Dundee Symphony Orchestra is the performing name of Dundee Orchestral Society.
The Society was founded in
1893 by a group of enthusiastic amateur performers. There has been a continuous
thread of concert giving since then. The only period in the Orchestra's history
when it did not perform or rehearse was during the second world war. The
orchestra is funded through private and charitable donations, subscriptions from
members and by grants from Making Music and the Scottish Arts Council. The
orchestra has a core membership of some thirty, mostly amateur, players. Extra
players are brought in when necessary.
CONCERTS
The Orchestra usually
performs two concerts per season, the first in November and the second in March.
Look at the Archive page to see the wide and interesting range of pieces we have
played over the years, including some first performances of works commissioned
by the orchestra. We have had a number of excellent soloists performing
favourite concertos, including Allan Neave on guitar, Murray MacLachlan, and, in
November 2004, the internationally known pianist Yonty Solomon playing the Greig
piano concerto. We like to support young local artists when we can. Look at our
Next Concerts page for further information.
REHEARSALS
Start in September and are held on Monday evenings at The Music Centre, Bell Street, Dundee from 7:30pm to 9:45pm. Our Annual General Meeting is held on about the third Monday of September, in our rehearsal premises. If you are interested in joining the orchestra as a player, look in our Contacts page for how to get in touch. We are always looking for new members in every section, and particularly string players, who are good enough to be able to contribute to the success of our concerts, approx grade 6 level, and to benefit from playing regularly in our orchestra.
CONDUCTOR - Robert Dick
Born in Edinburgh in 1975, Robert studied violin and piano at the Royal College of Music in London where he graduated with Honours in 1997, and also gained the Associateship Diploma of the Royal College of Music in Violin Performance.
Robert’s interest in conducting began at an early age and in 1993 he was invited to conduct the Royal Scottish National Orchestra by its then Musical Director, Walter Weller.
Having conducted all of the youth orchestras of which he was a member, including the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra, Robert is now a regular guest conductor of many groups including the East Lothian Players, the Scottish Borders Community Orchestra and The Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra. Currently the conductor of the Dundee Symphony Orchestra, the Edinburgh Philharmonic Orchestra and Fife Opera, Robert has conducted much of the great symphonic repertoire including symphonies by Schumann, Dvorak, Sibelius, Mahler and Bruckner as well as productions of Julius Caesar, Carmen, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, Bittersweet and numerous Gilbert & Sullivan operas.
In 2001, Robert came second in the British Reserve Insurance Conducting Competition in Cardiff and has also enjoyed success abroad having been invited to conduct the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra in the final concert of the Vienna International Mastercourse Series, where he gained their Diploma. Additionally he gained the Diploma of the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, on this occasion conducting the Varna Symphony Orchestra and he recently participated in the International Masterclass with Gennadi Rozhdestvensky and the Thuringen Philharmonie in Gotha, Germany. He has also worked with orchestras in Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain and the U.S.A. and last year he participated in the Fourth Lovro von Matacic International Conducting Competition in Zagreb, Croatia.
In celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Mozart, this composer’s music was the central focus of Robert’s work in 2006. This included productions of Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute with Fife Opera as well as performances of the Great Mass in C minor and the last three symphonies.
Highlights in 2008 include Mahler’s Fifth Symphony with the Edinburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Merry Wives of Windsor with Fife Opera, the two Brahms Piano Concerti with Murray McLachlan in the Edinburgh Festival, his first ever appearance as a harpsichord soloist in Bach’s D minor Keyboard Concerto with the Gecko Ensemble, what is believed to be the Scottish premiere of Elgar’s ballet The Sanguine Fan and a BBC Radio 3 Broadcast with the Dundee Symphony Orchestra.
As a violin and viola soloist, Robert has performed concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bruch and Brahms and has extensively toured Europe as an orchestral player in venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, The Hofburg Palace in Vienna and the Royal Albert Hall in London. In addition, he has freelanced with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Concert Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Scotland.
LEADER - Barbara Geller
Barbara Geller was born in Ayrshire in 1987. She was awarded a scholarship to study at St. Mary's Music School in Edinburgh aged 11, where her instrumental tutors included Rosemary Ellison and Richard Beauchamp. She was a member of the National Children’s and Youth Orchestras of Scotland from age 8, and following this was invited to join Camerata Scotland leading to performances in many renowned concert halls throughout Britain and Europe. Barbara is enjoying her current involvement in music-making north of Edinburgh. She leads the Dundee University chamber groups and Symphony Orchestra, with whom she performed as soloist in Saint-Saen’s Havanaise last winter. This summer she was invited to tutor and lead the Grampian Youth Orchestra for the Aberdeen International Youth Festival, performed in the Edinburgh festival with the Manchester-based Murray Ensemble, and will be performing with the Angus Chamber Orchestra and Tayside Opera Orchestra in the coming months. Barbara is passionate about chamber music, and frequently performs in University lunchtime concerts, most recently performing Mendelssohn's Piano trio in D minor to critical acclaim. In her spare time she studies Medicine at Dundee University!