The Orchestra
The Solway Sinfonia is an amateur orchestra based in Dumfries & Galloway with its members being drawn from the south of Scotland and north of England. Many of its members have made their careers in music and all play to a standard of at least Grade 7. Each year the orchestra puts on a number of public concerts and a few workshop study days.
Over 27 years ago a group of musicians, mainly drawn from the old Galloway Chamber Orchestra in Newton Stewart, came together for a performance of Faure’s Requiem. One of the violinists, Sarah Berker, subsequently asked the conductor, Geoff Keating, if he would conduct the first performance of her ‘Caerlaverlock Suite’, written for the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. A concert was organised at the Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries on October 12, 1997, with an orchestra of some sixty players.
The success of this event inspired the idea of an orchestra which would convene a couple of times each year. The rest is history.
Join Us
We are always keen to hear from players of any orchestral instrument.
We perform two main concerts a year with five rehearsals before each. The subscription is currently £25 for the first concert of the season and £15 for the second. Modest travelling expenses are available to help players attend rehearsals and concerts.
We aim to achieve as high a standard of playing as possible. We therefore ask that members play to at least at grade 7 standard.
If you are interested in joining us please contact us via contact@solwaysinfonia.org.uk with your contact details and a brief description of your playing experience.
Conductor
Our conductor at present is Joe Davies.
Recently praised for his ‘musical brilliance’ (Seen and Heard International), Joe Davies is a Conductor working around the UK. He is Assistant Conductor of the English Symphony Orchestra, Musical Director of the UK Proms in the Park Orchestra, Canterbury Symphony Orchestra, Oxford Millennium Orchestra, Leamington Sinfonia, Solway Sinfonia, and Coventry & Warwickshire Youth Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the Cumbria Opera Group.
Joe graduated with a First Class Degree in Music from St Peter’s College, Oxford, where he was awarded the Paul and Fiona Geddes Award for Academic Excellence and conducted the Oxford University Chorus, the Oxford University Symphonic Band, and the Choir of the Wesley Memorial Chapel. He then studied Orchestral Conducting at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, graduating with Distinction, where he studied under Michael Seal (Associate Conductor, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra). Joe’s success at the Elgar Festival 2023 Conducting Masterclass led to invitations from Kenneth Woods to Assist projects with the English Symphony Orchestra, and Joe continues to work with this orchestra throughout the UK, becoming their permanent Assistant Conductor in June 2024.
Leader
Violinist Sarah Berker has been the leader of the Solway Sinfonia since the very first concert. In her words …
I live in Langholm with my partner of 41 years, Steve, and have a daughter, Sadie, who is just finishing a post-grad at Glasgow University.
Earliest musical influences: My Dad playing vinyl on a Sunday afternoon (Da Falla, Kabalevsky, Brahms, Montserrat Caballe, Andres Segovia). Primary music teacher, Harold Cooper who taught us to read music on hand bells (if you were good you got to play two at once).
King Edward VI College Stourbridge (Robert Plant had just left when I got there). We had a fabulous orchestra and played several times in The Schools Prom, Albert Hall (with Rick Wakeman of Yes).
Music Degree at Hull University: I had violin lessons with Eta Cohen’s daughter, Maureen, but rarely got past bar 2 in lessons. She was furious I played the Franck Sonata in my final performance… probably thought I was only up for Haydn.
Teacher training at Bath College followed by almost unbroken period of 35 years teaching in secondary schools (had a break in Spain for a year when I wrote my ‘Caerlaverock Suite’).
I’ve been the ‘music wifey’ at Langholm for the last 22 years but will finish this summer and take up basket weaving and knitting.
Favourite Composers: Shostakovich, Bach, Verdi and Frank Zappa.
Favourite hobbies: bird-watching, travelling around Spain and wine-sampling ….. and practising the violin.
I’m proud to be a member of the Solway Sinfonia and feel privileged to be able to play challenging music among a fabulous group of talented friends.
Past Concerts
View a list of our past concerts here.