How it was formed and developed
Early History
- Stoneleigh was an Orchestral Musical Society for adults before the Second World War and, in 1944, the members (and in particular Edward Gough, the founder) decided to form a junior section called Stoneleigh Junior Orchestra. This orchestra was intended for the children of the adult orchestra, and two of the first junior members were of course Edward Gough’s sons, Howard and Colin Gough. It was a small, select group of around 30 players.
- The original orchestral society lapsed soon afterwards, outgunned by some of the newly established local symphony orchestras such as the Surrey Philharmonic . However, Stoneleigh Junior Orchestra was to prove much more resilient going from strength to strength in its early years.
- Soon after the war, the National Youth Orchestra was formed by Dame Ruth with Edward Gough as another of its founders. In the early days Stoneleigh shared many players in common with the NYO - Howard Gough was one of the first to join. The NYO provided only ad hoc music opportunities, such as Summer courses, whilst Stoneleigh Junior Orchestra offered an ongoing weekly opportunity to be part of an orchestra.
- The first concert was in 1944 and the orchestra thrived to such an extent that by 1951 they were invited to take part in the Music Festival which was part of the Festival of Britain celebration.
Key developments
- Moved from Stoneleigh to our new home in Wimbledon in 2003.
- In 2005 the Training Orchestra was formed.