The orchestra was first formed on 6th May 1922. It was reestablished after the war and became known as ‘The Alderley Edge Orchestral Society'. The annual subscription was £1. 1. 0d (£1.05 in today's money) and players were charged 3d (just over 1p) for tea and biscuits.
The first concert, at the Regal Ballroom, now the Festival Hall, took place on Thursday 23rd October 1952 and attracted a sell-out audience of over 400. Tickets were from 3/6d (18p) to 1/6d (8p). Box office takings were £59. 5s (£59.25), the equivalent of over £2500 today.
Richard Howarth, former Leader of the Ulster Orchestra and Manchester Camerata, became President of the orchestra in 2005 and played an important role in its development. We engaged a professional leader, Shahla Armitage in 2013. In 2018 the name was changed from Alderley Edge Orchestra to Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra.
To mark the orchestra's centenary in 2022 we moved into the world of opera for the first time when City of Manchester Opera joined the orchestra for An Evening at the Opera under the baton of popular Spanish conductor Juan Ortunõ.
Highlights from last year's concerts were the Richard Strauss 'Four Last Songs', concertos by Saint-Sans and Bruch, Jazz Suite No.2 by Shostakovich, and Sibelius and Dvorak symphonies.
We have a great selection of music planned for this year, in;cuding Dvorak's Cello Concerto, Bruch's Violin Concerto, Beethoven's Symphony No.5 and a concert of Spanish music to be conducted by Spanish conductor Juan Ortunõ which will include the well-known Concierto de Aranjuez, Rimski-Korsakov's Capriccio Espanol and a selection from Carmen..
