A professional chamber orchestra for Yorkshire will be launched at a gala opening concert on Thursday 8 May 2025 at the Royal Hall, Harrogate.
Cuore will be an ensemble of young, world-class musicians that aim to provide an annual season of orchestral concerts in Harrogate and eventually throughout the Yorkshire region.
‘Yorkshire has a rich and diverse musical output,’ says founder and conductor William Dutton, ‘but none of the major cities have a professional chamber orchestra. I hope that Cuore will fill that space with fresh and dynamic concert experiences.’
Leeds-born Dutton is a former winner of the BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year and of the strings category of the BBC Young Musician of the Year. He was the first British pupil to be invited to study conducting at the Italian Conducting Academy in Milan, and made his UK conducting debut two years later.
William Dutton said:
I am delighted to be returning to the Royal Hall, where I sang as a soloist in front of the then Prince of Wales at its grand re-opening in 2008.
He wants Cuore to focus on the best of British music, and the first half of the opening concert will feature works by Gustav Holst, Lennox Berkeley and Edward Elgar. The concert will be introduced by Freddie Fox, an ambassador for Cuore, whose great great grandfather Samson Fox, was one of the founders of the Royal Hall in1903.
As well as giving concerts, Cuore hopes to run a series of workshops and special concerts for young children.
William Dutton said:
We hope to enrich the music life of all ages throughout this wonderful region.
See Cuore Chamber Orchestra – Launch Concert | Harrogate Theatre for tickets
Background
- The orchestra chose the name ‘Cuore’ for its three distinct meanings in Italian: core, heart and soul. It hopes to put music at the core of the community, be part of the soul of the culture, and speak directly to people’s hearts.
- The orchestra will include musicians who currently work in orchestras across the UK including the Royal Northern Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Opera North, the Royal Philharmonic and the Philharmonia.
- Two eminent musicians have kindly agreed to be artistic advisers. These are the British conductor Barry Wordsworth and Lord Michael Berkeley, the composer, journalist and campaigner who is Lennox’s Berkeley’s son.
- Cuore have teamed up with partners to showcase what is great about Yorkshire. These include tailors Carl Stuart who are sponsoring and making a bespoke suit for conductor William Dutton, carpenter Graham Sunter who is building a podium, and Dunesforde Vineyard supplying their ‘Queen of the North’ sparkling wine for the VIP reception.
- Future concerts will also showcase music by British women composers, including Ethyl Smyth, Elisabetta Brusa and Grace Williams.
