The Bristol Ensemble, formerly the Emerald Ensemble, is a professional

chamber orchestra Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, based in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The ensemble has been in existence since 1994, when it was formed as a musicians' collective by

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist Roger Huckle. Their repertoire includes classical, popular, jazz and

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

. The size of the group depends on the programmes being performed and can range from trios to a full complement of 70 or so musicians. They perform standing up (except in orchestral concerts). The Bristol Ensemble tours regularly throughout the

South West of England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

and further afield, with a large number of performances in Bristol at venues including the

Bristol Beacon Bristol Beacon, previously Colston Hall, is a concert hall and Grade II listed building on Colston Street, Bristol, England. It is owned by Bristol City Council. Since 2011, it has been managed by Bristol Music Trust. The hall opened as a con ...

, St Georges, Brandon Hill and

Bristol Cathedral Bristol Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bristol. The cathedral was originally an abbey dedicated to St ...

. The Ensemble give approximately 60 concerts a year and work with soloists. The ensemble regularly accompanies screenings of

silent movies A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. In 2008, as the Emerald Ensemble, they performed at a local nightclub to some acclaim, and in autumn 2009 they performed with William Goodchild and

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

, and also with

Crippled Black Phoenix Crippled Black Phoenix are an English dark rock band, founded by Justin Greaves in 2004. They have released 12 main studio efforts, various EPs and special albums and toured internationally. Besides Greaves, several musicians have contributed t ...

and the solo artist

Joe Volk Joe Volk is an English musician and songwriter from Bristol now based in Bern, Switzerland. He was lyricist and singer with the bands Gonga and Crippled Black Phoenix, and is a solo recording artist. Solo As a solo artist, Volk was first sig ...

under the curation of

Geoff Barrow Geoffrey Paul Barrow (born 9 December 1971) is an English music producer, composer, and DJ. He is a member of the bands Portishead, Beak, and Quakers, and he has scored several films. Portishead was formed in 1991. He named the band after the ...

. The Bristol Ensemble also undertakes

outreach Outreach is the activity of providing services to any population that might not otherwise have access to those services. A key component of outreach is that the group providing it is not stationary, but mobile; in other words, it involves meetin ...

work with schools, colleges and older people. They regularly record for television and film, including much work for the

BBC Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' T ...

and they have produced several

CDs CDS, CDs, Cds, etc. may refer to: Finance * Canadian Depository for Securities, Canadian post-trade financial services company * Certificate of deposit (CDs) * Counterfeit Deterrence System, developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence ...

of their work.

Discography

* ''Live At Colston Hall'' (2015) Roni Size & Reprazent with William Goodchild and The Emerald Ensemble

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Bristol English classical music groups