About

Welcome to Skipton Community Orchestra.

The orchestra was set up in January 2012 to provide an opportunity for people to come along and play music together and hopefully make a reasonable sound!
More than ten years on, we are going from strength to strength…regularly welcoming over 30 musicians to each rehearsal.

We are open to all abilities and all instruments; some people are just learning a musical instrument while others are experienced players who may have not picked up their instruments for a long while…
The emphasis, however, is on having fun – we just want everyone to enjoy the sessions and maybe learn something new along the way.

Our conductor, Jess Mahler, is hugely inspiring, making rehearsals fun and entertaining, while managing to bring out the best in everyone.

Don’t worry if you’re a bit rusty – blow off the dust and cobwebs and come and have a go!

The orchestra meets twice a month in the evening. There is no need to commit to coming to every rehearsal – it is “pay as you play”.

We play a variety of well-known classical pieces as well as music from musicals, TV and films, etc.

 

Rehearsals

Rehearsals are usually held twice a month at Skipton Holy Trinity Church from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

After the summer break, rehearsals will resume on

Tuesday 12th September 2023

Rehearsal dates for this term are as follows:

Sep 12th

Sep 26th

Oct 10th

Oct 24th

Nov 14th

Nov 28th

Dec 5th

 

 

It costs just £4 per rehearsal. Please bring your own refreshments for break time as we will not have use of the kitchen for the time being.

Events

Christmas Concert

Sunday 10th December, 2pm, Holy Trinity Church, Skipton, 

Our annual family-friendly performance of carols and Christmas tunes while Skipton Christmas Market is in full swing.

Wrap up warm as the church heating is not working yet!

FREE ENTRY

 

Music at the Museum

Sunday 11th February 2024, 2pm, Cliffe Castle, Keighley

Another opportunity to hear the orchestra in the beautiful surroundings of Cliffe Castle in Keighley as part of their Music at the Museum season.

FREE ENTRY

 

 

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We have performed at a range of local venues and events over the years, including Grassington Dickensian Festival, Grassington Festival in the Square, Buckden Gala, Celebrate Craven, Skipton Library, Christ Church School, Holy Trinity Church, Cliffe Castle, Keighley, Aireville Park Community Picnic.

We never charge for our performances as we strongly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to listen to live, orchestral music. Our performances are very informal and are particularly suitable for young children, often with percussion instruments to join in with and an opportunity to try out instruments afterwards.

If you would like us to play at a community event, please do get in touch. We usually need a few months’ notice to make sure that sufficient players are available and to give us some time to practise!

News

Covid-19

Like all music ensembles up and down the country, Skipton Community Orchestra was put on hold for a while during 2020 and 2021. Thankfully, as restrictions eased, rehearsals resumed in September 2021 and we are so pleased to see so many faces, old and new, turning up on a Tuesday evening at Holy Trinity Church. …