The Academy of St Olave's: what it is and how it began
The Academy today is a chamber orchestra which may number between 10 and 45 players depending on the requirements of the programme. Our repertoire ranges from music of the seventeenth century to that of the present day; from Corelli and Purcell through Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven to Stravinsky, Britten Messiaen and John Tavener.
Recently we commissioned a piece from Ralph Bateman. The result was Ragnarok, an overture which uniquely combined the forces of the Academy along with the bells of St Olave's church. Our programmes are usually a mixture of the familiar with the less well-known and over recent years the orchestra has attracted a good deal of favourable comment both for the enterprising nature of the programmes as well as for the high standard of playing. We are the only regularly scheduled chamber orchestra in York (outside the University).
The Academy was founded in 1978 by Charles Macdonald, Organist and Director
of Music at St Olave's Church, in conjunction with local headmaster-violinist,
Robin Gilbert. The reason was to raise money for essential work to be done
on the very fine organ at the church. The first
concert was given on 8 January 1978 and was preceded by a brief article
in the Evening Press headed Organist and Headmaster form orchestra
at church. (view article)
