Finchley Symphony Orchestra in concert at Trinity Church North London

On and off !!

The on-off season continues and once again, like so many other groups, we are unable to meet and play together for now. It was great to rehearse Beethoven, Haydn, Schubert and Prokofiev in the autumn and we will be back again just as soon as we possibly can. Meanwhile watch out for news of online activities; our MD Tom has given most enjoyable mini-seminars on Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel and Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortilèges and we hope to have more like this.

Next: Tom will give an illustrated talk on Carl Nielsen, the man and his music. On Zoom on Thursday February 11th at 8pm. Open to everyone - if you'd like to join us just email info@finchleysymphony.org and we'll send you the details.

We are...

Finchley Symphony Orchestra – a successful and friendly amateur orchestra in north London, rehearsing weekly and (in normal times) giving five or six high standard concerts each year. We are constantly looking for new challenges and opportunities and we welcome new players.

If you are interested in playing with us please contact members@finchleysymphony.org for more information.

Richard Garry, 2018

The FSO consistently produces music of a very high standard and together with highly talented soloists provide wonderful evenings full of happiness and light.

Jill and Peter Holland, 2018

Over several years we have been to many concerts given by The Finchley Symphony Orchestra (and occasionally with the Finchley Chamber Choir). Our policy is that - if we are free, Trinity Church, Finchley, is the best place to be - sometimes challenging, but always offering an evening of fine music, beautifully played.

Julian Ansell, 2018

[Finchley Symphony Orchestra is] a top drawer symphony orchestra with first class soloists without having to go to the Festival or Albert Halls.

We play...

Everything from baroque to large scale romantic works, 20th century music and new commissions. Symphonies, concertos and – at Christmas – carols!

We've played with...

Nigel Kennedy, Tasmin Little, Valeriy Sokolov and many others. Browse our Artists page to see more.

Playing together once again

We look forward to getting back playing as soon as possible. Through the autumn our Trinity Church venue took careful precautions. Different groups were kept apart and the church was cleaned thoroughly between visitors. Our rehearsals were socially-distanced and shorter - from 8pm until 9.30, with no break. We wore face coverings as far as possible and everyone used a separate music stand.

Nobody yet knows when we may be able to perform with an audience. We will confirm details of the programmes for future concerts as and when these become possible.

We care about...

Enjoying playing great music together, working hard for a high-quality performance, and celebrating it afterwards!

Podcasts

During the first lockdown Tom, our Music Director, recorded two fascinating podcasts. To hear his thoughts on conducting and how he became a conductor click on these links:

part 1a :::: part 1b :::: part 2 :::: part 3

To hear him talk about Sibelius' second symphony, which we had programmed for a concert this November and still hope to perform some time in the future, click here