Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia is delighted to partner with Bishop’s Stortford High School, alongside schools across Hertfordshire, Essex and the surrounding areas, to offer an exciting side-by-side orchestral experience for young musicians.

This initiative gives students the opportunity to rehearse and perform alongside members of the Sinfonia, a mix of professional and highly experienced local musicians, as part of our ongoing commitment to supporting music education and widening access to high-quality orchestral playing.

This year’s side-by-side performance will feature Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Othello Suite, performed as part of the Sinfonia’s May concert. Students will take part in a dedicated rehearsal session on the morning of Saturday 9 May, followed by sectionals and a full rehearsal with the orchestra on Saturday 16 May, ahead of the evening concert at 7.00pm. Students are required to attend both dates in full and will perform Othello Suite as part of the concert.

Students will also be welcome to observe, but are not required to attend, the Sinfonia’s rehearsal of Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 on the afternoon of 16 May.

We are inviting applications from students across all orchestral instruments, excluding harp and piano. This year, we are aiming to pair each student with a Sinfonia player on a shared desk, providing a supported and immersive orchestral experience. As a result, places will be limited, and we will aim to balance participation across instruments and ability levels.

Further details, including timings and repertoire information, will be shared with successful applicants in mid-April.