City Of Rochester Symphony Orchestra

The City of Rochester Symphony Orchestra (CRSO) was formed in 1969 and is one of the main amateur orchestras in north Kent. The orchestra's Music Director is the well-known conductor and trombonist Peter Bassano, and its President is the distinguished British conductor Sir Roger Norrington. The CRSO has approximately 60 playing members, both amateur and professional musicians, who perform concerts at The Central Theatre, Chatham, and other venues in Kent. Recent concerts include a joint performance with Rochester Choral Society in Rochester Cathedral, with a programme that included Brahms's Schicksalslied and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The CRSO also includes chamber groups - notably the piano quintet City of Rochester Chamber Ensemble - which perform throughout Kent.

The CRSO was formed to nurture excellence through music in the community, and places the local community at the heart of all that it does. The orchestra has given 3 World Premiere performances of music by composers from the University of Kent recently, and the CRSO outreach programme includes a Young Composers' evening which allows young composers from the local area to hear their works played by the orchestra. We offer ticket concessions for young audience members, schools, and community groups. Every year a chamber orchestra consisting of CRSO musicians undertakes a number of informal outreach performances at events such as the Rochester Literature Festival, the Dickens Festival, the Lenham Family Festival and the Chatham River Festival.