About Us
The ENGLISH PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA [ EPO ] is an established professional orchestra which has given concerts and appeared at festivals since its inception in 1998. Its activities have taken it all over the north of England and in towns from Beverley to Berwick and Newcastle to Carlisle and Keswick. Its artistic director and conductor is David Haslam (See biography).
The mission of the EPO is to fill important musical niches, otherwise unoccupied by other orchestral organisations in the region and beyond. It is very flexible in its approach. The EPO offers regular popular family concerts of high quality such as its Valentine’s Day concerts, its Christmas and New Year concerts and its St George’s Day concerts. The EPO performs at festivals, charity-raising events and outdoor concerts, sometimes with a ‘Last Night of the Proms’ component.
Another aspect of the orchestra’s work is to promote concerts in smaller towns and in areas where there would be little or no professional orchestral provision. We have successfully provided concerts in churches and in other beautiful buildings and settings in the region, as well as taking part in festivals by providing large-scale orchestral concerts which can act as a focus for other events. There are a number of recordings available.
The EPO’s flexibility can provide large-scale orchestral concerts as well as smaller scale ones, which are played by the English Philharmonic Ensemble. The EPO has accompanied a number of singers including Sir Thomas Allen, and has also worked with international soloists such as Julian Lloyd-Webber.
Educational activity, specifically designed for different groups, is important to the EPO. We offer concerts planned for young families. We have a repertoire of children’s operas, written by David Haslam [ with lyrics by Johnny Morris ], and the orchestra has performed other children’s works, and uses this as a basis for workshops and outreach.
Biographies
David Haslam : Artistic Director and Conductor • Annamaria McCool : Administrator
TESTIMONIAL "You may be wondering about my subject title of 'no buts...' This is a little joke I have with my singers that whenever I say something complimentary to them they are always waiting for this to be followed by a 'but...' In your case, there are no buts.. I thought your orchestra was simply wonderful and I want to thank you and them for your brilliant contribution to our concert on Saturday. I work with many orchestras over the course of a year and enjoy good relationships with all of them but it is always slightly nervy to work with a completely new outfit. Your players were such a joy to work with because:
It was a tricky programme to put together on one afternoon and Iona was so helpful and encouraging. I do hope we can work together again." Best wishes, David Temple: Conductor, Hertfordshire Chorus |