“A completely assured and convincing performance”
– Lennox Berkeley Society

The Berkeley Ensemble takes its name from two British composers of the last hundred years, father and son Sir Lennox and Michael Berkeley. It aims to champion British music and unfairly neglected works alongside the standard chamber music repertory.

Formed in 2008 by members of Britain’s young professional orchestra Southbank Sinfonia, the ensemble now enjoys a busy concert schedule, performing in the UK and abroad, recently touring China for the first time. Its members are also in demand as orchestral players, having appeared with the English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, among others.

Finalists in the 2009 Royal Over-Seas League competition and selected by Making Music for the Concert Promoters’ Network, the ensemble has also been highly active in education, its work in this area including collaborations with Southbank Sinfonia and Samling.  Forthcoming projects include a debut recording of British chamber music, the première of a new work by Michael Berkeley and the launch of a new five-concert series at The Forge, Camden in autumn 2012 ‘Borrowing, Stealing and Remembering’, exploring how twentieth-century masters Igor Stravinsky and Lennox Berkeley responded to the music of the past.

Members

• Kate Riley, Sophie Mather – violins
• Dan Shilladay – viola
• Gemma Wareham – cello
• John Slack – clarinet
• Andrew Watson – bassoon
• Paul Cott – horn

Our repertoire ranges from duos to works for sinfonietta-sized ensembles, and we regularly work with guest artists to expand our programming possibilities.