City of Carlisle Orchestra

Amazing concert. Will, you are a 🌟!

It's finally D-Day (Dvorak day!)

The City of Carlisle Orchestra is delighted to welcome two highly talented young musicians to its summer concert on Saturday 27th June.

The programme features two powerful works: Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor and Bruch's Symphony No.1.

The soloist in the Dvorak is Will Archibald, an 18-year-old Langholm-born cellist who has recently completed his Sixth Form studies at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester. While there, he served as Principal Cello of the Symphony Orchestra and studied with Tim Smedley, having previously studied with Alex McQuiston, He has participated in masterclasses with distinguished musicians including Paul Watkins, Raphael Wallfisch and Karine Georgian.

Will has performed throughout the UK as both a soloist and chamber musician, with repertoire ranging from sonatas by Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff to the Cello Concerto by Dvořák.

As an orchestral musician, Will has performed with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and appeared in a side-by-side project with the BBC Philharmonic at MediaCity Salford for HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

In September, he will begin undergraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Félix Schmidt.
Will is pleased to make his concerto debut with the City of Carlisle Orchestra. He performs on an Armando Monterumici cello generously loaned by benefactors.

Will is pleased to make his concerto debut with the City of Carlisle Orchestra. He performs on an Armando Monterumici cello generously loaned by benefactors.

Conducting Will and the orchestra is Claudia Jablonski, a British-Swedish conductor and cellist from London (but with Cumbrian connections: her grandmother hailed from Workington and she still has relatives in Whitehaven).

Described as “a conductor to watch out for”, Claudia is a mentee of Paavo Järvi and student of Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she is currently pursuing a masters degree in orchestral conducting, on the generous Leverhulme Scholarship.

The concert is at the orchestra’s regular venue of St John’s Church on London Road, Carlisle, starting at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £10 in advance from orchestra members or the Tourist Information Centre, Greenmarket, Carlisle, or £12 at the door; under 18s free.

www.cityofcarlisleorchestra.co.uk

Super rehearsal tonight with our very talented soloist, Will Archibald. We are all so looking forward to the concert on the 27th June.
https://www.instagram.com/willmcadam_cello/ #

Love Carlisle

We're so looking forward to this concert! Tickets are now on sale.

Next stop, Dvorak! Totally biased, being a cellist myself, but this concerto is one of the best ever written for any instrument IMHO.

City of Carlisle Orchestra highlights local talent once again

At its first concert of 2026, the city’s orchestra will once again be showcasing a young, local composer. The concert, on Saturday 21st March, at St John’s Church, London Road, is the second consecutive concert to feature a composition written by a talented, teenage musician from the county.

Eighteen-year-old Tamsin Crook is a trumpet player and composer from Penrith. She has played with a number of groups including the Hallé Youth Orchestra, the National Youth Concert Band, and the City of Carlisle Orchestra, as well as local choirs.

Tamsin began composing during her studies for GCSE Music and quickly realised how much she enjoyed it. She says: “The passion grew when I was selected for the ORA Singers Young Composers Scheme, where my piece was performed at Worcester Cathedral as part of the Three Choirs Festival.
“More recently, I have written pieces for the International Festival of Brass Bands and Cumbria Opera Group. I am excited to keep developing my voice as a composer.”
Tamsin’s composition ‘Postcards from Cumbria’ is a series of musical snapshots inspired by everyday life and the changing seasons in Cumbria, set against the landscapes of the Lake District. The work opens with an enchanted winter scene of frost-covered trees and cold, still lakes, before moving to a lively autumn market, full of colour and movement. The third movement reflects traditional festivals, inspired by Penrith’s Winter Droving. The final movement offers a grand reflection on the region’s natural beauty; its fells, rolling hills, and wide-open fields, bringing the piece to a warm close.

Alongside Tamsin’s composition, the orchestra will play Mikhail Glinka’s Spanish Overture No.1: Capriccio Brillante, and Sergei Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony.

The orchestra will be conducted by Ammal Bhatia, a Leverhulme Scholar who is currently studying for a Masters in Orchestral Conducting with Martyn Brabbins at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS).

Ammal was Conductor in Residence of the London Schools Symphony Orchestra for the 24/25 season and has also conducted the Ulster Orchestra, the Chineke! Orchestra and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, where he trained as a violinist, Ammal has performed with the Chineke! Orchestra, most recently in their European tour and at their BBC Prom.

He joins the orchestra as part of the ongoing, highly successful collaboration between RCS and City of Carlisle Orchestra, whereby young conductors have the opportunity to take over for a term and prepare the musicians for a concert.

The programme starts at 7.30pm at St John’s Church on London Road, Carlisle on Saturday 21st March. Tickets are £10 in advance (or £12 at the door) and are available from orchestra members or the Tourist Information Centre at the Old Town Hall. Under 18s free.

What a fantastic programme to play and be involved in. We're also premiering a great piece by a young, super-talented, local musician, Tamsin Crook.
Rachmaninov Symphony No. 2 is one of the most popular symphonies - regularly featuring highly in Classic FM's Hall of Fame.
Tickets are available from the Town Hall or orchestra members.