Bringing classical music into the heart of Wilmslow

The Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra was set up shortly after the Second World War, in 1947, and early performances took place in the Rex Cinema. In April 1983, the orchestra adopted another concert venue - the new Evans Theatre inside Wilmslow Leisure Centre. That has remained the main performance venue ever since.

As a large symphony orchestra our repertoire is ambitious and includes works by Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mahler, Holst, Debussy, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and many others plus more contemporary works.

Managed by a committee of dedicated volunteers, the orchestra is registered charity number 507565 and we are very grateful to the Evans Arts Trust who support us.

We are proud to have composer Edward Gregson as our president, and we are a member of Making Music.

If you’d like to join our mailing list, please go to our Contact page.

Who we work with

We are lucky enough to work with many fantastic professional musicians - conductors, composers, singers and instrumentalists. Below is a selection of our conductors and soloists for 2026-2027.

Woman with long wavy hair wearing glasses, holding a violin, indoors with stone walls and wooden floors.
Woman with long wavy hair wearing glasses, holding a violin, indoors with stone walls and wooden floors.

Leader, Rosy Williams, is a professional violinist who grew up in Wilmslow. She enjoys a diverse career which includes chamber and orchestral music, show, jazz & tango and freelances with orchestras such as the Manchester Concert Orchestra, Camerata and Northern Chamber Orchestra. She is also in demand as a Suzuki teacher.

A man conducting an orchestra or choir, holding a baton in his right hand, smiling and looking to his left.
A man conducting an orchestra or choir, holding a baton in his right hand, smiling and looking to his left.

A regular and popular conductor with Wilmslow Symphony Orchestra, Tom Newall is a conductor with a busy, wide ranging international career. He founded Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra - an ensemble of early career professional musicians. Equally at home with orchestras and choirs, he is the Director of the choral programme at the University of Manchester.

A man with short brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a black jacket and black turtleneck holding a conductor's baton against a dark background.
A man with short brown hair and blue eyes dressed in a black jacket and black turtleneck holding a conductor's baton against a dark background.

We are very happy to welcome back Robert Guy to conduct our season opener. Rob has an international career with a full schedule. He has recently been working in Hong Kong and he is also the co-founder of NEW Sinfonia - a professional orchestra in North Wales. In addition, he works alongside Tom Newall at the University of Manchester, leading one of the largest university music programs in the UK.

A young man with curly brown hair holding a violin, standing against a brick wall, looking down at the violin.
A young man with curly brown hair holding a violin, standing against a brick wall, looking down at the violin.

Jonathan Martindale is Associate Leader of the CBSO and he enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist and orchestral principal. Jonathan regularly leads the CBSO and has also performed with them as soloist. Jonathan studied in Manchester, at the RNCM alongside Robert Guy who will be conducting his Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with us in October 2026.

Woman playing the cello on stage with a focused expression.
Woman playing the cello on stage with a focused expression.

Hannah Roberts is the principal cellist of the Manchester Camerata. She is widely recognised as one of the outstanding cellists of her generation, and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards.

Equally at home as soloist or chamber musician, she has performed as soloist with many professional orchestras. We welcome her this year to play the Elgar Cello concerto.

Neon yellow light outline of a group of five people with a hard hat, all connected, set against a black background.

WSO President - Edward Gregson

Edward Gregson is our orchestra president. He is an award-winning English composer of international standing and one of the leading composers of his generation, whose music is regularly performed, recorded and broadcast in many countries.

He has written orchestral, chamber, instrumental, vocal and choral music, as well as music for theatre and television, with his contribution to the wind and brass repertoire being of particular significance worldwide. He has been commissioned by many leading orchestras and ensembles, including the BBC Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Halle orchestras.  He has won many awards and prizes, including an Ivors Academy Composer Award in 2019 and holds honorary degrees and fellowships from a dozen universities and music conservatoires.

We have played a variety of Edward Gregson’s works, most recently in 2025, when we performed his French Horn concerto with Ben Goldscheider.