Yorkshire orchestra to launch in May

A new professional chamber orchestra for Yorkshire is set to launch at a gala opening concert on 8 May. Cuore will present its inaugural concert at Harrogate’s Royal Hall with the aim of providing an annual season of orchestral concerts in Harrogate and throughout the Yorkshire region.

The ensemble will include musicians currently working in orchestras across the UK, including the Royal Northern Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Opera North, the Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia, led by inaugural artistic advisors conductor Barry Wordsworth and composer and journalist Lord Michael Berkeley. The orchestra has been brought together by founder and conductor William Dutton who is a former winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year and of the strings category of the BBC Young Musician of the Year.

Dutton said: ‘Yorkshire has a rich and diverse musical output, but none of the major cities have a professional chamber orchestra. I hope that Cuore will fill that space with fresh and dynamic concert experiences. I am delighted to be returning to the Royal Hall, where I sang as a soloist in front of the then Prince of Wales at its grand re-opening in 2008.’

The name ‘Cuore’, meaning core, heart and soul in Italian, reflects the orchestra’s aim of ‘putting music at the core of the community, be part of the soul of the culture, and speak directly to people’s hearts’. As well as giving concerts, Cuore hopes to run a series of workshops and special concerts for young people.

The opening concert will represent Cuore’s choice to focus on the best of British music, featuring works by Holst, Berkeley and Elgar introduced by actor and Cuore ambassador Freddie Fox, whose great great grandfather Samson Fox, was one of the founders of the Royal Hall in 1903. The concert will also showcase the work of the orchestra’s Yorkshire-based partners with conductor William Dutton wearing a bespoke suit made by tailors Carl Stuart, a podium built by carpenter Graham Sunter and sparkling wine from Dunesforde Vineyard.

Future concerts will showcase music by British composers including Ethyl Smyth, Elisabetta Brusa and Grace Williams.