Join Us
As an amateur community orchestra we are always looking for new
members, particularly in the string section. The orchestra generally
has up to 50 regular members who come from all walks of life:
teachers, scientists, academics, retirees, students and young mums to
name a few. We are lucky to have some professional musicians in our
ranks as well as music students from the Sydney Conservatorium and the
Australian Institute of Music. At the same time, we also have players
who are beginners or who have only recently picked up their
instruments after a long break. We therefore accommodate people of all
standards and as our highly educated and international player pool
tends to be very mobile, there are plenty of opportunities to join us.
Strings
String players are always welcome to join us. If you are worried about
your standard, you needn't be. Some of our string players are
beginners or people who have not played for many years. Also, you'll
probably be pleased to hear that we don't have auditions. You are
welcome to come along and sit in on a rehearsal so you can get an idea
of the standard, although we would encourage you to bring your
instrument and play. We can assure you that the atmosphere is friendly
and not at all intimidating. If you are a string player and are
interested in joining, we encourage you to contact Allen Irwin of
Irwin Violins on 9363 0203.
Woodwind and Brass
Vacancies in these sections are rather limited but do arise from time
to time. If you are interested in joining, we encourage you to contact
our conductor Mathias Rogala-Koczorowski on 02 6337 3693 who will be
able to advise on any current vacancies. If there are none, we can
certainly take your details so we can contact when the situation
changes.
Percussion
There are generally good opportunities for people wanting to become regular or occasional percussionists with the orchestra. The orchestra has its own set of timpani. If you are interested we encourage you to contact our conductor Mathias Rogala-Koczorowski on 02 6337 3693.Rehearsals and Concerts
Rehearsals take place each Monday night at 7.30pm in St Columba's
Church, Ocean Street, Woollahra and conclude at 10.00pm whereupon many
of us will adjourn to the Lord Dudley Hotel for a well-earned drink.
One or two rehearsals for each concert will be sectional rehearsals;
that is, for strings and winds separately, with our conductor Mathias
generally taking the winds and a string tutor taking the strings. We
generally require attendance at a minimum of 80% of rehearsals is
required if you wish to play in a particular concert. There is usually
a rehearsal at Scots College on the Friday night before the concert
commencing at 7.30pm and ending at 10.30pm and there is always a
warm-up rehearsal on the day of the concert commencing around 12.30pm.
Concerts generally take place at Scots College, Victoria Avenue, Bellevue Hill at 2.30pm on Sunday afternoons.
Membership Fee If you decide you want to join the orchestra, you will be required to pay a membership fee of $60.00 or $30.00 concession. If you join during the year or are not able to play in each concert, a reduced fee calculated on a pro-rata basis will be allowed.
Photography by Ian Lever - ph 02 9332 1104
Home | About Us | Our Concerts | Join Us | Contact Us