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Ernest Read was always keen to give chances for talented young performers to play as soloists early in their careers and we came across this concert in an old issue of the Musical Times in 1979.

Back then the Ernest Read Children’s Concerts took place at the Festival Hall with two concerts on the same day to allow maximum audience to attend.  The concerts often featured talented young players and this was no exception – amongst the four featured string players from the Yehudi Menuhin School was 14 year old Tasmin Little who went on to become widely acclaimed as a concerto soloist, chamber musician and recording artist.  She was joined by 16 year old Clare McFarlane who went on to win the string final of the BBC “Young Musician of the Year” competition in 1980 together with Elizabeth Layton and Caroline Henbest, all of whom went on to succesful musical careers.

 

 

Another former ERSO member (back when we were called the London Senior Orchestra) was Janet Craxton.  She was an influential oboist, teacher and champion of new music and played with ERSO to gain orchestral experience prior to entering the Paris Conservatoire in 1948.  When she returned was at immediately engaged as principal oboist of the Hallé Orchestra from 1949 to 1952.  Janet went on to become principal oboe in the London Mozart Players from 1952 to 1954, the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1954 to 1963, the London Sinfonietta from 1969 to 1981, and the orchestra of the Royal Opera House from 1979 to 1981. She was appointed oboe professor at the Royal Academy of Music in 1958.

She was much in demand as a soloist, and gave world premières of works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Lennox Berkeley, Alan Rawsthorne, Elisabeth Lutyens, Elizabeth Maconchy, Richard Stoker and Priaulx Rainier. In 1958, she was co-dedicatee and original performer with the tenor Wilfred Brown of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ song cycle Ten Blake Songs.

Ernest Read, the founder of the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra, was extremely keen to give the aspiring professional musicians who played in the orchestra the valuable opportunity to play as soloists. The first player to get this chance in 1931 was the young Evelyn Rothwell (also known as Evelyn Barbirolli), who went on to become one of the UK’s most famous oboists.

We’re proud to continue the tradition via our ERSO Soloist of the Year competition, open to regular ERSO members and musicians who play at least one concert (incl rehearsals) with us this season. https://erso.london/erso-soloist-of-the-year-2020/

Who knows if some of this year’s contestants might follow in Evelyn’s famous footsteps?!

Did you know that in the 1950s James Galway was one of the members at ERSO  before he became the Man with the Golden Flute and inspired millions?

Legendary clarinetist Jack Brymer inspired a generation to take up the instrument.  But he didn’t plan to be a professional musician and initially trained and worked as a PE teacher!

Brymer was ERSO’s principal clarinet in the late 1930’s and said that Ernest Read was “one of the most helpful friends I ever had, just as he had proved to be to hundreds of other young players to whom he gave, free of charge, the most valuable training.”

His life was transformed when a report of his playing in ERSO reached Sir Thomas Beecham via Dennis Brain, another ERSO player, as Beecham was looking to fill the principal clarinet role at the RPO.

Brymer thought it was a friend playing a trick when he got the call! Of course he got the job and started to make clarinet history.

Delving into ERSO’s past, our detective work turned up this concert back in 1984 with Nigel Kennedy as our soloist playing the Stravinsky Violin concerto.

The concert took place just after Kennedy had made his recording debut with the Elgar Violin concerto, which went on to win the 1986 BRIT award for the best classical recording, and before he became known as one of the world’s leading violin virtuosos.

We wish we had a time machine and could go back and play in this one!!

At the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra we are so excited to be planning our big 90th Birthday season, including our fabulous Birthday Gala concert at the Duke’s Hall at the RAM in spring 2021 (date TBC as soon as possible!) and it has inspired us to look at some of our amazing history.

We would love to hear from people who have fond memories of ERSO as players or audience members.

It was wonderful to hear from Geoffrey Phillips the other day who sent us a picture of his mum Mollie playing the violin with ERSO back in 1938 and we would love to hear other stories of how being involved with ERSO has played a part in musical careers or starting off a lifetime love of music.  Please do get in touch on ersoinfo@gmail.com or on Facebook!

 

Also, if you are interested in being added to our mailing list so we can send you information about our concerts then let us know.

 

 

 

 

Digging through Ernest Read’s long history of offering opportunities to young musicians at the start of their careers, we came up with another find! The Ernest Read Youth Orchestra was Read’s junior orchestra whose members were talented amateurs and music students up to the age of 25.  On March 29, 1980 they performed with Steven Isserlis at St John Smith Square under the baton of Terence Lovett.

At this stage the 22-year old Isserlis had graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and was at the beginning of his professional career.  In a 2015 interview he was asked if had found the path towards a professional career in music particularly challenging, to which he replied “Yes!!! I hardly had any engagements until my late 20s. It was tough!”

It’s a nice thought that one of those early engagements was with an Ernest Read orchestra!

 

At ERSO we’ve been digging into our history of giving young musicians their early solo opportunities, as we are so proud to continue this with our ERSO Talent Programme.  Today we found that ERSO gave legendary clarinettist Michael Collins a concerto opportunity at the age of only 16!

Michael had recently won the woodwind category of the first ever BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in April 1978, having just turned 16, and went on to perform Spohr’s fourth clarinet concerto with ERSO in November at St John Smith Square.  The Times called it a “personal triumph” and warmly applauded his “poised manner” and “elegant dexterity”.

As we all know, Michael went on to become the highest profile clarinettist of his generation in Britain and we’re so glad that the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra played a small part in his very early career!