About

History of the orchestra

The orchestra was founded as Salisbury Orchestral Society on 16th October 1917 by Sir Walter Alcock, Organist of Salisbury Cathedral with Sir Edward Elgar as its first president. Originally comprising only string players, a number of joint concerts were held with the Salisbury Musical Society. In 1931, the string players decided to 'go it alone', adding a small wind section a year later. In 1933, this was expanded to a full symphony orchestra.

In November 1938 a joint concert of the Salisbury Orchestral Society with the Salisbury Musical Society was conducted by Sir Adrian Boult, who from 1923 until his death, was the Vice President of the Society.

John Milne, Director of Music at Bishop Wordsworth's School, conducted the society before and after the war until 1959, since when Dr Christopher Dearnley, Mr Richard Lloyd, Dr Richard Seal, and now Mr David Halls - all Organists or Assistant Organists at the cathedral - have successively been our conductors.

In 1963, our regular concert venue was changed from the Guildhall to the newly reopened City Hall, and the orchestra expanded rapidly to its present membership of around 65 core players to which additional players are added as required for the works being performed. In 2003, the orchestra voted to change its name from Salisbury Orchestral Society to the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra as a better reflection of its true identity.

Making it happen

DAVID HALLS - Conductor

Born in 1963, David Halls was taught the piano from the age of four. Whilst a pupil at Harrogate Grammar School, he was Assistant Organist at St. Wilfrid's, Harrogate, studied the organ with Adrian Selway at St Peter's Church, Harrogate, Ronald Perrin at Ripon Cathedral and later with Thomas Trotter in London.

David won an Organ Scholarship to Worcester College, Oxford and graduated in 1984 with an Honours Degree in Music. He passed both the Associate and Fellowship Examinations of The Royal College of Organists in the same year, being awarded five prizes and the Silver Medal from the Worshipful Company of Musicians. He studied in Winchester for a post-graduate Certificate in Education and was Organ Scholar of Winchester Cathedral under the guidance of Martin Neary and James Lancelot. He was appointed Director of Music at Salisbury Cathedral in September 2005.

In addition to his daily duties in the cathedral, he has toured Austria, Estonia, France, Holland, Italy, Latvia, Sweden and the USA with the cathedral choirs and has appeared as conductor, accompanist and soloist in many concerts and recordings. In demand as a recitalist in cathedrals and churches throughout the UK, he has recorded four solo CDs on the Willis Organ in Salisbury Cathedral and a recording of organ music from St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate, was released in 2015. His organ DVD and CD 'The Grand Organ of Salisbury Cathedral' was released in 2012 to great acclaim. He is active as a composer with many choral and organ works published in the UK and USA. He is the President of the Salisbury and District Organists' Association and conducts the Salisbury Musical Society and the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra.

ROSAMUND BROMLEY - Leader

Rosamund Bromley was born on Jersey in the Channel Islands but spent her childhood in Kent. She began violin lessons at the age of 11 - "I learned to please my father. He was a pianist and organist and wanted to accompany at least one of his children."

Ros studied at the Royal Academy of Music. On leaving, she auditioned for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and there began a long association, playing mainly with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. The work involved many foreign tours and recordings and incorporated seven years with Glyndebourne Touring Opera.

Ros was Principal 2nd Violin for English Touring Opera for several years and co-Principal for the Scottish Ballet Company for ten years. She has played with many orchestras including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra, the Northern Sinfonia and Covent Garden. She has taught at Salisbury Cathedral School for many years.

Ros became Leader of the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra in 2004 and says that "it is a huge honour to lead this orchestra." We are all enormously grateful to Ros for her hard work, her inspirational leadership and her friendship.

Darrell Cox - President

Darrell Cox retired from playing the French Horn in November 2022, having performed with the orchestra for 73 years!

Darrell started learning the Horn at Bishop Wordsworth School at the age of 13 and the following year he joined the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra (then known as the Salisbury Orchestral Society) as Second Horn. A year later, aged 15, he moved up to First Horn and remained Principal Horn for 65 years, sharing the position for many years with his son, Jonathan. At the age of 80, he passed the Principal Horn position to his former pupil, Emily Thomas.

Darrell served with the RAF Band in Germany as part of his National Service but continued to play with the Orchestra whenever he was home on leave. During this time, he benefitted from lessons with Aubrey Brain, father of the world-famous Horn player, Dennis Brain. Throughout his playing career, Darrell was in constant demand, regularly performing with amateur and semi-professional orchestras throughout the south coast region.

Darrell has also been invaluable as our Honorary Librarian for 34 years and we are grateful that, despite retiring from a playing position, he is continuing to support the Orchestra in this role. His family have been prominent members of the Orchestra over many years. Darrell's son, Jonathan, played the Horn with the Orchestra for many years, his grandson Thomas played the Horn with us for a short while before joining the Royal Navy, and his daughter, Sarah, is our Principal Oboist and Chairman.

At the AGM in October 2022, Darrell was unanimously elected President of the Orchestra in recognition of his extraordinary service, dedication and commitment. Members of the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra would like to extend heartfelt thanks to Darrell for all he has done, and continues to do, in support of our organisation. He has been an extraordinary servant of the SSO for so many years.