History

Since its launch in 1999, Cornwall's own orchestra, the Cornish Sinfonia, is beginning to establish a stronghold within the cultural life of the County.

During its first year alone, the Sinfonia was asked to perform the winning entries of the Cornwall Young Composers' Competition at the Hall For Cornwall, accompany the premiere of a new opera by local composer Russell Pascoe, called Charlotte Dymond, under the baton of David Frost, and, step in at short notice to take over a concert from the Bournemouth Sinfonietta as a result of its regrettable demise. This particular concert was widely hailed as a huge success.

In the summer of 2000, the Cornish Sinfonia forged a collaboration with Macmillan Cancer Relief, performing with the Duchy Opera Chorus, a scintillating programme of orchestral and choral classics in the imposing grounds of Pendennis Castle. This was followed in the summer of 2002 with a concert at the Eden Project to a capacity audience.

In 2003 the orchestra began an association with the Duchy Ballet and performed the premiere of an adaptation of The Mousehole Cat by Ian Hughes, together with Giselle. The resulting artistic success was also matched by record audiences at the Hall For Cornwall and the composition was one of three finalists for stage productions at the British Composers Awards.

The following year the orchestra played live to the animated films of Mousehole Cat & The Story of Arion & The Dolphin with music by the late Ian Hughes The orchestra also received Arts Council support for a commission of Grasshopper Rhymes, which was performed with William Walton’s Façade and featured Jenny Agutter and Peter Skellern as the soloists.

In 2006 they also played in a performance of the award winning
The Armed Man conducted by the composer Karl Jenkins and in December accompanied the soprano Katherine Jenkins in a concert in Plymouth.