County Second Orchestra

"We may be Second by name, but we are definitely not Second in quality"

Entry to the County 2nd Orchestra is by audition from within the County 3rd Orchestra and the County 2nd Concert band, held 2 or 3 times a year. Entry standard is approximately grade six or seven for all instruments.

Until Summer 2005 this orchestra was been conducted by Ian Smith, currently Director of Music and Head of Expressive Arts at Wootton Upper School in Bedfordshire. He had conducted this orchestra since 1982.

The current conductor is Jan Kaznowski.

The 2nd Orchestra regularly visits the National Festival of Youth Orchestras, held in Edinburgh during August, at the same time as the official Edinburgh Festivals. Pictures from the 2005 visit can be found by clicking here; previous visits included August 2003.

In February 2002 the orchestra played at the Royal Albert Hall again to help the Barnardo's charity raise funds. Click here for pictures and report. A major part of their performance was conducted by Douglas Coombes, the composer of one of the pieces played. Click here to see a list of the pieces performed.

Audio of Second Orchestra playing David Fanshawe's Fanfare to Planet Earth (1.7mb MP3 file), recorded in Bedford Corn Exchange during the New Year 2000 concert.

To see a listing of some of the music recently performed by the County Youth 2nd Orchestra click here.

Photos from County Youth 2nd Orchestra courses can be found by clicking here.