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About Us

The Watford Philharmonic Society was established by Sir Henry Wood (of BBC Proms fame) in 1935.  Today we are one of the largest amateur societies in the UK combining choir and orchestra and, as a result, have a massive repertoire of classical music to choose from for our performances.

History

With its current forces of some 170 members, the Watford Philharmonic Society continues the tradition, unbroken since the earliest days, of putting on four concerts a year. Since 1940 almost all have benefitted from the splendid acoustics of what is now the Watford Colosseum.

Over the years, the Society's large amateur choral and orchestral numbers have enabled it to mount most of the great masterpieces, the best-loved more than once:  in Stuart Dunlop's time as Conductor he has re-interpreted Handel's Messiah, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Verdi's Requiem, Brahms' German Requiem, Bach's St John Passion and Beethoven's Ninth (Choral) Symphony.  Stuart also continued the Society's practice of interspersing the well known works with great, but less frequently performed works such as Vaughan-Williams' Sea Symphony, Tippett's Child Of Our Time, and notably Edward Elgar's rarely performed The Kingdom, in 2002. 

With the arrival of Terry Edwards, then recently retired as Chorus Master at Covent Garden, there has been some emphasis on Opera with a concert versions of Carmen, Samson & Delilah, and The Bartered Bride as well as works such as Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, and Karl Jenkin's The Armed Man. This has still left room for 'fun' works such as concert versions of Sullivan's Yeomen of the Guard, Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, extracts from Les Miserables and the annual celebrations of the Christmas Carol Concert.

In recent years the Society has reached a wider audience, as well as assisting the Watford Peace Hospice, by participating in the highly successful Charity Gala Concerts, mounted in conjunction with the Peace Hospice and the Colosseum and compered by the Society's Vice-President, Richard Baker.

In an age where there is so much competition in the provision of music from recordings, radio and television, that the Society is able to successfully present such a full and varied repertoire is a tribute to the skills, dedication and enthusiasm of its professionals and amateurs alike, and to the loyalty and discernment of its audiences.

People

To maintain and improve our high standard of performance we gratefully enjoy the services of a number of professionals and well known individuals in the Society.  This enables us to not only achieve some worthy concert performances but also to develop as a group and improve our own musical talents.

Terry Edwards Conductor click for more info (photo courtesy of Clive Barda)

Richard Baker Vice-President click for more info

Contacting us

As an amateur group we rely on the voluntary service of members to handle our communication, ticketing and membership.  Please do bear in mind that you will usually be contacting them at home when choosing an appropriate time to call.

Some of the key telephone numbers and addresses are shown below: