About

Welcome to Skipton Community Orchestra.

The orchestra was set up in January 2012 to provide an opportunity for people to come along and play music together and hopefully make a reasonable sound!
More than ten years on, we are going from strength to strength…regularly welcoming over 30 musicians to each rehearsal.

We are open to all abilities and all instruments; some people are just learning a musical instrument while others are experienced players who may have not picked up their instruments for a long while…
The emphasis, however, is on having fun – we just want everyone to enjoy the sessions and maybe learn something new along the way.

Our conductor, Jess Mahler, is hugely inspiring, making rehearsals fun and entertaining, while managing to bring out the best in everyone.

Don’t worry if you’re a bit rusty – blow off the dust and cobwebs and come and have a go!

The orchestra meets twice a month in the evening. There is no need to commit to coming to every rehearsal – it is “pay as you play”.

We play a variety of well-known classical pieces as well as music from musicals, TV and films, etc.

Our post-Covid concerts have been ‘Sounds of the Movies’, ‘Sounds of the Isles’, featuring music from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and most recently, ‘Sounds of Rock and Pop’. Up next is ‘Sounds of the Animals’ – including Carnival of the Animals, Peter and the Wolf, Swan Lake, Lion King, Sheep May Safely Graze and much more!

 

Rehearsals

Rehearsals are usually held twice a month at Skipton Holy Trinity Church from 7.30pm to 9.30pm, apart from during July/August when we have a summer break.

Rehearsal dates from September 2024:

Tuesday 10th September

Tuesday 24th September

Tuesday 8th October

Tuesday 22nd October

Tuesday 12th November

Tuesday 26th November

Tuesday 3rd December

It costs just £4 per rehearsal. Please bring your own refreshments for break time.

Events

Christmas Concert 2024

Save the date: Sunday 8th December, 2pm, Holy Trinity Church, Skipton

We have performed at a range of local venues and events over the years, including Grassington Dickensian Festival, Grassington Festival in the Square, Buckden Gala, Celebrate Craven, Skipton Library, Christ Church School, Holy Trinity Church, Cliffe Castle Keighley, Aireville Park Community Picnic.

We never charge for our performances as we strongly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to listen to live, orchestral music. Our performances are very informal and are particularly suitable for young children, often with percussion instruments to join in with and an opportunity to try out instruments afterwards.

If you would like us to play at a community event, please do get in touch. We usually need a few months’ notice to make sure that sufficient players are available and to give us some time to practise!

News

Covid-19

Like all music ensembles up and down the country, Skipton Community Orchestra was put on hold for a while during 2020 and 2021. Thankfully, as restrictions eased, rehearsals resumed in September 2021 and we are so pleased to see so many faces, old and new, turning up on a Tuesday evening at Holy Trinity Church. …