Tributes
Patrons
“The landmark of your 100th concert is an achievement worthy of recognition and it promises to be an exciting evening. It only remains for me to congratulate you on reaching this momentous milestone and look forward to watching further progress and continuing success over the coming years.”
HRH The Duke of Gloucester
“The Orpheus Foundation deserves all the support we can give it. As a charity it is immensely deserving, as a musical enterprise it is utterly inspiring and as a mission it is absolutely unique.”
Dame Judi Dench, CH DBE
Patron, Orpheus Foundation
“I believe that Orpheus for Schools is one of our most important projects. Why? Because it enables us to stimulate the imaginations of the young – the conductors, soloists and orchestral players of tomorrow.”
Dame
Judi Dench, CH DBE
Patron, Orpheus Foundation
“It is so important that those of us working in the classical music industry support young people as they enter it - that’s one of the reasons why I am proud to be President of the Friends. The Orpheus Foundation is a wonderful organisation and I was particularly delighted to be with them as they celebrated their 100th gig!”
Aled Jones
President, Friends of the Orpheus Foundation
"For someone as musically inept as me, to see these very gifted young people playing together is a joy. I am delighted to support this very worthwhile charity, which I cannot recommend too highly."
Geoffrey Palmer, OBE
Vice-Patron, Orpheus Foundation
Supporters
"The Leander Group is committed to the development of vast potential. We are therefore delighted to support the Orpheus Foundation"
Andrew
Braddon
Chairman, The Leander Group
“At St George's Hanover Square we have always valued our fine musical heritage since the days Handel had his own pew, and we are proud to support young musicians as did the famous composer by his own extraordinary charitable endeavours. St George's is delighted to be the home of the Orpheus Sinfonia and we look forward to continuing our very happy association in the future.”
Reverend Roderick Leece
Rector, St George’s Hanover Square
“Running late for the concert? Find out more about the unique Avis 3 minute promise. As the UK's premier car rental provider, Avis is delighted to support the hugely talented musicians of the Orpheus Foundation."
Jeremy Fletcher
Head of Central Operations, Avis UK
“L. G. Wilkinson has looked after numerous musicians ranging from Igor Stravinsky to Sir Simon Rattle. We first supported St. George's Hanover Square with its musical endeavours in the 1960's. As the Bespoke Tailor to musicians & artists, we wish Orpheus Foundation every success.”
David Wilkinson
L. G. Wilkinson
Artists
“The Orpheus Foundation has provided me with a platform to find myself as a musician.”
Andrew Gourlay
Conductor
“I believe that the Orpheus Foundation is going to be one
of the most exciting and influential musical organisations in London. The Orpheus
Sinfonia, consisting of the finest music students of the Royal Academy and
Royal College of Music, Guildhall and Trinity, is is already producing notable
performances.”
Achim Holub
Conductor
“The Orpheus Foundation’s 100th Concert at the Cadogan Hall was given in September 2009 to a capacity audience of eight hundred people. We had over one hundred orchestral players on the stage - the biggest orchestra that I have ever conducted! Working with the orchestra was a dream – such fantastic players, so full of energy, imagination and panache. It was an evening I’ll never forget.
Toby Purser
Conductor
“Since working with the Orpheus Sinfonia in November 2008, I have been training at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on their Jette Parker Programme. This has led to engagements with the Royal Ballet and the Opéra National de Lyon, as well as an appointment as Principal Conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of Kings College London. I’m grateful to the Orpheus Sinfonia for my early work with them and am looking forward to more collaborations in the future.”
Dominic Grier
Conductor
“The Elgar Cello Concerto has been in my repertoire for many years. Of course, I worked at it for months, eagerly awaiting my first performance. What better way to reach this milestone than at a concert in the British countryside. The beauty of the surrounding landscape was inspiring, as was playing it in Elgar’s own country.”
Aleksei Kiseliov
Solo Cello
“The Orpheus Foundation has built an incredible audience support-base as well as a loyal network of high-calibre musicians. By making music in an exquisite and intimate setting in the heart of London, and by offering opportunities to young artists, the Orpheus Foundation has become an invaluable and unique component of London’s rich cultural life.”
Tamsin Waley-Cohen
Solo Violin
“The Orpheus Foundation provides a valuable platform for young soloists to perform in excellent venues with fine acoustics and among the first-class talent and refined professionalism of the players of the Orpheus Sinfonia. I always enjoy playing with them enormously.”
Valeriy Sokolov
Solo Violin
“The Orpheus Foundation is a real success story...”
Thomas Gould
Solo Violin
“As well as being a brilliant experience and one where we were able to encounter the challenges of playing out-of-doors, the Radley Farm concert was without a doubt one of the highlights of my year. It would definitely rank among my top three gigs ever!”
Lewis Rollands
Tenor Trombone
“Performing ‘The Planets’ with the Orpheus Sinfonia at the Cadogan Hall was quite possibly the most exciting concert experience of my life! Playing with such huge forces - in an orchestra of over one hundred players - was revelatory, challenging and just fantastic.”
Jamie Roberts
Viola
“Playing with the Orpheus Sinfonia is an exciting, fun and enriching experience. It’s wonderful working with such a dynamic ensemble and for me it has become a stepping-stone into the music profession.”
Davina Clarke
Violin
“As a horn-player I am always looking to gain as much orchestral experience in principal position as possible. Playing principal horn in epic works such as ‘The Planets’ and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 2, has been fantastic for me – it’s led to invitations for professional engagements as well.”
Sam Pearce
Horn
“It was wonderful to finally play the Mendelssohn D minor Piano Trio in recital, after having prepared it so intensely in college.”
Ben Norris
Violin
Critics
“The performance from this young orchestra displayed a high level of
artistic commitment and dedicated musicianship, which thrilled the large audience
who came to hear them. This achievement is all the more significant in a city
where there is already a great deal of very fine music-making; that they have
made their mark in such a short while is therefore all the more noteworthy.”
Barry Wordsworth
Music Director of the Royal Ballet
“This was just the most exquisite sound imaginable...the hairs on the back of my neck were standing to attention throughout. Fantastic!”
Seen and Heard International
“I hugely enjoyed the first performance of Piers Tattersall’s ‘Abide Christina’. This was a beautifully made little work which managed that very special trick of being both accessible to its listeners and of real musical substance. It struck me as a little gem of a piece, made with finesse and considerable sensitivity to sound and instrumental colour – a delicately wrought little poem in sound …”
William Mival
Head of Composition, The Royal College of Music
Friends/Benefactors
“Being a member of the Friends enables me to delight in listening to a varied range of music beautifully played in an intimate location. Combined with this is a warm feeling from supporting talented young people at an early stage in their careers “
Nick Barton
Orpheus Chair Benefactor (Supporting the Principal Cello Chair)
“I have found it a joy to be able to listen to young, enthusiastic musicians, full of energy and professionalism. Listening to music in the beautiful surroundings at St George's, in the knowledge that we are supporting the development of promising young artists gives me great pleasure. I am very glad that I got to know about the concert series very early on and am a keen supporter of the Orpheus Foundation.”
Roger Tarling
Gold Friend
“After attending a few concerts about 18 months ago, I
became a Friend of the Orpheus Foundation because of the high quality of the
music performed. On one level, it is a pleasure to enjoy classical music in
such a historic and pleasing setting. But over the months I also have been
highly impressed with the excellent quality of the musicians, the programmes
and the general organisation of the series. In fact, it came as a bit of a
surprise to me that many of the musicians were students (although obviously
they are young) because their level of technical and musical ability is so
high. It is good to know that they are gaining experience by playing in the
series, because as a member of the audience I feel I am also gaining a great
deal.”
Marshall Crawford
Gold Friend
“Jones Lang LaSalle is a dedicated contributor to the cultural values of corporate social responsibility, which is one of our strategic priorities. As part of our commitment to be good corporate citizens in the community we aim to recognise potential and enable it to reach success. That’s why we are delighted to support the Orpheus Foundation, which provides brilliant young musicians the opportunity to develop and flourish.”
Andrew Hynard
Gold Friend, Jones Lang LaSalle, England
Members of the Board
“As Head of the Regent Street Portfolio at the Crown Estate, I am focused on innovation, development, and looking to the future. Combining these with my passion for music and the opportunity to help promising young musicians makes me proud to be Chairman of the Orpheus Foundation.”
David Shaw
Chairman, Orpheus Foundation
“My family always feels extremely pleased to support the Orpheus Sinfonia. The project at Radley Farm is a memorable and a rewarding experience – exciting to produce, thrilling to watch and wonderful to host.”
Trevor Gore
Trustee and Director, Orpheus Foundation
“To be part of the bridge that enables young talented musicians to move from education and training into the world of performance, achievement and recognition is a privilege. To see them perform together at such a high standard is pure pleasure.”
Robert Drummond
Honorary Treasurer, Orpheus Foundation
“The Orpheus Sinfonia - made up of young, dynamic and enthusiastic players - gives stunning concerts to a loyal and passionate audience of Friends and others who come to hear them play. The experience is intimate, lively and, on occasions, totally overwhelming. Become a Friend to support this marvellous enterprise. You even get to meet some of the young artists at special Friends’ Events!”
Sara Turnbull
Director, Orpheus Foundation
“The London music industry is arguably the greatest in the world. Extraordinarily talented young musicians strive to come here to train at one of our four leading conservatoires, where refined discipline historically sits alongside musical innovation. A city such as this needs to do everything it can to support its finest artists and to provide an environment in which they have every chance to fulfil the potential they have to offer – that’s why we founded the Orpheus Foundation.”
Marc Corbett-Weaver
Co-Founder
Orpheus Foundation
