The Worthing Symphony Orchestra is the professional orchestra for the town of

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hov ...

. It is the only professional orchestra in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

county of

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...

. Founded in 1926, the orchestra was the first

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the g ...

orchestra in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. The WSO's principal conductor (1997 to present) is John S Gibbons. The orchestra is

led A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...

by Julian Leaper, who also leads the

City of London Sinfonia City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS performs regularly across the city of London in venues from East London clubs to traditional Central London concert halls. CLS is orchestra-in-residence at Opera ...

.Epsom & Ewell Borough Council website, Accessed 2011-05-15
/ref> As of 2008, the orchestra was made up of around 55-60 musicians. The orchestra plays at the Assembly Hall in Worthing, which according to the WSO's principal conductor, John Gibbons, has some of the finest

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

in Europe. Notable musicians to have played with the WSO at the Assembly Hall include

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julian ...

, and

Nicola Benedetti Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is an Italian-British classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She w ...

. The WSO also accompanies competitors in the

Sussex International Piano Competition The Sussex International Piano Competition is a music competition that takes place in Worthing, West Sussex, England. It was founded in 2010 by Worthing Symphony Orchestra (WSO) artistic director and conductor John Gibbons. It takes place at th ...

References

External links

Background information on the WSO
British symphony orchestras English orchestras 1926 establishments in England Musical groups from West Sussex Musical groups established in 1926 Organisations based in West Sussex Worthing {{Orchestra-stub

See also

References

External links