Violin Orchestra - Summer 2019
The Violin Orchestra runs twice a year (Summer and Christmas), with 4 Saturday rehearsals culminating in a concert in Central London.
Members of the Orchestra also perform in small ensembles, which rehearse directly before the orchestra on Saturday afternoons.
+44 (0) 20 3051 0080
[email protected]
The Friendly Orchestra for Every Age and Experience Level!
Any questions? Get in touch at [email protected] or give us a call anytime on +44 (0) 20 3051 0080!
If you're new to The Violin Orchestra, then before you register, why not come along to the first rehearsal and meet everyone? It's a great chance to get to know us, and to see whether the Violin Orchestra is a good fit for you.
Just turn up to the first rehearsal at 3.20pm (for 3.30pm) on Saturday 15th June - we'll email you venue details once you've registered - click the button below!
We'll be playing through a variety of different pieces of music, and everyone is welcome to come and meet the community and take a sneak preview at the Violin Orchestra repertoire together.
New to the Violin Orchestra? Come and meet us!
So come along to the first session (then if you enjoy it, you can register for the whole project afterwards). Just click here to register, and we'll send you the venue address:
Dear Violinist,
We are delighted to invite you to join the Violin Orchestra in London, a unique orchestra, for every age and level!
Join the ViolinSchool Community... The Violin Orchestra is open to everyone - all ages and experience levels are welcome! With exciting new arrangements of some fantastic music, we can't wait for the Christmas Concert!
There is an ensemble part to suit your technical experience, whether that’s open strings, first position only or advanced. We’re always delighted to welcome music students and pre-professional players too.
As a group, we work to a really high musical level. We pride ourselves on creating compelling performances. We play for a live concert audience here in London, and the final concert is streamed around the world through our online webcast.
Here's one of the pieces we performed in the Summer of 2016 (Sonata in E K380 by Scarlatti)
Requirements
To take part in the Violin Orchestra you’ll need:
- A violin (!)
- For Beginners: Enough experience to play open strings and 1st fingers in 1st position - in time, in tune and with a good sound (we recommend completing Beginner Violin Course A or equivalent - then you'll be ready to join the orchestra!)
- For everyone else: a little bit of practice time each week to consolidate what we do in the rehearsal sessions
- A music stand (not strictly essential!)
- A friendly, can-do approach and a desire to make beautiful music and…
- ...that’s about it!
The idea behind the Violin Orchestra is that you can engage in truly great music making regardless of how much technical experience you have on the violin. Our standards are high, and everyone is welcome.
Repertoire
The sheet music for the project, which is arranged especially for us by David Worswick, will be available to download several weeks before the project begins, so that you can start learning it before the first rehearsal.
We also have MIDI Video Scores for each piece, so that you can listen to and play along with each piece.
UPDATE APRIL 2019:
We are pleased to announce that the 2019 Summer Violin Orchestra repertoire will include:
Hoe-Down by Aaron Copland
The Devil's Trill by Giuseppe Tartini
Radio Ga Ga by Queen
The rest of the programme will be revealed soon!
Dates & Times
We'll be rehearsing every Saturday from 15th June to 6th July, with a concert in WATERLOO on Saturday 13th July.
Each week, we run an Ensembles & Performance Class from 2pm to 3.20pm, where orchestra members can rehearse and practise performing their ensemble (chamber music) pieces.
From 3.30pm to 6pm, the Violin Orchestra rehearses, to prepare the repertoire for the concert (with a big break for tea & biscuits in the middle!). After 6pm, orchestra members can usually be found socialising in a nearby hostelry! :)
Our rehearsal schedule for Summer 2019 is:
- Saturday 15th June - First Rehearsal (venue to be confirmed)
- Saturday 22nd June - (Central London venue to be confirmed)
- Saturday 29th June - (Central London venue to be confirmed)
- Saturday 6th July - Concert Run-Through (4pm-6pm)
ORCHESTRA & ENSEMBLES CONCERT:
Saturday 13th July, 2.30pm
Concert Venue: St John's Church, Waterloo
We'd love to see you at every rehearsal, but if you can't make one or two sessions, that's OK -- don't let this stop you from taking part!
CONCERT DAY - Draft Schedule
TBCpm Get-in
TBCpm Rehearsals & Soundcheck
1pm Setup / End of Rehearsal
2pm Doors
2.30pm Concert
4pm Summer Party @ Venue TBC South Bank
ViolinSchool's mission is to help anyone, anywhere achieve what they want with their violin playing. So, your happiness is our first priority.
That's why every event or course that we present comes with our 100% happiness guarantee.
If you decide that any of our workshops are not right for you, then let us know by the first break of the day and we will refund you in full.
The ViolinSchool Promise
© ViolinSchool 2018 | Terms & Conditions
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 3051 0080 | Email: [email protected]
Mail: 15 Palace Street, London SW1E 5HS
Registration
The Violin Orchestra is run by ViolinSchool as a non-profit community project. We are committed to making participation as affordable as possible for the widest number of people. We will endeavour to make available a limited number of bursaries - please ask us for details.
We are also looking for a sponsor to underwrite the Christmas Concert - so if you or your company would be interested in supporting the Orchestra in this way, please let us know.
Finally, please help us to spread the word about the Violin Orchestra, to encourage participation from as many violinists as possible!
The project fee includes:
- All rehearsals (and biscuits!)
- An Ensembles Session from 2pm to 3.20pm
These sessions, which take place before the orchestra rehearsals, continue the repertoire (chamber music) development from the Saturday ViolinHubs, and give you a chance to play in a small groups with other violinists. It's a great opportunity to build up performance experience, and get constructive feedback and practice tips to help you improve your group playing skills.
- Digital files of all sheet music arrangements
- Online course to help you learn the repertoire in advance of the project
- Concert Participation
Never Knowingly Short Of Biscuits
We take our biscuits seriously at The Violin Orchestra, and there's always a good tea-and-biscuit break in the middle of each afternoon rehearsal! We're partial to a good Jam Cream... what's your favourite? :)
Venues
Rehearsals take place at venues in Central London (Zone 1).
We will confirm rehearsal venues to you by email in advance of each rehearsal, but we usually meet near to SW1 (Westminster / Victoria / Pimlico) or SE1 (Waterloo / South Bank).
Beginners & Young Violinists
Beginners: Never played violin before? Come to one of our Beginner Violin Classes to get started. You can then join the Violin Orchestra and dive straight into the thrilling experience of ensemble playing. If it's your first time playing a musical instrument, we also recommend our Beginner Violin Course A, which will have you playing fluently on the violin in just 10 weeks!
Young Violinists: We look forward to welcoming players aged 7-13 to the Violin Orchestra (younger players may also be able to participate – please ask us for advice).
There may also be chamber music and ensemble opportunities for violinists and violists between the ages of 7 and 16 in our Young Violinists Ensemble – please email [email protected] for details! Also, check out our new Children's Violin Course!
Register now for full access to all scores, parts and videos as soon as they become available!