The Surrey Mozart Players were founded in the early 1970s by Richard Temple Savage, who continued to direct the orchestra until his retirement in 1990. Now numbering around fifty musicians drawn from Surrey and the surrounding counties, the orchestra performs a wide range of repertoire from the Baroque to the late 20th century.
The orchestra puts on a series of five or six concerts per season and has presented the closing concert of the Guildford Spring Music Festival twice, as well as collaborating with local choral societies.The orchestra appointed Paul Hoskins as its Music Director in 1992, a post which he held until 2002, and has also worked regularly with such established conductors as Peter Stark and Robin Ticciati. Our current Music Director is the American conductor and cellist Kenneth Woods, an association that the orchestra is very much enjoying.
As well as working with established soloists such as Lawrence Power and Sarah Williamson, it has always been Surrey Mozart Players’ policy to encourage emerging young soloists, and the orchestra has recently had the pleasure of performing with Alexandra Wood, Alice Neary and Victoria Sayles to name three. A highlight of the 2010-11 season was the orchestra's performance with Classical BRIT winner Nicola Benedetti and virtuoso cellist Leonard Elschenbroich in the final gala concert of the 2011 Surrey Hills Festival. The orchestra will appear again in the 2012 SHF Gala, alongside Benedetti and the Sitkovketsky Trio. |
 |
|
