Next Concert
Our May concert on Saturday 2nd May 2026 in the Cathedral has just happened!
Our autumn concert is on Saturday 26th September 2026, when we’ll perform Dvořák’s 7th Symphony, alongside a newly commissioned work from local composer David John Roche, and Martinů’s fascinating Rhapsody Concerto for viola and orchestra with soloist Brenda Stewart.
Looking back
“That was a WONDERFUL concert last night in the Cathedral. In fact, the Vaughan Williams Tallis was the most thrilling and moving rendition I have ever heard – probably a combination of superb and heartfelt yet precise playing (not unusual), being live and the Octagon acoustic which was perfect for the piece (I was centre front). One could appreciate the precision of the different groupings of instruments, giving a 3D texture which is best appreciated in a live performance.”
Audience member, September 2025
On Saturday 27th September 2025 in Ely Cathedral we performed Elgar’s 1st Symphony, plus the “Peterloo” Overture by Malcolm Arnold and the ever-popular Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis, by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
3rd May 2025: Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no.1 and Shostakovich Symphony no.7 “Leningrad”
Our most recent concert was one of the most ambitious that we have undertaken, and a last minute change of soloist provided an added twist to the mix: Martin Roscoe was sadly indisposed but managed to arrange for his close friend Peter Donohoe to stand in for him playing the famous Tchaikovsky 1st Piano Concerto – and what a performance. The audience absolutely loved it.
After the interval we played the massive and incredible 7th Symphony “Leningrad” by Dmitri Shostakovich. Many players said afterwards that this was the best thing they had ever done with the orchestra!
The programme for our autumn 2024 concert was absolutely glorious. There was a great audience in Ely Cathedral and they loved it. Here’s what we played:
- Berlioz…..Le Carnaval Romain overture
- Beethoven…..Violin Concerto
- Schubert…..Symphony no.9 in C major “The Great”
The concert started with the Roman Carnival Overture (Carnaval Romain), nine minutes of sheer energy when we experience the brightest colours of composer Hector Berlioz, combining lush melody and lively dance.
We then launched into Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D, one of the best known and most frequently played of all violin concertos, and we were very lucky to have highly acknowledged British and Cambridgeshire violinist Freya Goldmark with us to make this a performance to remember.
Freya has performed all over the world as a soloist and ensemble player and is leader of the Ligeti Quartet. She is in huge demand as a teacher and was the youngest ever director of the Cambridge Music Festival.
For the second half of the concert, we played an equally dramatic composition. Schubert’s 9th Symphony in C major is aptly named The Great. It was the first of the big Romantic symphonies, which ends with the Allegro vivace finale, arguably Schubert’s single most important orchestral achievement and one of the most impressive symphonic movements ever written.
On Saturday May 4th 2024 Ely Cathedral was completely sold out for what was an amazing concert, May the 4th be with You! Joined by two Jedi warriors, we played a full programme of film music to a highly enthusiastic audience.
Ely Sinfonia Artistic Director Steve Bingham writes:
“So much great music has been written for film over the last 50 years and more, and when we saw that our spring 2024 concert was going to be on ‘Star Wars day’ it was unthinkable for us not to mark this with a rich programme of film music from a range of composers and genres. This is definitely going to be a blockbuster of a concert!”