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Rehearses 9:30am - 12:15pm

The Wessex Youth Orchestra’s first rehearsal took place back in January 1971, in an old museum building in Poole’s High Street. Originally known as the Poole College Youth Orchestra, its membership consisted of a handful of violins, two cellos, lots of flutes and clarinets and one horn.

When the Bournemouth and Poole Colleges became one, the orchestra’s name needed a little adjusting and to reflect the large area from which it was beginning to attract its players, the name “Wessex” came into being.

Thirty six years later, the WYO has a membership of between 60 and 70 players. It has become accustomed to performing in large concert venues. Apart from its regular appearances in the Wessex Hall at the Lighthouse, Poole’s Centre for Arts, the WYO can also boast appearances at Bournemouth’s Winter Gardens, BIC and Pavilion, as well as London’s Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall.

It has travelled to and performed in numerous European cities including Vienna, Cologne, Koblenz and Tours in the Loire Valley. A successful link with a music centre in the German town of Walsrode allowed for several years of exchanges, not just for the WYO but for its younger friends in the Wessex Middle Strings and Fanfare.
The WYO gives 3 main concerts a year - a Christmas show, a summer charity “Prom” (which has raised more than £35,000 for charities) and its main showcase performance – the Gala Concert, which is normally in March. The Gala gives these young musicians the opportunity to test their skills and give a concert of mainstream symphonic repertoire…
                                       
 …an experience it seems, that even past members who have now become professional orchestral players – never forget!

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