The Academy of St Olave's is an English

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations *Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics *Debate chamber, the space or room that houses deliber ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

that plays in the beautiful setting of St Olave's Church, York, England. The Academy performs three concerts each year. Players are invited from a large pool of instrumentalists, according to the forces required. The orchestra's repertoire ranges from music of the seventeenth century to that of the present day; from Corelli and

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...

through

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

and

Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), '' The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Son ...

. Members also play for occasional church services at St Olave’s. For many years members of the orchestra have taken part in the requiem service for Remembrance Sunday ( Fauré, Duruflé and

in recent years). The Academy was founded in 1978 by Charles Macdonald, Organist and Director of Music at St. Olave's Church, in conjunction with local headmaster-violinist, Robin Gilbert. The reason was to raise money for essential work to be done on the very fine organ at the church. The first concert was given on 8 January 1978 and was preceded by an article in the York newspaper, ''

The Press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...

''. By the time funds had been raised the Academy of St Olave's was sufficiently well established in the musical calendar of

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

for it to continue to give concerts. After Charles Macdonald moved from York in the early 1980s his successor, Chris Liddle continued with the orchestra, occasionally adding wind players as and when needed, a practice which further developed when Andrew Wright became Musical Director. By the time John Hastie was appointed Musical Director in 1997 the Academy had become a chamber orchestra and it adopted the policy of playing for the Solemn Requiem Mass on Remembrance Sunday at St Olave's Church, offering the

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

settings by

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

and

Maurice Duruflé Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He became a chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School fr ...

on alternate years. The current director of the Academy is the celebrated

Fitzwilliam Quartet The Fitzwilliam Quartet (FSQ) is a British string quartet. The group was founded in 1968 by four Cambridge undergraduates. There have been a number of changes in personnel over the years, but Alan George from the original quartet is still a membe ...

viola player, Alan George. The Academy of St Olave's orchestra does not rehearse on a weekly basis - rehearsals are scheduled over a 2-week period prior to each concert. Players are invited from a large pool of instrumentalists, according to the forces required. Players in the Academy come from a wide range of backgrounds including teachers, gifted amateurs, students, talented school children and professional players. The minimum standard is Grade VIII and players are expected to have a high level of commitment and enthusiasm.

References

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External links

Academy of St. Olave's Orchestra Home Page

St. Olave's Church Home Page

Fitzwilliam String Quartet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Of St Olave's Chamber orchestras Musical groups established in 1978 Classical music in the United Kingdom English orchestras Organisations based in York British instrumental musical groups Music in York 1978 establishments in the United Kingdom