The Newbury String Players was an English

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

founded in 1940 by the composer

Gerald Finzi Gerald Raphael Finzi (14 July 1901 – 27 September 1956) was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a choral composer, but also wrote in other genres. Large-scale compositions by Finzi include the cantata '' Dies natalis'' for solo voice an ...

, to give concerts at a period, during the Second World War, when there was little live music. The members were mostly amateur players, with a few professional players.

History

From 1939 Finzi lived in

Ashmansworth Ashmansworth is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of the English county of Hampshire. Geography The village is about south west of Newbury in Berkshire, and north east from Andover in Hampshire, just south ...

, a few miles from Newbury."Gerald Finzi – Composer"

Aldbourne Heritage Centre Aldbourne Heritage Centre is a local museum in North-East List of museums in Wiltshire, Wiltshire, England, next to The Crown Inn in the centre of Aldbourne. History It opened in August 2014, presenting objects and displays which provide insig ...

. Retrieved 24 May 2019. He conducted the orchestra from its founding, returning regularly for rehearsals or concert after he was called up. It received an annual grant from the Arts Council."Newbury String Players"

Finzi Trust The Finzi Trust was founded in 1969 and seeks to further the music, ideals and work of Gerald Finzi. It has assisted individuals and organisations in a variety of ways and has initiated many projects reflecting the Trust's policy of encouraging yo ...

. Retrieved 24 May 2019. The first concert was at the church in

Enborne Enborne is a village and civil parish, in West Berkshire, England that bounds to the east, across a road from Newbury. The River Enborne shares its name, although it does not run through the village; rather, it runs through and rises near the n ...

, Berkshire, and the orchestra continued to play in churches, halls and schools in the south of England. Finzi, selecting the music for concerts, included his own music, and neglected compositions of

Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in ps ...

and of 18th-century composers

William Boyce William Boyce may refer to: *William Boyce (composer) (1711–1779), English-born composer and Master of the King's Musick *William Binnington Boyce (1804–1889), English-born philologist and clergyman, active in Australia * William Waters Boyce ( ...

and

Richard Mudge Richard Mudge (born 1718 in Bideford; died April 1763 in Bedworth) was an English clergyman and composer of the late baroque period. Life Born in Bideford, Richard Mudge was the son of the teacher and cleric Zachariah Mudge (1694–1769), a ...

. A notable concert was a performance of Finzi's '' Dies Natalis'' with tenor Wilfred Brown. After Finzi's death in 1956 the orchestra was conducted by his son

Christopher Finzi Christopher "Kiffer" Finzi (12 July 1934 — 28 November 2019) was a British orchestral conductor. He was the son of composer Gerald Finzi and artist Joyce Black (known as Joy Finzi). Background Born in Hampstead, London in 1934, Finzi was the ...

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

, wrote to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' about Finzi after his death, "Finzi had a great sense of the social responsibilities of the artist. This led him, during the war, to found the Newbury String Players..." who "have continued ever since to bring good music to the small villages of the neighbourhood which otherwise would have been without any such artistic experience.""Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the editor of ''The Times''"
''The Times'', 3 October 1956. The Letters of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Retrieved 21 May 2019.

References

{{authority control String orchestras English orchestras Disbanded orchestras 1940 establishments in England