About Us
Aberdeen City Orchestra
As the Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra went from strength to strength, with many concerts selling out and more players requesting to join, it became clear that being known as a 'chamber orchestra' was no longer appropriate for the concerts we were giving. Now regularly performing large works such as Saints-Saens Organ Symphony, Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream, Beethoven's Choral Symphony, and Brahms Symphony 1, we wanted a new identity which would reflect our growing presence in Aberdeen but not drift too far from where we came from. And so, the name Aberdeen City Orchestra came to be.
Our chairperson, Aden, spoke to the Evening Express about this. You can find the article here.
History of ACO
Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra was founded in 1982 by a group of friends who had known each other at school and university in the city. The idea was to promote a small-scale concerts for the enjoyment of the players, friends and relatives. The concert was such a success that the members decided that they wanted to meet again and thus the Chamber Orchestra was born.
In our earlier days, ACO restricted itself to smaller classical orchestral works, with the occasional brave excursion into romantic works. Since then, ACO has gone on to establish itself at the forefront of non-professional orchestral playing in Aberdeen, attracting some of the finest local talents to its ranks.
In 2000, Gareth John was invited to become the permanent conductor, working with us until 2023. In 2001, ACO became a registered charity, establishing a formal constitution which provided greater stability and allowed us to plan our concerts further in advance. As we continued to grow, we tackled more adventurous repertoire and worked with many renowned soloists.
In 2022, we formed a Youth Ensemble to provide local young musicians with an opportunity to play together in an orchestra. Initially just strings, they gave their debut performance, conducted by Chris Gray, in January 2023. Following the huge success of this, we expanded to full orchestra for a side-by-side performance of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 alongside the players of the ACO in May 2023.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, ACO has continued to grow in both player and audience numbers, and we now look forward to performing at the Music Hall once per year. We also perform at our regular home of Fountainhall Church at the Stocket (formally Midstocket Parish Church) at least twice a year and in our 2022-2023 season we have been fortunate to be joined by guest conductors Tim Tricker and Chris Gray.
