Welcome to the 2019–20 Season of concerts by The Havant Orchestras

Whether you enjoy the spectacle of a large symphony orchestra or the classic refinement of a smaller “chamber” orchestra, you’ll find that live classical music, brought to your neighbourhood at affordable prices, is well worth a try!  This is the mission of the two Havant Orchestras: to provide an opportunity for local musicians to perform together and to bring live performances to you!

Both orchestras have a solid reputation for high quality performances with outstanding soloists, including familiar local musicians, up-and-coming new talent and established international performers.

Oaklands School Hall

Havant Symphony Orchestra (HSO) concerts are at Oaklands Catholic School in Waterlooville, which is fortunate to have the best hall in the area for large orchestral concerts, with raked seating and excellent acoustics.

HSO has three new soloists this season: award-winning pianist Florian Mitrea, BBC Young Musician strings finalist Charlie Lovell-Jones and cello student Hattie McGregor from the Yehudi Menuhin School.

HSO’s Bob and Beryl Harding Bursary Award scheme enables a talented student conductor to work with the orchestra throughout the season, and each HSO concert normally includes at least one work conducted by the current award holder.  For the 2019-20 season, the award holder is Avi Taler. 

Ferneham Hall is closing for refurbishment for two years but Havant Chamber Orchestra (HCO) will still be performing in venues around the Fareham area in order to remain convenient for existing audience members.

The first HCO concert is a strings concert at Fareham URC, a convenient and comfortable venue close to Ferneham Hall, with HCO principal oboe Lucinda Willits as concerto soloist.

The second is at Holy Trinity Church on West Street, Fareham, featuring talented Russian cellist Mikhail Lezdkan, known locally as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher.

The final concert is a few minutes up the road in Wickham Community Centre, and is in a new format, exploring Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony.

Separate season tickets are available for the three concerts by each orchestra, with a further price reduction when season tickets are purchased for both orchestras.  Single tickets are on sale from September, after the initial season ticket seats have been allocated. 

In addition to the main program of three concerts by each orchestra, Havant Symphony Orchestra have a pre-season concert of ‘Popular Classics’ at Hayling Island Community Centre on Saturday 21st September 2019, conducted by our 2018-19 Bob Harding Bursary award holder Stefano Boccacci. 

We have also added an afternoon family concert on Sunday 8th March 2020 at Oaklands Catholic School.  This has been requested by supporters of the Peter Craddock Memorial Fund and any additional costs will be covered by the fund.