Northern Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra founded in 1958 and based in the North East of England. This year, Thomas Zehetmair joins the orchestra as Music Director. Northern Sinfonia has built a reputation for high standards of performance and flexibility of approach over a wide repertoire. The Sinfonia's work includes concerts with its Music Director and other distinguished visiting musicians including Sir Roger Norrington, Evelyn Glennie, Yuri Bashmet, Thierry Fischer and Tasmin Little. The Sinfonia's programme also includes concerts designed specifically for a variety of venues and for different times of day: The Late Mix, Rush hour and Lunch time concerts have all become important strands of the Sinfonia's work.

In 2001 Northern Sinfonia became wholly integrated into the North Music Trust who will programme and manage the orchestra and its new multi-million pound Foster & Partners designed home, The Sage Gateshead. On completion in 2003, The Sage Gateshead will provide concert halls of acoustic excellence, performance and rehearsal spaces and a new music education centre.
Recordings and broadcasts form an integral part of the orchestra's work. Northern Sinfonia has won the Classic CD awards for the Best Concerto Recording and Living Composer award. Recent releases have included Vaughan Williams' 'Sir John in Love', 'English Guitar Concertos' and Finzi's 'Cello Concerto', which have received great critical acclaim.
Complementing concert activity, the Sinfonia's wide-ranging community and education programme features activities from participatory projects to performances for people o(all ages and for people of all musical abilities. Northern Sinfonia also has an associated award-winning youth orchestra, Young Sinfonia providing unparalleled opportunities for talented young musicians. The Sinfonia is joined for both performance and recording by The Sinfonia Chorus.

Newcastle Choral Society is a choir of about 120 singers which performs music in a wide range of styles at venues in and around Newcastle. The Choral Society is also committed to a regular programme of fund raising for local charities. Recent concerts have included performances of Verdi Requiem, Poulenc Stabat Mater and Horovitz Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo. Future events include Christmas Concerts in the Kings Hall on 19th and 20th December and a performance of Faure Requiem and Young Earth Song in the Civic Centre on 5th April 2003.

Newcastle Choral Society currently has vacancies for Tenors and Basses. Anyone interested in becoming a member of the choir should contact Len Young on 0191 4911141.

Ryton Choral Society celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1997 with performances of Messiah and St Matthew Passion, and last year performed Handel's Theodora to local and national acclaim. Future programming includes Bach's Mass in B minor to mark the millennium. Our current membership is about 55 singers, but new members are always welcome. In addition to performing choral masterpieces, twice a year we perform in a lighter vein.

In July 2001 Richard Bloodworth finally hung up his baton, and Ryton Choral Society welcomed it's new conductor, David Murray. Since then they have given three highly successful concerts, culminating in a thrilling evening concert last July called 'Gershwin and Friends' This was a mixture of David's choral arrangements of songs by Gershwin, Kern and The Carpenters, jazz from the Virtuoso Jazz Trio and more songs of the era sung by Vanessa Williamson. This is now available on a double CD and they look forward to many more exciting ventures together.