Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra

Welcome to the APO Home Page

Some of the celli and brass during January 2006 concert

The Aldworth Philharmonic is an amateur orchestra based in Reading, Berkshire. We present four concerts each year. This isn't unusual, but we do think that we are a little different from other orchestras. We foster 'Classic Innovation in Reading'!

Classic - the obvious bit. We play classical music! Not just the relaxing bits you always hear, but a wide range of styles from a variety of periods and composers. The most important thing about the music we perform is that we love it. Many of our audience members have commented that they can hear and see the passion in our playing - something that makes for memorable performances.

Innovation - we're an amateur orchestra, made up of players from the local community. That's not unusual, but we like to do things differently and we're keen to dispel the stuffy, snobby image of classical music along the way:

We've kept ticket prices as low as possible and given generous concessions, where appropriate. Then, of course, there's our famous Concert Virgin Scheme, which offers free tickets to anyone who's never heard a live orchestra . This season sees our latest innovation, the Audience BOSS (Bums on Seats Supporters) scheme.
We only rehearse for two weekends (22 hours in total), before each concert, to allow local musicians who can't make weekly rehearsals the chance to play. This means many more young people at the beginning of busy non-musical professional careers get the chance to play.
We've held a day of workshops and concerts for primary-school aged children and actively encouraged them and other young people to come to our other concerts through our special family offer. More education projects are planned, in a variety of formats.
Since our second season, we've commissioned at least one new work from a talented young composer every year - vital to widen audiences' musical horizons, develop our skills as musicians and support the talented young composers of tomorrow.

In Reading - we want people to know that we're from Reading, Berkshire! We're named after Richard Aldworth, the founder of Reading Blue Coat School, where we rehearse and perform most of our concerts (rather than the beautiful West Berkshire village famous for its giants!).

If you'd like more information about the Aldworth Philharmonic, either as a player, an audience member, a composer, or someone interested in our education work, please click here.

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Site last updated: 22nd June 2008