of the Orchestra. He was a brilliant player with a most beautiful tone. He had been a pupil of the great Frederick (Jack) Thurston at the Royal College of Music. Colin Parr and George McDonald played next to him in the early days under Michael Hall's baton. George McDonald went on to be first clarinet when Mr Joseph left. YOUTH ORCHESTRA Michael Hall also founded the Youth Orchestra called The Junior Philharmonic which was tutored by players from the orchestra The current music director of the Northern Sinfonia is Thomas Zehetmair, who was named to the post in November 2001, starting with the 2002-2003 season, for an initial contract of 3 years and 6 weeks of concerts each season.[6][7] In August 2005, he extended his contract for another 3 years through 2008.[8][9] He continues as the orchestra's Music Director as of the 2012/13 season. Northern Sinfonia is now one of Europe’s most exciting orchestras. Under its Music Director Thomas Zehetmair Northern Sinfonia’s repertoire covers the full range of Western classical music from early baroque, through the classical and romantic periods, to specially commissioned new work. Programming Northern Sinfonia is noted for its dynamic approach to programmes and performances, ranging from small-scale ensembles in intimate locations to the full orchestra in the major concert halls of Europe including The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, The Philharmonie in Berlin and the Musikverein in Vienna. Out and About Touring forms an integral part of Northern Sinfonia’s work. From its home at The Sage Gateshead it continues to perform across the North of England and fly the region’s flag throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. Recent touring included a residency at the Hong Kong Festival with Northern Sinfonia Chorus, and a European tour with Ian Bostridge. Classic FM Partnership Northern Sinfonia is Classic FM’s orchestra in the North East, its Classic FM Concert Series of eight concerts includes many of the masterworks that appear regularly on the radio station with a special leaning towards those that appear in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, the world’s biggest annual survey of classical music tastes. Guest Artists Northern Sinfonia works with Music Director, Thomas Zehetmair, Principal Conductors Simon Halsey, John Wilson and Mario Venzago and distinguished visiting musicians including Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Franz Bruggen, Imogen Cooper, Thierry Fischer, Lesley Garrett, Evelyn Glennie, Heinz Holliger, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Heinrich Schiff. Projects away from the classical mainstream include working with the Pet Shop Boys at a shipyard in North East England, a concert with Sting performing brand new orchestrations of his hits, and being invited by harpist and singer Joanna Newsom to join her UK tour launching her critically acclaimed album Ys. “I used to watch Northern Sinfonia as a kid at City Hall. I can’t believe I’m standing up here in front of them singing, it’s beyond fantasy.“ Sting Recordings Recordings and broadcasts form an integral part of the orchestra’s work. The most recent recording is ‘Christmas at The Sage Gateshead: Rejoice!’ Northern Sinfonia, the Chorus and the Quay Choirs along with Simon Halsey were recorded live at The Sage Gateshead during their annual Christmas concert. Previous releases have also won critical acclaim, including: “Thomas Zehetmair directs the concerto from the violin; he brings the work alive marvellously.” four stars in The Guardian for a new recording of Symphonies 3 & 6 by Sibelius and Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto; and “(Zehetmair and) Northern Sinfonia’s interpretation achieves a level of intimacy between soloist and orchestra that is almost unrivalled elsewhere.” BBC Music Magazine CD of the Month July 2007 for the Brahms Violin Concerto and Schumann Symphony no. 4. Anniversaries and Birthdays Northern Sinfonia celebrated its 50th Anniversary Season in 2008/09, which opened with Northern Sinfonia and Music Director Thomas Zehetmair performing a complete cycle of Beethoven’s nine symphonies over five concerts in chronological order to critical acclaim. The orchestra celebrated the 5th Birthday of its Norman Foster-designed home, The Sage Gateshead, in December 2009