If you play an instrument and want to join the orchestra, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email or fill in the form below – make sure you let us know what instrument you play. We don’t hold auditions but expect a high standard of playing and commitment from players; a rough guide would be a minimum of Trinity/ABRSM Grade 8 for wind/brass and Grade 7 standard or orchestral experience for strings. There are serious professionals and enthusiastic amateurs within the orchestra so our playing standard is high.
We rehearse for 6 weeks before each of our concerts on Sunday evenings in a central London venue. We know that sometimes life gets in the way, but expect a minimum attendance of 4 rehearsals per concert. We charge a per-concert subscription fee (first concert is free) which is priced at a very reasonable £35; discounts are available for students and those on a low income too.
We cannot guarantee places for all players, especially wind players, as some of the sections are full, but we’ll happily add you to our database and keep you in touch with what’s going on. There are also often additional performances outside of our standard concert season, so we like to keep a healthy deps list in case we have seats to fill. In addition we can put you in touch with our sister organisations, the London Gay Symphonic Winds and London Gay Big Band.
Socially, players often head to the pub after rehearsals, but we also try to organise several social events throughout the year for players to get involved with. For many, the social side of the orchestra is one of the most important aspects, along with the great playing of course!
Each year we hold concerto auditions for players from both within the orchestra and from outside. You can find out more about auditioning by emailing the orchestra.