About the Orchestra

Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra is made up of around 70 local musicians with a professional conductor and leader. We are set up as a charity with registered number 1057071 and our aim is to make live orchestral music available locally.

Our three subscription concerts each season focus particularly on 19th and 20th century masterpieces which are attractive and enjoyable for our audiences, and at the same time interesting and challenging for us as players. In addition we present our very popular Family Concerts in October and occasionally additional concerts, including once every other year a collaboration with the Sevenoaks Philharmonic Choir..

Most of our concerts take place in the Stag Sevenoaks, our local theatre, but our May concert takes place in Sevenoaks School's Pamoja concert hall, with its model 'D' Steinway . We rehearse each Wednesday from 8-10.15pm at Sevenoaks Primary School. If you are an instrumentalist thinking of joining the orchestra, please click here.

Our Conductor

Darrell Davison has been at the helm of Sevenoaks Symphony Orchestra since 1980. He is passionate about the importance of music-making in the local community, and under his guidance the Orchestra has tackled increasingly ambitious programmes that have been warmly received.

Darrell won the Barbirolli Conducting Prize in 1979, since when he has conducted all the major London orchestras and recorded with the BBC and London Symphony Orchestras.

As a composer, he has had works performed by the Philharmonia and London Philharmonic Orchestras - and also of course by SSO - and has written and orchestrated film scores for the London Symphony Orchestra.

Our Leader

sso___picture_of_catherine_smart_nov_2024

Catherine Smart has been leader of the SSO since 1985. She gained her first orchestral experience as leader of the Croydon Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted and inspired by Arthur Davison, Dareel's father. After studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama as a pianist, she was sub-principal violin at the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and a member of the BBC Radio Orchestra and English National Ballet Philharmonic.

As well as leading the SSO, Catharine leads orchestras in Croydon and Cambridge. She also works as a Consultant trauma psychotherapist. In her free time Catherine is on a never-ending quest to improve her tennis, her French and her German.