Most people know the story of the sinking of the Titanic… and that the band played on nobly as the ship went down. What you may not know is that the band leader – Wallace Hartley – was a former member of the Phil.

He appears to have ..read more

Concert review by William Marshall, Huddersfield Examiner

Felix Mendelssohn, born in 1809, is one of a roster of composers whose various anniversaries are being celebrated this year. And the Huddersfield Phil paid him a heartfelt tribute in the town hall on Saturday.

When one takes into account that wintry weather had disrupted ..read more

Review by William Marshall, Huddersfield Examiner

Saturday’s concert included accomplished performances of a Beethoven symphony and of Elgar’s most famous orchestral work. When this is added to the fine account of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique at the orchestra’s spring concert, it would certainly seem that, under principal conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa, ..read more

Nicholas Cleobury is a highly versatile conductor who has established a considerable reputation in the concert hall, opera house and recording studio. He studied with Sir Adrian Boult and was assistant to numerous leading conductors, notably Bernstein, Boulez and Haitink. His sense of period style was nurtured early as conductor ..read more

This extract from a newspaper article from the 1890s throws some light on William Henry Cross, the first conductor of the “Phil” under its new name (adopted in 1884). The article was supplied by Margaret Hall, an Australian descendant of Mr Cross, and reads:

“Although the composer is doubtless ..read more

In June 1976, the “Phil” was on its travels again. This time to a rather unusual venue. Composer Arthur Butterworth (also the orchestra’s conductor at the time) recollects:

“The National Railway Museum having recently been opened, there was a notion that railways could provide a topical theme for the York ..read more