The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra (YSO) is an

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

based in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England. It was first active from its establishment in 1947 until its demise in 1955, and then revived in 2021. Initially based in the

Leeds Town Hall Leeds Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building on The Headrow (formerly Park Lane), Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Planned to include law courts, a council chamber, offices, a public hall, and a suite of ceremonial rooms, it was built be ...

, it is now based at Yeadon Town Hall, on the outskirts of Leeds. Maurice Miles was the orchestra's Principal Conductor, followed by

Nicolai Malko Nicolai Andreyevich Malko (russian: Никола́й Андре́евич Малько́, ua, Микола Андрійович Малько; 4 May 188323 June 1961) was a Russian-born American symphonic conductor. Biography Malko was born in ...

Background

The orchestra – YSO – was founded in 1947 by the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. Funding for the YSO was unique as it was achieved from a multiplicity of local authorities, with notable support from the

Leeds Corporation Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

which funded the YSO with £40,000 a year to keep it going with a strength of 50 musicians. Its initial principal conductor was Maurice Miles who remained with the orchestra well into the next decade. The inaugural season of 120 concerts included 60 in Leeds. Over thirty 20th century British works were featured in the season. By 1950, Miles was suggesting to a

County Borough of Leeds The County Borough of Leeds, and its predecessor, the Municipal Borough of Leeds, was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1835 to 1974. Its origin was the ancient borough of Leeds, which was reformed by ...

councillor that the orchestra perform at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. In March 1950, the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra gave a performance at the

. At

Harewood House Harewood House ( , ) is a country house in Harewood, West Yorkshire, England. Designed by architects John Carr and Robert Adam, it was built, between 1759 and 1771, for Edwin Lascelles, 1st Baron Harewood, a wealthy West Indian plantation ...

on 11 April 1950, Miles reportedly "conducted a section of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra before a large and appreciative audience in which

the Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...

and

the Earl ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and Countess of Harewood were present". Harewood House was the home of both the Princess, an early supporter of the orchestra and her son George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, patron of the orchestra. Attending the YSO

soirées A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

at Harewood House was Richard Noël Middleton, one of the orchestra's founders. Middleton was the great-grandfather of Catherine, Princess of Wales. In May 1951, the orchestra performed at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

. Maurice Miles championed the music of British composers in many of his YSO programmes and directed a Festival of British Music in Leeds in 1951 (

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

year). He had won a scholarship to the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

in London where he came under the tutelage of conductors such as Sir

Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hund ...

and Julius Harrison. Miles left his post in Yorkshire to become principal conductor of the City of Belfast Orchestra and in 1966 became the inaugural conductor of the

Ulster Orchestra The Ulster Orchestra, based in Belfast, is the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall. It also gives concerts across the United K ...

. In 1953, the film score for ''Engineers in Steel'' was composed and recorded by the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Maurice Miles. The film was about "An introduction to the English Steel Corporation group of companies"; history and activities, examples of their work." In 1954,

Norman Del Mar Norman René Del Mar CBE (31 July 19196 February 1994) was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialised in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. H ...

was conductor of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra.

, the chief conductor of the Chicago-based Grant Park Orchestra, returned to England in 1954, to take up the post of chief conductor of the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, which he held for only one season, 1954–1955, before the orchestra, essentially supported by the rate-payers of Leeds, was disbanded. BBC Radio dramatised in 2014 the YSO's history and demise as ''Death of an Orchestra'' featuring

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and tw ...

''.'' The orchestra was also the feature of the sequel BBC Radio programme ''Birth of an Orchestra,'' which followed the journey of David Taylor as he created the Yorkshire Young Sinfonia (YYS).

2021 revival

In 2021, local Yorkshire-based conductor Ben Crick and Leeds-based concert promoter Jamie Hudson resurrected the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra, re-employing professional musicians whose musical careers have been paused during the

COVID-19 crisis The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The orchestra's home is Yeadon Town Hall and the orchestra will be playing a number of engagements throughout Yorkshire, including performances at

Principal conductors

Maurice Miles Maurice Miles (190826 June 1985) was an English conductor known for championing the music of twentieth century British composers. Biography Early life and studies Miles was educated at Wells Cathedral School and won a scholarship to the Roya ...

(1947–1953) *

(1954) *

(1954–1955) * Ben Crick (2021–)

References

The Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra: A Post Mortem (1) by Joseph E. Potts. The Musical Times, Vol. 97, No. 1357 (March 1956), pp. 132–133. Published by: Musical Times Publications Ltd. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/937250

External links

Yorkshire Symphony OrchestraDeath of an Orchestra – the Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra – BBC Iplayer radio. First broadcast BBC Radio 4 Tue 16 December 2014
* * {{Authority control British symphony orchestras Culture in Leeds 1947 establishments in England Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom Musical groups established in 1947