The Orchestra has achieved a number of 'firsts' over the years. In 1979, local composer John Golland was specially commissioned, with funding assistance from North West Arts, to compose his Sinfonietta No. 3, Op. 58 which received its first performance on 23 February the following year. In 1986, Colin Touchin's Sinfonietta No. 2 received its first performance.
The Orchestra has been joined by many top soloists in recent years. In the 1994/5 season, Nichola Hunter, principal flute with the Northern Chamber Orchestra, was soloist in Mozart's First Flute concerto.
Highlights of the 1996/7 season were a performance of Weber's First Clarinet Concerto with John Fuest, the former principal clarinet of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and a return visit by Martin Milner to play Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The Hallé's principal double bass, Diana Wanklyn, performed Koussevitsky's concerto with the Orchestra in 1997.
In May, 2000 the Orchestra welcomed Tom Bangbala, principal violin in the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Stephen Threlfall, Director of Music at Chetham's School of Music, for a well received performance of Brahms' Double Concerto.
The 2000/2001 season was notable for a fine performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto by John Resek from the BBC Philharmonic. But special mention must be made of the extraordinarily accomplished interpretation of Shostakovich's First Cello Concerto by George Corbett, a young and apparently fearless virtuoso from Chetham's School of Music in Manchester. His performance will long be remembered.
In March 2002, Patrick Addinall, principal trumpet of the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, gave a memorable performance of the Haydn Trumpet concerto which was notable for its virtuosity and power.
Another brilliant young player from Chetham's School of Music, 12 years-old Jennifer Pike, joined the orchestra for a performance of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto which - played entirely from memory - was outstanding for its fluidity and depth. Two weeks later, she became BBC Young Musician of 2002 for her performance of the same concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican Hall in London. In 2003, Anna Menzies from Chetham's School of Music gave a mature and deeply felt performance of Elgar's Cello Concert.
Katalin Varnagy from the BBC Philharmonic joined the Orchestra as soloist in Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1 later the same year, a finely polished performance which also marked the move to the new concert venue, Alderley Edge Methodist Church. Top bassoonist Laurence Perkins completed that season with a fine performance of the Weber Concerto.
The soloist Angela Rowley starred in arias from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro in the 2004/5 season, which concluded with an outstanding performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto by the 18-year-old Dutch pianist Karolinka de Bree.
Flautist Ann Davidson made her vocal debut with the orchestra in November 2005 in an outstanding performance of Elgar's 'Sea Pictures'.
The 2005/6 season was notable for fine performances of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto by Jenny Ferrar and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto by John Resek.
The 2006-7 season opened with a well received performance of Dvorak's Cello Concerto by Graham Morris, followed in March 2007 by a lyrical account of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto by the St Petersburg-born violinist Lada Bronina. Lada rejoined the orchestra later a few months later to perform the same concerto in Lymm. The season concluded with a fine interpretation of Beethoven's Third Piano by international soloist Murray McLachlan, head of keyboard at Chetham's School of Music. An interesting feature of this perfomance was that the piano on which the concerto was played was the one on which Murray originally learned to play and which is now on long-term loan to Alderley Edge Methodist Church.
HAYDN
Symphony No 94
MOZART
Violin Concerto in C
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 7
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 1
WAGNER
Siegried Idyll
SCHUBERT
Symphony No 6
HUMPERDINCK
Ov: Hansel and Gretel
MOZART
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
JEAN FRANCAIS
Seven Dances
BRAHMS
Symphony No 2
WEBER
Ov. Euryanthe
SCHUBERT
Ballet music: Rosamunde
BACH
Concerto for two violins
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 3
HAYDN
Symphony No 103
ORFF
Carmina Burana, arr. for wind
MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No 4
ROSSINI
Ov: The Italian Girl in Algiers
SCHUBERT
Symphony No 8
DVORAK
Symphony No 9
MOZART
Ov. The Marriage of Figaro
HAYDN
Symphony No 99
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 2
MOZART
Symphony No 32
GRIEG
Suite: Peer Gynt
SCHUBERT
Symphony No 2
BEETHOVEN
Ov: Egmont
MOZART
Sinfonia Concertante for Wind
MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No 3
MENDELSSOHN
Ov. The Fair Melusine
MOZART
Symphony No 35
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 4
WEBER
Ov. Der Freischutz
HAYDN
Trumpet Concerto
DVORAK
Symphony No 8
BEETHOVEN
Ov. Fidelio
BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No 5
BRAHMS
Serenade No 1
BEETHOVEN
Ov. Prometheus
MOZART
Flute Concerto No 1
SCHUBERT
Symphony No 9
ROSSINI
Ov. The Thieving Magpie
TCHAIKOVSKY
Serenade for Strings
LIADOV
Eight Russian Folk Songs
GADE
Symphony No 3
NICOLAI
Ov. The Merry Wives of Windsor
DELIUS
La Calinda
HUBLER
Concerto for 4 horns
DVORAK
Symphony No 6
WEBER
Ov. Peter Schmoll
BIZET
Jeux d'Enfants
HANDEL
Water Music
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 8
HAYDN
Symphony No 96
MOZART
Oboe Concerto
BRAHMS
Symphony No 4
BEETHOVEN
Ov. Consecration of the House
ELGAR
Cello Concerto
SCHUMANN
Symphony No 1
SMETANA
Vltava
BEETHOVEN
Violin Concerto
DVORAK
Symphony No 5
MENDELSSOHN
Ov. Hebrides
SAINT-SAENS
Violin Concerto
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 5
BEETHOVEN
Ov. Egmont
WEBER
Clarinet Concerto
BRAHMS
Symphony No 3
DVORAK
Czech Suite
KOUSSEVITSKY
Double bass Concerto
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 6
CHRISTMAS CONCERT:
HANDEL Suite: The Faithful Shepherd; HANDEL Messiah Arias; BRAHMS Hungarian Dances 1 & 3;
MOZART Ov. Marriage of Figaro; MOZART Motet: Exultate Jubilate; BEETHOVEN Two Dance from Prometheus;
BEETHOVEN Symphony No 3 (Finale)
CHRISTMAS CONCERT:
MOZART Symphony No 39; DVORAK Legends; ELGAR Serenade for Strings; STRAUSS J Perpetuum Mobile
WEBER
Ov. Silvana
TCHAIKOVSKY
Swan Lake
MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No 3
MOZART
Ov. Titus
SCHUBERT
Symphony No 5
DVORAK
Symphony No 9
ROSSINI
Ov. The Italian Girl in Algiers
DVORAK
Cello Concerto
HAYDN
Symphony No 104
ROSSINI
Ov. Semiramide
BIZET
Suite No 1: L'Arlesiienne
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 3
MENDELSSOHN
Ov. Ruy Blas
GRIEG
Piano Concerto
ELGAR
Chanson de Matin and C. de Nuit
SCHUBERT
Symphony No 8
WEBER
Ov. Oberon
GRIEG
Norwegian Dances
MOZART
Bassoon Concerto
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 7
MOZART
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
MOZART
Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon
BRAHMS
Symphony No 1
MOZART
Ov. The Marriage of Figaro
BRAHMS
Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra
DVORAK
Symphony No 6
DVORAK
Slavonic Dances
CHOPIN
Piano concerto No. 2
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 2
ROSSINI
Overture: Semiramide
FAURE
Dolly Suite
DVORAK
Czech Suite, arr. for wind
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 1
HEROLD
Overture: Zampa
DVORAK
Symphonic Poem: The Noonwitch
HUMMEL
Introduction, theme and variations
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 8
HUMPERDINCK
Overture: Hansel and Gretel
BEETHOVEN
Violin Concerto
SCHUMANN
Symphony No. 3
HAYDN
Symphony No. 99
HAYDN
Trumpet Concerto
SCHUBERT
Symphony No. 3
SUPPE
Ov: Morning, Noon and Night
J STRAUSS
Waltz: Voices of Spring
BRAHMS
Variations on a theme of Haydn
SCHUMANN
Symphony No. 1
MOZART
Overture: The Magic Flute
SHOSTAKOVICH
Cello Concerto No. 1
BRAHMS
Symphony No. 2
MENDELSSOHN
Overture: The Hebrides
MENDELSSOHN
Violin Concerto
BRAHMS
Serenade in D
TOUCHIN
Sinfonietta No. 2
ELGAR
Cello Concerto
DVORAK
Symphony No. 8
WEBER
Overture: Oberon
BRUCH
Violin Concerto No 1
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 6
MOZART
Symphony No. 35
FAURE
Pavane
BORODIN
In the Steppes of Central Asia
JEAN FRANCAIX
Le Gai Paris
DVORAK
Symphonic Variations
SCHUBERT
Overture/Ballet Music: Rosamunde
WEBER
Bassoon Concerto
BRAHMS
Symphony No. 4
WEBER
Overture: Der Freischütz
BIZET
Suite: Carmen
SAINT-SAËNS
Symphony No. 3 in B minor (Organ), Op 61
(Organ: Peter Stevens)
BRAHMS
Academic Festival Overture
MOZART
The Marriage of Figaro
- the shorter version
Arias from
The Marriage of Figaro
(Soprano: Angela Rowley)
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 5 in C minor, Op 67
BEETHOVEN
Overture:
Egmont, Op 84
SCHUMANN
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op 54
(Soloist: Karolinka De Bree)
DVORAK
Symphony No. 9 in E minor
‘From the New World’
POULENC
Ballet: Les Biches
ELGAR
Sea Pictures, Op 37
(Soloist: Ann Davidson)
BRAHMS
Symphony No. 1
in C minor
Op 68
DVORAK
Slavonic Dances
MOZART
Clarinet Concerto in A,
K 622
(Soloist: Jenny Lynn Ferrar)
TCHAIKOVSKY
Symphony No 2 in C minor
Op 17
‘Little Russian’
MOZART
Overture:
Cosí fan tutte
TCHAIKOVSKY
Violin Concerto in A minor
Op 35
(Soloist: John Resek)
SCHUBERT
Symphony No. 3 in D
MOZART
Overture: La clemenza de Tito
DVORAK
Cello Concerto
Op. 104
(Soloist: Graham Morris)
MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No. 4 in A,
Op 90
GRIEG
Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1
MENDELSSOHN
Violin Concerto
in E minor
(Soloist: Lada Bronina)
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 3 in C minor,
Op 55 'Eroica'
NICOLAI
Overture: Merry Wives of Windsor
BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor,
Op. 37
(Soloist: Murray McLachlan)
DVORAK
Symphony No. 6 in D
Op. 60
GRIEG
Suite: Sigurd Jorsalfar, Op 56
DVORAK
Violin Concerto in A minor,
Op 53
(Soloist: Sara Wolstenholme)
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No 2 in D major,
Op 36
SAINT-SAËNS
Bacchanale (Samson and Delilah)
BEETHOVEN
Piano Concerto No 4
in G, Op 58
(Soloist: Karolinka de Bree)
BRAHMS
Symphony No 2 in D, Op 73
TCHAIKOVSKY
Suite No. 3 in G, Op. 55
MOZART
Oboe Concerto in C, K 314
(Soloist: Kath Jones)
HAYDN
Symphony No 104 in D
