Manchester Camerata
Encyclopedia
The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra
based in Manchester
, England. The orchestra was founded in the 1971–1972 season. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances.
The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridgewater Hall
. It also presents concerts at the Royal Northern College of Music
. In addition, the orchestra gives run-out and residency concerts in various cities in the North of England, including Kingston upon Hull
, Sheffield
, Leeds
, Kendal
, Whitby
, Keswick
, Bradford
, Stamford
, Crewe
, Colne
, Stafford
and Ulverston
. The orchestra appeared annually at the Rasiguères
Festival of Music and Wine, held near Perpignan
, France, which Moura Lympany
established in 1981.
Past principal conductors of the orchestra have included Szymon Goldberg
, Nicholas Braithwaite
, and Sachio Fujioka. Braithwaite had also been principal guest conductor of the orchestra from 1977 to 1984. Nicholas Kraemer
is currently the orchestra's principal guest conductor. Douglas Boyd
was principal conductor of the orchestra from 2001 to 2011. In March 2010, the orchestra announced the appointment of Gábor Takács-Nagy
as the orchestra's fifth principal conductor, effective September 2011. Bob Riley is the orchestra's current chief executive. The current chairman of the orchestra's board of directors is Geoffrey Shindler OBE.
Principal funding for the orchestra comes from the Arts Council England
and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities. The orchestra has encountered financial difficulties during its history, running up a deficit of £120,000 into the early 2000s. In 2002, the orchestra received stabilisation funding of £345,000 from the Arts Council to retire its debts.
The orchestra has recorded commercially for the Avie label, conducted by Boyd and by Takács-Nagy.
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
based in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. The orchestra was founded in the 1971–1972 season. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances.
The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridgewater Hall
Bridgewater Hall
The Bridgewater Hall is an international concert venue in Manchester city centre, England. It cost around £42 million to build and currently hosts over 250 performances a year....
. It also presents concerts at the Royal Northern College of Music
Royal Northern College of Music
The Royal Northern College of Music is a music school in Manchester, England. It is located on Oxford Road in Chorlton on Medlock, at the western edge of the campus of the University of Manchester and is one of four conservatories associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music...
. In addition, the orchestra gives run-out and residency concerts in various cities in the North of England, including Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
, Keswick
Keswick, Cumbria
Keswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
, Stamford
Stamford, Lincolnshire
Stamford is a town and civil parish within the South Kesteven district of the county of Lincolnshire, England. It is approximately to the north of London, on the east side of the A1 road to York and Edinburgh and on the River Welland...
, Crewe
Crewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
, Colne
Colne
Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire...
, Stafford
Stafford
Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies approximately north of Wolverhampton and south of Stoke-on-Trent, adjacent to the M6 motorway Junction 13 to Junction 14...
and Ulverston
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....
. The orchestra appeared annually at the Rasiguères
Rasiguères
Rasiguères is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-References:*...
Festival of Music and Wine, held near Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
, France, which Moura Lympany
Moura Lympany
Dame Moura Lympany DBE was an English concert pianist.She was born as Mary Gertrude Johnstone at Saltash, Cornwall. Her father was an army officer who had served in World War I and her mother originally taught her the piano...
established in 1981.
Past principal conductors of the orchestra have included Szymon Goldberg
Szymon Goldberg
Szymon Goldberg was a Polish-born American violinist and conductor.Born in Włocławek, Congress Poland, Goldberg played the violin as a child growing up in Warsaw...
, Nicholas Braithwaite
Nicholas Braithwaite
Nicholas Paul Dallon Braithwaite is an English conductor. He is the son of the conductor Warwick Braithwaite.Braithwaite studied at the Royal Academy of Music, at the Festival masterclasses in Bayreuth, and with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. In the 1960s, Braithwaite was associate conductor of the...
, and Sachio Fujioka. Braithwaite had also been principal guest conductor of the orchestra from 1977 to 1984. Nicholas Kraemer
Nicholas Kraemer
Nicholas Kraemer is a British harpsichordist and conductor. Kraemer began his career as a harpsichordist...
is currently the orchestra's principal guest conductor. Douglas Boyd
Douglas Boyd
Douglas Boyd is a British oboist and conductor. He studied oboe at the Royal Academy of Music, London, as a pupil of Janet Craxton. He later was a student with Maurice Bourgue in Paris...
was principal conductor of the orchestra from 2001 to 2011. In March 2010, the orchestra announced the appointment of Gábor Takács-Nagy
Gábor Takács-Nagy
Gabor Takács-Nagy is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he was a winner of the Jenő Hubay prize...
as the orchestra's fifth principal conductor, effective September 2011. Bob Riley is the orchestra's current chief executive. The current chairman of the orchestra's board of directors is Geoffrey Shindler OBE.
Principal funding for the orchestra comes from the Arts Council England
Arts Council England
Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport...
and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities. The orchestra has encountered financial difficulties during its history, running up a deficit of £120,000 into the early 2000s. In 2002, the orchestra received stabilisation funding of £345,000 from the Arts Council to retire its debts.
The orchestra has recorded commercially for the Avie label, conducted by Boyd and by Takács-Nagy.
Principal Conductors
- Szymon GoldbergSzymon GoldbergSzymon Goldberg was a Polish-born American violinist and conductor.Born in Włocławek, Congress Poland, Goldberg played the violin as a child growing up in Warsaw...
(1977–1979) - Nicholas BraithwaiteNicholas BraithwaiteNicholas Paul Dallon Braithwaite is an English conductor. He is the son of the conductor Warwick Braithwaite.Braithwaite studied at the Royal Academy of Music, at the Festival masterclasses in Bayreuth, and with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. In the 1960s, Braithwaite was associate conductor of the...
(1984–1991) - Sachio Fujioka (1995–2000)
- Douglas BoydDouglas BoydDouglas Boyd is a British oboist and conductor. He studied oboe at the Royal Academy of Music, London, as a pupil of Janet Craxton. He later was a student with Maurice Bourgue in Paris...
(2001–2011) - Gabor Takacs-NagyGábor Takács-NagyGabor Takács-Nagy is a Hungarian violinist and conductor. He began violin studies at age 8. He attended the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where he was a winner of the Jenő Hubay prize...
(2011-present)