Interview: Why Leeds debut is 'more than music' by founder of new Harrogate orchestra
The dynamic founder of a groundbreaking new Harrogate orchestra has talked about his family’s historic role in establishing Yorkshire’s first hospice and why a forthcoming concert means so much to him.
William Dutton was speaking to the Harrogate Advertiser in the build-up to the Cuore Chamber Orchestra’s first concert in Leeds in a few weeks’ time.
Performing at the Howard Assembly Room, this crucial next step in the development of the region’s only professional chamber orchestra will raise funds for St Gemma’s Hospice, an organisation founded in the late 1970s with the key input of Dutton’s influential grandfather, Professor Gerald Richards.
"We are so excited to be launching into our region’s biggest city,” said William, who asked to play the violin aged just three.
"Although we are based in Harrogate, Cuore is committed to serving the whole of Yorkshire.
"But this important event is about more than the orchestra, it’s about a charity which not only means a lot to Leeds but to my own family.
"When I was growing up, my grandfather would tell me about setting up St Gemma’s at a time when the idea of hospices wasn’t really on the national radar.
"As a youngster, going with him and meeting the staff was inspirational.
"There is a personal relationship for me with this wonderful charity.
“Playing this concert feels like coming full circle.”
Since Cuore Chamber Orchestra was first launched at the Royal Hall in Harrogate last May, its aspiration to become something akin to the ‘Halle of Yorkshire’ has been clear to see not only in the excellence of its breathtaking performances but in the professionalism of its set-up.
That this ambitious new musical charity is already moving in the right direction was made apparent recently when it won the support of the Bramall Foundation.
"There is a lot less public funding for classical music these days, at both a national and local level,” said William, Cuore’s artistic director and conductor who, as a teenager, won the BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year.
"It’s transformative to receive the support of such an important and respected organisation.
"Yorkshire’s cultural landscape would look very different without the Bramall Foundation.”
The Cuore Chamber Orchestra and William are keenly aware of the scale of the challenges ahead if they are to turn its youthful leader’s enticing vision into reality, particularly the need to create a portfolio of benefactors and funding for what is an expensive business no matter how successful you are.
But this acclaimed new outfit’s Leeds debut, featuring the national premiere of Anglo-Italian composer Elisabetta Brusa’s Simply Largo and works by Purcell, Parry and Dvorak, will illustrate Cuore’s other core aim – to bring classical music to the community.
Alongside their concerts, Cuore has a vocation to deliver educational outreach programmes to enhance the musical awareness and participation of schoolchildren in Yorkshire as well as igniting and nurturing musical interest and knowledge in the younger generations.
To that end, as well as the performance at the Howard Assembly Room on Friday, March 6, the Cuore will be holding an open rehearsal at West Park Centre in Harrogate and an outreach concert at the Chapel at St Gemma’s Hospice.
All in all, Cuore’s Leeds debut is a truly special way of contributing to the celebrations marking 400 years of the city.
"It is an honour to be working in partnership with such an important organisation as St Gemma’s Hospice, something that is so central to the city of Leeds and its history,” said William.
"We aim to do them proud and my grandfather.”
More information: https://cuorechamberorchestra.com/