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07
Feb
'The most difficult thing was the uncertainty. But it has worked,' says the man behind Harrogate's new orchestra
Less than a year ago, William Dutton confessed he was being either “very brave or stupid” by setting up a professional chamber orchestra based at the Royal Hall in Harrogate.
Creating an orchestra from scratch at a time when arts funding is weak and musicians are being laid off seemed bold beyond belief.
But the orchestra, named Cuore, not only survived but has now secured fresh funding and is preparing for three concerts in the next five months.
After a performance in Leeds on March 6, it will head to St Wilfrid’s Church in Harrogate on May 9 for a concert featuring Haydn — William’s favourite composer — as well as Mozart and Elgar, before playing Mendelssohn and Beethoven at the Royal Hall on June 27.
After two well received and well attended opening events at the Royal Hall last year, featuring the actor Freddie Fox as an ambassador and British conductor Barry Wordsworth and Lord Michael Berkeley, the composer and presenter of Private Passions on Radio 3, as artistic advisers, William is able to look back with satisfaction — and relief.
He says:
The most difficult thing at the outset was the uncertainty. Are people going to come? Are the players going to turn up? The second time around was a lot easier. The biggest success is that it has worked. It seems to have had some critical success and from the feedback we have had it seems to be something people in Harrogate and Yorkshire want to have.
William Dutton conducting Cuore's launch event in May 2025.
Perhaps the fearlessness of youth helped. At 31, William was able to cast aside any doubts and, in his words, “go for it”. Many orchestra members are equally young and enthusiastic.
He says:
If you write a list of the arguments for and against any musical project it would never happen. Orchestras are not money-making vehicles. They would be popping up everywhere if they were a good business model. We just jumped in at the deep end without knowing if it would work or not. I believe this is a vital cultural service that needs to be here for the people of Harrogate and Yorkshire.
Arts funding
But all the chutzpah in the world won’t pay the bills. The orchestra for the second concert, conducted by William, featured almost 50 musicians. Paying them to perform and attend rehearsals, as well as finding them accommodation, is a monumental task for William and Cuore general secretary Christopher Barnes, who are the main two people behind Cuore. Not to mention the cost of hiring the Royal Hall.
William was, therefore, thrilled to announce Cuore has received core funding from the Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation, which has provided a lifeline to numerous artists in Harrogate and beyond. “Without Liz and Terry and their foundation the cultural activities of this region would not be the same,” says William. “They have put their faith in this orchestra.”
In addition, Harrogate law firm Raworths has agreed to sponsor the three upcoming concerts.
Cuore ambassador Freddie Fox introducing the inaugural concert in May 2025.
This has enabled Cuore to plan its second season with confidence and focus on some of its wider ambitions. It has already achieved charitable status and has welcomed schoolchildren to rehearsals as part of an outreach programme to engage young people.
Before its Leeds concert at the Howard Assembly Rooms, Cuore will stage an open rehearsal at the West Park Centre in Harrogate as well as a fundraising concert at St Gemma’s Hospice in Leeds. William says he’d love to see the Royal Hall packed with schoolchildren at rehearsals and talks about staging concerts in locations such as York and Beverley as part of Cuore’s ambition to be a Yorkshire-wide orchestra.
At a time when Harrogate is mulling a bid to enter the new UK Town of Culture competition, local classical music lovers will be relieved to hear that the town’s most ambitious cultural project won’t be a one-season wonder, particularly at a time when many orchestras are, in William’s words, “clinging on”.
He said:
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support we have had. It has given us a financial base to build on. There was so much stress at the time of the launch but I’m proud that it’s happening.”
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