Press Release issued November 2015

The latest exciting news in the local music scene is that Ipswich Symphony Orchestra is to be the new name of the town’s Orchestral Society.

Orchestra chairman, Pat Grimwade, says “We have decided that it’s time to update our name.  IOS has been giving concerts in the town for 113-years but we feel that the new name is better suited to the size and quality of the orchestra, and the prominence of our county town.  We are a large orchestra of 75-players and are well respected in the musical world.  Our inspirational conductor, Adam Gatehouse, is hugely experienced and we have a long tradition of bringing world class soloists to our home at the Ipswich Corn Exchange. We play a wide range of music; not only symphonies and concertos, but also favourites from film, TV and around the world.  Our annual Family Concerts are always popular, and it is always rewarding for us to see a young audience responding to the sound of a large live orchestra”.  

The Orchestra’s Patron, pianist and TV presenter, Noriko Ogawa, says “I am thrilled by this news, and the new name of the orchestra”.

The Orchestra has developed in many ways during the tenure of our Conductor, Adam Gatehouse: "Changing the name of Ipswich's leading orchestra to Ipswich Symphony Orchestra is not just symbolic. As the orchestra's conductor for the last 16-years, I have long felt that in the scale and ambition of its repertoire, in the standards it achieves, and in the international soloists it attracts, this was truly a symphony orchestra, one of which Ipswich could and should be proud. And I feel that we can continue in our quest for the best, attracting the finest soloists and the brightest young musicians, so we challenge ourselves and push the goal posts ever outwards".

Soloists performing with the orchestra in recent years have included Nicola Benedetti, Julian Lloyd Webber, Benjamin Grosvenor, Dame Felicity Lott, Jennifer Pike and Emma Johnson, as well as young winners of BBC Young Musician of the Year and some of the Aldeburgh Young Musicians.  Ipswich Symphony Orchestra will be continuing a proud tradition of high quality performances in the town.