Solihull Symphony Orchestra is a lively group of largely amateur musicians who meet for weekly rehearsals throughout the year, and give three or four concerts a year in the Solihull area. Our members range from those who are still at school to some who are in their 80s.
The orchestra began life as an evening class in Solihull, becoming Knowle Sinfonia in 1990 with the late Malcolm Peters as its conductor. At first, the orchestra met mainly in Knowle, and gave concerts in Arden School from 1991 onwards.
Malcom moved to France in 2000, and the following year, Martin Leigh became the orchestra’s first professional Music Director. The orchestra began performing in a wider range of places around Solihull including St Alphege’s Church, Bushell Hall at Solihull School, and Shirley Methodist Church, which then became our main concert venue. In January 2005, the orchestra changed its name to the Solihull Symphony Orchestra with an inaugural concert including Beethoven’s Choral Symphony in Our Lady of the Wayside Church in Shirley.
The orchestra also performed at community events in Dickens Heath (2005) and Knowle Park (2011), and gave occasional special performances, most memorably in 2014 at a special Solihull Proms concert in Solihull School at the invitation of the then mayor Cllr Joe Tildesley.
Between 2013 and 2023, Jon Malaxetxeberria was Music Director of the orchestra and our standards and repertoire improved enormously, covering symphonies by Mahler and other major orchestral works such as Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
The orchestra has always encouraged new and aspiring talent, and has been conducted in rehearsal by both Ben Gernon and Alpesh Chauhan before they became famous. Notable soloists who have performed with the orchestra include BBC Young Musicians Peter Moore (Grøndahl Trombone Concerto, 2010) and Rob Burton (Creston Saxophone Concerto, 2019), cellists Richard Jenkinson, Katie Tertell and Mikhail Nemtsov, violinists Cristinel Bacanau, Boglarka Gyorgy, Charlotte Moseley and Amy Littlewood, pianists Carla Fernandez-Boix, Renata Konyicska, Simon Callaghan and Samantha Ward and harpist Rita Schindler (Gliere Harp Concerto 2016).
The orchestra is affiliated to Making Music, (the National Federation of Music Societies), and has received supported from the PRS Foundation for new music. Since 2014, the Mayor of Solihull has been Patron of the orchestra and the orchestra maintains a close relationship with Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
