Wolsey Orchestra - Member Organisations

Wolsey Orchestra, a non-profit making charity, was founded in 1972 as a chamber orchestra. Committed to promoting concerts of the highest musical standards, it is now a full symphony orchestra in the forefront of orchestral music in Suffolk. The tradition of imaginative programming brings both new commissions and large-scale landmark works to Suffolk audiences. Working solely with professional conductors, and offering a concerto platform to locally born musicians, Wolsey Orchestra is one of the finest amateur orchestras in East Anglia.

The orchestra gives three concerts per season, two in Ipswich Corn Exchange and one in The Apex, Bury St Edmunds, each preceded by two intensive rehearsal Sundays. Professional conductors are invited to work on specific programmes, the orchestra having no ‘resident’ or regular conductor. The orchestra is managed by a small, dedicated committee, elected annually by and from its playing membership. Many of its players are also members of other local and regional orchestral societies which meet weekly, but who are drawn to the challenge of focused working on attractive programmes over a short timescale, at which the Wolsey Orchestra excels.