EnsembleYour chair
is empty.
Come fill it.
Join a free open rehearsal — no audition, no commitment. Rusty bows welcome. The stand is lit, the music is on the stand, and we start at 7.
Next open rehearsal — March 8, 2026
You asked
"I haven't played in years."
My viola case had a parking ticket on it — from 2013. I almost didn't come. I played every wrong note in the first rehearsal. Nobody turned around. By week three I was counting rests and feeling the pull of the section around me. I'd forgotten what that felt like.
You asked
"I can't sight-read well enough."
I used to count every note out loud, quietly, under my breath. Still do sometimes. Our conductor has never once stopped to correct me specifically — he stops the whole section, fixes the phrase, moves on. In this room, sight-reading is a skill you practice, not a test you pass.
You asked
"What level do I need to be?"
I'd never played in an orchestra — only solo lessons as a kid, then nothing for twenty years. I rang ahead and asked if I was 'good enough.' They said: if you can hold a long note and count a rest, you're good enough. They were right. I've been coming every Tuesday for fourteen months.
You asked
"What if I'm the worst one there?"
I was. Genuinely. For the first six sessions I was the weakest cellist in the section and I knew it. Here's what I also knew: the person next to me had been coming for three years and still lost her place in the scherzo. We laughed about it. That was the moment I stopped worrying about being the worst and started just playing.
Practical details
What to
expect.
No surprises. No judgment. Just two hours of music in a warm room with people who feel the same way you do about their instrument case.
Real repertoire
We play actual orchestral music — Dvořák New World, Brahms 2nd, Elgar Enigma. Simplified parts available for every section.
Adult players only
Everyone in the room is over 25. No prodigies, no conservatory students. Just people who love music and miss playing it.
Tuesday evenings, 7–9pm
Two hours. Warm-up, run-through, break with tea and biscuits, final push. Home by 9:15 if you want to be.
Everything provided
Music stand, stand light, printed parts. Bring your instrument and a pencil. Rosin available if you forgot yours.
Not ready yet?
Watch a rehearsal
before you decide.
Two minutes. Real people, real music, real mistakes followed by real improvement. You'll recognize yourself in at least one of them.