Our history

Founded as The Derby Light Orchestra in 1949 by Allan Street (a well known brass player and teacher), the orchestra originally concentrated on 'light classical' repertoire. Performance standards were high, as they are today. Violinist Alfredo Campoli and the Derby composer Ronald Binge featured in early concerts, and notable soloists over the years have included Leon Goossens (oboe), Nigel Kennedy (violin) and Kathryn Stott (piano)​.

The name and characteristics of our orchestra have changed as it has matured and grown.

Early Years 1949 - 1959

Derby Light Orchestra was formed in 1949 by Allan Street, a local school music teacher, to create an orchestra “capable of playing good Light Music”.  The first rehearsal took place on 20th October 1949 and was deemed successful enough for a committee to be set up. Players were brought in to play to fill gaps as required.
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The first concert was arranged for 19th March 1950 at the Central Hall in Derby with ticket prices ranging from 1/- (5p) to 5/- (25p) and programmes selling for sixpence (21⁄2p). The orchestra numbered 39 players - 18 strings, 9 woodwind, 8 brass, piano and 3 percussion. The programme started with the Pique Dame overture by Suppé, with excerpts from a number of pieces by Litolff, Williams, Lehar, Mozart, Sullivan, Grieg, Elgar, Sidney Phillips and Haydn Wood. The large audience was very appreciative and the local press were, on the whole, warm in their comments.

A second concert took place on 12th November 1950 comprising a mix of light music and popular classics, including the 1st movement of the Grieg piano concerto and excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Local music critics commented on the progress the orchestra had made, particularly the string section. 

In 1952, the orchestra was given the opportunity to appear live on the BBC Midland Home Service – a half hour slot, for which a fee of £71 6s was received. Two further live performances followed in 1953 and 1954. Three concerts took place in 1953, with the final concert featuring difficult pieces such as Rossini’s overture to the Thieving Magpie and the Concertino by Marc Andreae in which Leon Goossens was the oboe soloist. The renowned violinist Alfredo Campoli appeared with the orchestra on no fewer than 3 occasions.

The first decade of the orchestra’s history saw social occasions such as dinners and a family bus outing into Derbyshire. The orchestra also travelled to Crewe in 1958 at the invitation of the Rolls-Royce Welfare Amenities Society, playing to a packed hall. A free concert was also given in Derby in May to thank their regular audience. In 1959 local composer, Ronald Binge, conducted 2 of his compositions.

1960 - 1969

By the time Allan Street resigned as conductor, the orchestra had grown to 60 players. Chris Atkinson, a local organist and teacher, took over for the next 8 years.

The 1960s saw the decline and demise of the Derby String Orchestra and decline in the Derby Philharmonic Orchestra, creating the opportunity for the Light Orchestra to reinvent itself in 1965 as Derby Concert Orchestra, although the name was not used in a programme until June 1966. A 12 year old Brenda Pafford played Beethoven’s 3rd piano concerto with the orchestra in 1961. She performed the Grieg and Schumann concerti in 1986 and Rhapsody in Blue in 1987. She also played viola from 1970 – 76 and is the current leader of the viola section.

​By 1969 the orchestra had dwindled again in numbers and it was to secure the services of young 23 year old composer and conductor, Andrew Massey who was to reinvent the orchestra into a full symphonic ensemble. With an orchestra of 50, the King’s Hall was booked and eminent pianist, Denis Matthews was engaged to play at the orchestra’s 21st anniversary concert. This included Schubert’s 9th Symphony, the first full romantic symphony played by the orchestra. In reality, the King’s Hall was the gala pool of the King’s Street Baths which had many drawbacks but was the only option after the closure of the Central Hall in 1969.

1970 - 1986

The principal concert of 1971 included Brahms 4th Symphony. The celebrated pianist Moura Lympany had been engaged to play Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini. She was forced to cancel at late notice to be replaced by Colin Horsley.  A one-day school was held in the summer at Smallwood Manor prep school which became an annual event over the next 9 years. Around this time some of the orchestra played before the Queen Mother in the Guildhall and the orchestra recorded the Derby Ram for daily broadcast on the newly opened Radio Derby.

​The March concert in 1972 included an ambitious performance of Holst’s Planets Suite. With over 100 performers space was tight in the King’s Hall! The Planets Suite was repeated at the orchestra’s 50th anniversary concert. In 1974 Ralph Bacon became Head of Music in Derby and South Derbyshire and took over as conductor. He conducted concerts including music by Mendelssohn, Rodrigo, Malcolm Arnold, Bax, Dvorak, Bruch and Beethoven. From 1976, Ralph shared the conducting with Barrie Simms, who had come to Derby as head of music at Bishop Lonsdale College of Education. This period included the first performance for the orchestra in the newly opened Assembly Rooms, plenty of space but poor acoustics.

​Ralph retired from the orchestra in 1981 leaving Barrie Simms as sole conductor. Concerts continued to be innovative including the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony with Peter Gould as soloist in Derby Cathedral. The first of the orchestra’s ‘Christmas Last Night of the Proms’ took place in 1983, at the Assembly Rooms. This continued as an annual event until it was decided to hold the annual pantomime there. Barrie’s final concert with the orchestra was in the Darwin Suite in 1986. 

1986 - present

Jonathan Trout took over from Barrie in 1986 and was the orchestra’s conductor until 2024, an incredible 38 years. 

Jonathan studied the violin at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the RNCM) followed by a music degree at the University of York. As as violinist, he gained valuable experience in the Ulster, Sadlers Wells and Royal Ballet orchestras.

His extensive conducting experience includes the Sinfonia Bucharest, London Schubert Players, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 'Ensemble Ten-Ten', and Bolton Symphony Orchestra. Jonathan also attended the International Conductors' Institute in Bulgaria and worked with the Varna State Philharmonic.  He currently conducts the Derby Chamber Orchestra.  

Under Jonathan's direction the orchestra went from strength to strength, and he widened the repertoire considerably to include works by Stravinsky and many other 20th/21st century composers. Large-scale orchestral works such as Mahler symphonies featured regularly in the orchestra’s programmes. Concerts were also platforms for young talented soloists, including students from the Royal Northern College of Music.  

The DCO are hugely grateful to Jonathan for his commitment and leadership during his time with the orchestra, and as he hands the baton to Jack, the orchestra is in the best shape it's ever been. 

Here's to the next 75 years!    

Principal Conductors

​Allan Street 1949 – 1960
Chris Daly Atkinson 1960 – 1968
Andrew Massey 1969 – 1975
Ralph Bacon 1974 – 1981
Barrie Simms 1976 – 1986
Jonathan Trout 1986 - 2024
​Jack Capstaff 2024 -

Leaders

​Frederick Stratton 1949 - 50
John Saunders 1950 - 57
​Frank Beauchamp 1957 - 62
Kay Harris 1963
​Louise Atherton 1963 - 66
Charles Tanner 1966
Jean Alington 1966 - 71
Liz Godlee 1971 – 72
Derek Williams 1973 – 75
Noel Chadwick 1975 – 81
Eileen Sturgess 1982 – 86
Peter Bolton 1986 – 2001
Laura Zobel 2002 – 12
Cristinel Bacanu 2013 – 14
Clair Stanley 2014 – 19
Dora Chatzigeorgiou 2019 - 20
Matt Byrne 2021 -
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Click here to see our full concert list since 1949, plus press cuttings, programmes, posters and season flyers from previous years.