The Coventry City of Culture Orchestra was formed in 2021 following Coventry being awarded City of Culture status for 2022. It received its initial funding from the Coventry and Nuneaton Methodist circuit, supported by the Methodist Church at Coventry Central Hall. At the beginning of 2021 the Central Hall welcomed a new minister, Rev. Stephen Willey, who upon arrival posed the question ‘What can we do for the City of Culture’. From this idea the ‘Artists in Residence’ programme was developed, with the aim of recruiting four artists to run projects during the CoC celebration year. Sebastian Farrall was one of these artists. His aspiration was to celebrate the people of Coventry by music making, with a particular reach-out to rusty players who, perhaps, had not played for a while.
The response was phenomenal, musicians from all over Coventry and Warwickshire dusted off their instruments and applied for membership. Our first repertoire consisted mainly of music with links to the City of Coventry. The music chosen ranged from Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ through to the Specials’ ‘Ghost Town’ and the ‘Eton Boating Song’, works commemorating the history, culture and diversity of the city. A competition organised for composers to submit works for inclusion attracted entries from both local and international composers, and several of these were chosen for our Celebration Concert.
Prior to the Celebration Concert the orchestra performed a Christmas Service at the Central Hall. The Celebration Concert itself took place at the Central Hall on April 2nd, 2022. It was a sellout a resounding success and featured both the orchestra and the Festival Chorus choir. Following the City of Culture celebrations, the funding ended, but the enthusiasm of the orchestra remained. The decision to continue with the orchestra as self-funded presented new challenges but the relationship with the Central Hall has been a huge help. While they do not fund the orchestra directly, they help with resources and provide a base for rehearsals. In return we perform as part of the church’s services, both at Christmas and in the summer.
What makes our orchestra unique is that while we require members to be competent musicians, we don’t turn people away if we already have a full complement. For example, an orchestra would usually have 2-3 clarinets, we have 9! It also includes some instruments not generally associated with an orchestra. We are looking at the possibility of an adult’s ‘learners’ band’ as a separate ensemble, but this is some way off.
The top-level purpose of the orchestra is to celebrate community music making. The musicians are primarily amateur, and our music covers several genres. We are keen to be inclusive and welcoming, encouraging concertgoers to bring their children, to clap, to dance and to sing along.
We are enthusiastic about raising our profile within the city and the surrounding areas. We would love more people to be aware of our existence, and for the citizens of Coventry to feel that there is an ‘ownership’ of the orchestra: to feel that we represent our city.
