With around 50 members, the Cambridge Concert Orchestra has been making music and making it fun for over 40 years. We have a reputation for being one of the friendliest orchestras in Cambridge, taking music into the community whilst striving to meet a high standard of musicianship.
We enjoy playing a wide repertoire of light orchestral music, some of which was donated to us in our early days by Charles Shadwell (formerly of the BBC Variety Orchestra). Our ethos is to provide music for everyone and we welcome the opportunity to use our concerts to raise money for good causes. Please contact us if you think we could collaborate with you for a fundraising event.
We take our music directly into the community by playing in churches, community centres, village fêtes etc. We occasionally perform in residential homes for the elderly, local schools and hospitals, as it is also important to us to perform to those who may not otherwise have the opportunity to hear live music.
In past concerts we have performed music from a wide range of genres including (with examples):
- light music (Anderson, Binge, Coates)
- popular classical (Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Tchaikovsky)
- film scores (Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mission Impossible)
- TV and radio themes (Blackadder, Blue Peter, Desert Island Discs)
- selections from shows (Bernstein, Rodgers, Loewe)
- recent and contemporary music (Malcolm Arnold, William Walton, Derek Bourgeois)
- jazz (Ellington, Gershwin)
Most importantly, the orchestra has never lost sight of its original objective - the joy of music is to entertain and to be entertained.
Guest soloists have performed at the CCO's concerts over the years, including the opera singer Ian Wallace, for many years the orchestra's President.
About our Musical Director
Our Musical Director is Suzanne Dexter-Mills. Suzanne lives and teaches in Suffolk where she directs ensembles in schools and for the Suffolk County Music Service. She conducts the South Suffolk Youth Orchestra and regularly coaches the woodwind section of the National Children's Orchestra. In addition, she finds time to play as principal clarinettist in the Wolsey Orchestra, the Churchgate Sinfonia and Churchgate Wind Octet.
Suzanne has enjoyed conducting the Cambridge Concert Orchestra since 2002.