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Dorking Philharmonia is a member of The National Federation of Music Societies and is a registered Charity no. 1081961.

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Concerts are held at:

St. Martin's Church, Church Street, Dorking, RH4 1DW

Riddell Memorial Hall, Walton-on-the-Hill, KT20 7UA

Rehearsals are held at:

St. Martin's Christian Centre, Church Street, Dorking, RH4 1DW

St. Martin's School, Ranmore Road, Dorking, RH4 1HW

Workshop Days are held at:

The Ashcombe School, Ashcombe Road, Dorking, RH4 1LY

Founded in 1999, Dorking Philharmonia is an ensemble of enthusiastic amateur musicians from around Surrey, London and Sussex who perform a diverse repertoire of classical music. The orchestra is lead by Alex Postlethwaite and directed by Jonathan Regan, with its musical activity centred in Dorking, a market town in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

In the few short years since its inception it has achieved the world premier of Jesse Durkan's work Concerquarto for 4 Horns in 2003, a reciprocated exchange with the Universiteitorkest Maastricht (with Dorking Philharmonia performing in Maastricht in 2002 and the University Orchestra performing in Dorking in 2003) and regularly well attended concerts in the centre of Dorking. It is hoped to build on these achievements, and especially to develop relations with our friends in Maastricht through further exchanges.

Dorking Philharmonia is a fast growing orchestra, but it maintains the friendly atmosphere amongst its members that was the intention of the founder, Chris Hammond, as well as aiming for high standards of musical performance. We are very committed to providing educational opportunities via links with local schools, including having local schoolchildren perform in our concerts.

Dorking Philharmonia is a member of Making Music, The National Federation of Music Societies.

7.30pm at St. Martins Church, Church Street, Dorking RH4 1DW.
Unless otherwise stated, ticket prices are £10 (£8 OAP, £6 full time students with ID, £5 under 12s) available on the door.
For places to eat, drink and stay in Dorking please see visitdorking.com (click here). Click here for a map.

Joining Dorking Philharmonia couldn't be easier. We hold no formal auditions but invite potential new players to come along for a few rehearsals to meet the members of the orchestra.

The orchestra rehearses on Wednesday evenings in the centre of Dorking during term time, and our rehearsal location is close to car parking and the Dorking railway stations.

Rehearsals have a fun, friendly atmosphere, and our membership ranges from all age ranges and many walks of life. Members can also get involved in the running of the orchestra to whatever extent they wish.

Most importantly, there are frequent social events including post-rehearsal pub trips or meals. There are also opportunities for members of the orchestra to play in smaller ensembles, either at the Friends Concert or representing the orchestra at local events.

In common with other amateur orchestras our vacancies generally occur on the string and brass sections, but wind vacancies do arise so please contact us to find out the latest information. We look forward to meeting you.

Would you like to give Dorking Philharmonia your valuable support by becoming a ‘Friend of Dorking Philharmonia’?

For a small annual membership fee you receive:

• Newsletters
• Information about forthcoming concerts and events
• Invitations to Friends' evenings
• Ticket price reductions throughout our season

Current Friends of Dorking Philharmonia

Carol Ashburner
Christopher and Frances Clementi
Mr and Mrs Daruwalla
Mr R.A. Edmondson
Mr Gerald and Mrs Janet Hall
Roger and Andrea Hall
Mr and Mrs L Penny
§ Dr and Mrs B J Regan
Mr N Roper
Mrs M A Slade
Sarah and John Winter
Kelly Young

For further information on the Friends of Dorking Philharmonia please contact us.

The Conductor is sponsored by Aileen and Bernie Regan.
The Leader's chair is sponsored by an anonymous donor.
The Principal Flute chair is sponsored in memory of Mary Hammond.
The Second Oboe chair is sponsored by Roger and Andrea Hall.
The Principal Clarinet chair is sponsored in memory of Peter Wadey

Sponsorship is a wonderful way to support the orchestra. The Orchestra would welcome any offers of sponsorship, perhaps for the performance of a particular work, or for printing of the concert programme. For more information please contact us.

We are very grateful for the contributions made in many different ways by all our supporters.

Jonathan Regan has conducted Dorking Philharmonia since its formation in 1999. He studied postgraduate conducting with Peter Stark at Trinity College of Music, where he participated in master classes with Jorma Panula and Sir Colin Davis. Since then he has studied with Gerry Cornelius, with George Hurst at Canford Summer School of Music and with Denise Ham at Wickham Conducting Course. In 2007 he was invited to participate in a master class with George Hurst at the Royal Academy of Music.

Jonathan began conducting whilst studying for a music degree at Exeter University, where as a violinist he led the University Symphony Orchestra. In 1998 he became assistant conductor to the University Sinfonietta and took the orchestra on tour to France and Belgium.

In 2002 he trained as a classroom music teacher in London but soon after completing this course he joined forces with violinist Adrian Garratt and cellist Sian  Kadifachi to form the comedy-oriented string trio Pluck. The group has won awards at festivals in Edinburgh and Adelaide and toured their theatre show to America, Asia, Australia, Europe and even a shopping centre in Dubai. UK touring dates are always available on their website www.pluck.me.uk

Alex Postlethwaite is a freelance violinist based in SW London. He is in demand as orchestral leader, chamber musician, soloist and recording artist having worked with many top chart acts including the Divine Comedy and Kinobe, whose recent hit was featured on the Kronenbourg advert.

Celebrating Vaughan Williams' association with Dorking recently, appearances included The Lark Ascending and a rare performance of his song cycle Ons Wenlock's Edge for string quartet, piano and tenor, together with the String Quartet no. 1 with the Alexandrias Ensemble. Other performances by his Ensemble included Martinu's Piano Trio, John McCabe Musica Notturna, and Schnittke's Moz-Art.

Alex also leads the Blaze Ensemble who regularly put on chamber concerts at St James' Piccadilly; recent concerts included Beethoven's Septet and Schoenberg's Chamber Symphony. Hobbies include studying for an Open University degree in Natural Sciences and watching Manchester United!

All concerts conducted by Jonathan Regan unless otherwise indicated.

Encouraged by a member of Dorking Philharmonia who had lived in Maastricht for a number of years, Dorking Philharmonia has recently linked up with the Maastricht University Orchestra for two joint concerts, the first in Maastricht (in The Netherlands) in June 2002, and a further concert in Dorking in May 2003.

The two orchestras share great similarities - both have very enthusiastic and energetic memberships scanning a wide age range, and of course the shared passion of musical performance. There are also contrasts - the Maastricht University Orchestra has a membership from both the local community and students and staff from the University, and are generally all based in the city. Dorking Philharmonia draws its membership from Surrey, London and Sussex and is based in a much smaller town.

This has been an exciting and entertaining opportunity to link two orchestras for larger scale works - in Maastricht the combined orchestras performed Brahms' 4th Symphony to a packed audience in St. Jan's Church in the central plaza of the city, and in Dorking St. Martin's Church was filled with the sound of an 80 strong joint orchestra performing Dvorak's New World Symphony. The orchestras also performed smaller works individually, choosing works by British and Dutch composers. On both occasions the visiting orchestra stayed with members of the home orchestra for a long weekend of socialising and rehearsing, generating close ties and friendships.

Although both legs of the first exchange are now complete contact between the orchestras will be maintained and it is hoped and intended that there will further joint concerts at a mutually agreed date in the not too distant future.

Over the past few years, as part of Mole Valley's Arts Alive October festival, we've run orchestral workshops to rehearse and perform larger scale pieces. These have included Mahler's 1st Symphony, Shostakovich's 10th Symphony, Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra and Vaughan William's London Symphony (no. 2).

On the 4th October 2009 we are running a workshop on Gustav Holst's Planets Suite in Dorking, which promises to be an interesting and exciting day.

The workshop will be held at the Ashcombe School in Dorking - click here for a map. Full details can be seen on the application form below, or for more nformation please email workshop@dorkingphilharmonia.org.uk.

Download Application Details (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).

www.arts-alive.co.uk

Dorking Philharmonia is delighted to announce that it owns a set of four timpani (kettle drums) which have been used since the 2005-2006 season.

The timpani is the most commonly seen percussion in Dorking Philharmonia concerts; in fact it is rare for us not to need them.

Owning our own set will allow us to have much more flexible use of these; enabling us to more effectively offer opportunities to a range of student and experienced players to perform with the orchestra in the future.

We are very grateful to the following charitable organisations who supported financially us in purchasing this set:

The Foyle Foundation

Gatwick Airport Community Trust