Bournemouth Sinfonietta
The Bournemouth Sinfonietta was a chamber orchestra founded in 1968 as an offshoot of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. It was disbanded in November 1999 after increasing difficulties in obtaining funding from local councils led to the decision to concentrate government funding on its larger parent.
Formation
The orchestra was initially conducted by George Hurst, who acted as artistic adviser, and Nicholas Braithwaite, to perform the classical repertoire in the smaller venues of the south and west of England. In the first months of its existence, players interchanged between the Symphony Orchestra and the Sinfonietta, with some having to consult a chart to find out which orchestra they would play with the following week. The 'pool of players' idea was scrapped and the Sinfonietta became independent of the BSO, with more players moving across from the BSO in 1969.Concert repertoire
The Sinfonietta made its London debut on 9 January 1969 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in a concert of Seiber, Milhaud, Webern and Varèse conducted by Edgar Cosma.Among the premières given by the orchestra were:
| Work | Year | Notes |
| Shanai-Awaz | 1982 | by John Mayer 1986 Cántico de San Francisco de Asís Joaquín Rodrigo |
| Cantiga | 1988 | by David Matthews |
| The Green Ray | 1991 | by Gavin Bryars |
| Percussion Concerto | 1991 | by Dominic Muldowney |
| Where The Bee Dances | 1991 | by Michael Nyman |
| Bean Rows and Blues Shots | 1991 | by Mike Westbrook |
| The Song of the Tortoise, a cautionary tale for narrator, voices and orchestra | 1992 | by Giles Swayne |
| So in Darkness | 1993 | by Sadie Harrison |
| Concerto Antico for guitar and orchestra | 1994 | by Richard Harvey |
| Concerto for hurdy-gurdy and percussion | 1994 | by Howard Skempton |
| Concerto for String Orchestra | 1997 | by Rutland Boughton |
| The song should never be silent, Side by side, The sleep of reason | 1997 | by Colin Riley |
During its existence, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta gained a national reputation, appearing at The Proms in 1977, 1988 and 1992 and also undertook short overseas tours, including Germany in 1987; Italy and Turkey in 1992; Romania in 1994; Spain in 1991 and 1995; Brazil in 1996; and France in 1997. Venues in the south and west of England varied from small church halls, often in places which would otherwise hear no live professional orchestral music, to larger concert halls. From 1974 until 1986, the Sinfonietta was the orchestra for Glyndebourne on Tour.
The educational and outreach work of the Sinfonietta was recognised by a Prudential Award and a Sainsbury's "Arts for All" award. In Romania, in collaboration with the charity, 'Musika in Romania', the orchestra gave concerts, visited schools, an orphanage and an assessment centre for street children.
Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir
The Bournemouth Sinfonietta Choir was founded in 1972 and continues to give concerts in Dorset and beyond. The Choir's director in 2008 was David Gostick, organist at Wimborne Minster.Recordings
Among the many recordings made by the Orchestra, ranging from the Baroque to the contemporary, are:- Eduardo Angulo: Guitar Concerto No 2
- Thomas Arne: Symphonies 1, 2, 3, 4
- Malcolm Arnold: Concertos for flute, horn, clarinet, oboe and trumpet
- J C Bach: Sinfonias Op 6.3, Op 9.2, Op 18.2&4
- C P E Bach: Cello Concertos
- Granville Bantock: Pierrot of the Minute
- Béla Bartók: Divertimento for Strings
- Richard Blackford: Mirror of Perfection
- Frank Bridge: Suite for Strings, Summer
- George Butterworth: The Banks of Green Willow
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto & Romances 1 & 2
- Luigi Boccherini: Cello Concertos
- William Boyce: The Eight Symphonies
- Benjamin Britten: Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, Simple Symphony
- Gavin Bryars: The Green Ray
- Frederick Delius: On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring, A Song before Sunrise, Late Swallows
- Georg Druschetzky: Partita for 6 Timpani and Orchestra, Concerto for Oboe, 8 Timpani & Orchestra
- Edward Elgar: Chanson de Matin & Chanson de Nuit, Dream Children, Contrasts, Soliloquy, Three Bavarian Dances, Serenade in E minor, King Arthur Suite, Starlight Express Suite
- Johann Christian Fischer: Symphony for 8 timpani & orchestra
- Percy Grainger: Youthful Suite, Blithe Bells, Green Bushes, Country Gardens, Youthful Rapture, Shepherd's Hey, Molly on the Shore, Handel in the Strand
- Edvard Grieg: Holberg Suite
- George Handel: Opera overtures
- Joseph Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 87, 88, 103 and 104, Cello Concertos
- Joseph Haydn: Organ concertos 1–3
- Michael Haydn: Symphonies, Nos. 19, 21, 23, 26, 29, 37, 39, 41
- Gustav Holst: St Paul's Suite
- Arthur Honegger: Symphony No.4, Pastorale d'été
- John Ireland: Concertino Pastorale
- Bohuslav Martinu: Sinfonietta Giocosa, Toccata e Due Canzoni, Sinfonietta La Jolla
- David Matthews: Cantiga, September Music, Introit
- E J Moeran: Sinfonietta, Cello Concerto
- WA Mozart: Symphonies Nos. 36 & 39, Four Horn Concertos, Piano Concerto No 21, Serenade in C minor K388, Violin Concertos 3 & 4, Sinfonia Concertante, Clarinet Concerto, Oboe Concerto
- Carl Nielsen: Little Suite for Strings
- Michael Nyman: Where the Bee Dances
- Arvo Pärt: Tabula rasa, Summa, Festina lente, Cantus in memory of Britten
- Henry Purcell: Overtures
- Respighi: The Birds, Il tramonto, Trittico Botticelliano
- Joaquin Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjüez
- Edmund Rubbra : Improvisations, Symphony No 10
- John Rutter: Requiem, Works for Choir and Orchestra
- Camille Saint-Saëns : Cello Concertos 1 & 2, Suite Op 16
- Charles Villiers Stanford : Symphony No 3 'Irish'
- Igor Stravinsky: Pulcinella, Concerto in D for string orchestra
- Arthur Sullivan : Excerpts from operettas
- Johan Svendsen: Icelandic Melodies, Norwegian and Swedish Folksongs
- Ralph Vaughan Williams: Overture 'The Poisoned Kiss', Two Hymn-tune Preludes, The Running Set, Sea Songs, Flos campi, Suite for viola and orchestra
- Heitor Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto
- Antonio Vivaldi: 12 Concertos Op 8
- Peter Warlock: Capriol Suite
- Samuel Wesley: Symphony in D
- Mike Westbrook: Bean Rows and Blues Shots
- Dag Wiren: Serenade for Strings