Sinfonia Viva is a British orchestra based in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, England. It gives concerts in a number of cities and venues, including the following: *

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

( Meridian Park) *

(Cathedral, and the annual open-air concert in

Darley Park Darley Park is an urban park on the banks of the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent, just north of Derby City Centre, England, United Kingdom. It has a total area of 80 acres and forms the largest part of the Darley Open Spaces. The park is ...

) *

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

(The Courtyard) *

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent () or Newark is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

(Palace Theatre) *

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

(Royal Concert Hall) *

Pakefield Pakefield is a suburb of the town of Lowestoft, in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is located around south of the centre of the town. It 2011 the ward had a population of 6,563. Pakefield has boundaries with Carlton Colvill ...

* Stamford (Stamford Arts Centre)

History

Malcolm Nabarro founded the orchestra in 1982 as the ''East of England Orchestra'' in

, and served as its first artistic director through 1995. Peter Helps then became chief executive of the orchestra in 1995. In that year, the orchestra moved its residence from Nottingham to Derby, specifically to the Beaufort Business Centre. In 1996, Nicholas Kok became principal conductor of the orchestra. The orchestra changed its name to ''Sinfonia Viva'' in 2000. Kok stood down as Sinfonia Viva's principal conductor in 2006, and then became the orchestra's principal guest conductor.

André de Ridder André de Ridder (born 1971) is a German conductor. Biography Born into a musical family, de Ridder studied conducting with Leopold Hager at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna and with Sir Colin Metters at the Royal Academy of Mu ...

became principal conductor of sinfonia Viva in 2007, with an initial contract of 3 years. In September 2010, the orchestra extended his contract through 2012. de Ridder concluded his tenure with sinfonia Viva after the 2011–2012 season. In September 2014, Sinfonia Viva announced the appointment of

Duncan Ward Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (disam ...

as its next principal conductor, effective in January 2015, for an initial contract of 2 years. Ward concluded his tenure on 29 November 2017. In January 2018, the orchestra announced the appointment of Frank Zielhorst as its new principal conductor, with immediate effect. The orchestra appointed its first resident composer,

Anna Meredith Anna Howard Meredith (born 12 January 1978) is a Scottish composer and performer of electronic and acoustic music. She is a former composer-in-residence with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and former PRS/RPS Composer in the House with S ...

, as part of the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

's 'Composer in the House' scheme, in December 2009. She formally began her work with Sinfonia Viva in January 2010, and continued in the post through 2012. Peter Helps retired as chief executive in 2021. In October 2021, the orchestra announced the appointment of Lucy Galliard as its next chief executive, effective January 2022. Outside of conventional classical music, Sinfonia Viva made its first London appearance in May 2009 at King's Place, as part of the "East Meets West Festival", in collaboration with the Indian violinist

Kala Ramnath Kala Ramnath is an Indian classical violinist. She belongs to the Mewati gharana, a lineage of musicians. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskaar in 2016, Rashtriya Kumar Gandharva Sanman in 2008 and the Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraskar ...

. The orchestra has also worked with the group

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

on their 2010 album ''

Plastic Beach ''Plastic Beach'' is the third studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 3 March 2010 by Parlophone internationally and by Virgin Records in the United States. ''Plastic Beach'' evolved from an unfinished project entitled ' ...

''.

Principal conductors

* Malcolm Nabarro (1982–1995) (Artistic Director, East of England Orchestra) * Nicholas Kok (1996–2006) * André de Ridder (2007–2012) * Duncan Ward (2015–2017) * Frank Zielhorst (2018–present)

References

External links

Official Sinfonia Viva home page
{{authority control English orchestras Musical groups from Derby Musical groups established in 1982 1982 establishments in England Culture in Derby