Northern Chamber Orchestra (NCO) is a British chamber orchestra based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

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 ...

. Established in 1967, the orchestra gives concerts at The Kings' School,

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

and The Stoller Hall, Manchester as well as a Christmas concert at

Tatton Park Tatton Park is a historic Estate (house), estate in Cheshire, England, north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall; a medieval manor house, Tatton Old Hall; Tatton Park Gardens, a farm and a Deer park (England), deer park o ...

Knutsford Knutsford () is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East district, in Cheshire, England; it is located south-west of Manchester, north-west of Macclesfield and south-east of Warrington. The population of the parish at the 2021 Uni ...

and one-off engagements around the country. They are also currently the resident orchestra for the Buxton Festival.

History

The NCO was founded in 1967, and gave its concerts at The Heritage Centre in Macclesfield. Diana Cummings was leader and soloist of the NCO for 10 years, from 1975 to 1985. From 1985 to 2022, the NCO's musical director and leader was Nicholas Ward. David Ellis served as the NCO's artistic director and composer-in-residence from 1986 until the mid-1990's. In 2022, the NCO announced the relocation of its concerts from The Heritage Centre to The Kings' School. In July 2024, the NCO announced the appointments of Zöe Beyers as its next music director and of Sarah Brandwood-Spencer as its new associate director. The orchestra has recorded commercially for the Naxos label, including works by composers such as

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

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

Georg Philipp Telemann Georg Philipp Telemann (; – 25 June 1767) was a German Baroque composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is one of the most prolific composers in history, at least in terms of surviving works. Telemann was considered by his contemporaries to b ...

References

External links

Official Northern Chamber Orchestra website

Naxos Records page on the Northern Chamber Orchestra

Association of British Orchestras page on the Northern Chamber Orchestra

East Riding of Yorkshire Council, 16 September 2008, information on £3,750 grant from Orchestras Live

Charity Commission for England and Wales page on Northern Chamber Orchestra Limited

Chamber orchestras Orchestras in Manchester Musical groups established in 1967 1967 establishments in England Naxos Records artists {{England-band-stub