ESO.

Welcome to the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra.  We are currently in our twenty-sixth season and are keen to find more musicians with a passion for music and performance who would like to join us.

About the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra

ESO’s members are top-quality musicians from Sussex and further afield who rehearse and perform a wide range of classical music.  We are an orchestra directed and led by professional musicians.

ESO gives three concerts a year.  Two take place in venues in Eastbourne and one in Chichester Cathedral.  Our annual Chichester Choral Concert numbers some 160 performers, including singers from the ESO Chorus, Eastbourne College Choral Society, Cavendish School Chamber Choir, and other schools in the area.  We are also joined by internationally renowned vocal soloists.

ESO plays a wide repertoire of music.  Recent works have included Ruslan and Lyudmila (Glinka), Violin Concerto (Beethoven), Symphony No 3 (Schumann), Symphony No 7 (Beethoven), Cockaigne Overture (Elgar), Danse Macabre (Saint-Saëns), and Mass of the Children (Rutter).

Every two years we stage a music-from-the-movies concert where film clips are shown on full-sized cinema screen and the Orchestra plays music which features in the films. Film clips from recent concerts include Dr Zhivago, Goldfinger, Shine, Thunderbirds and Titanic.

We have just performed our one hundredth concert and all programmes are listed on our website.

Young Soloist Competition

This Competition is another of the ESO’s prestigious events and is now in its twentieth year. It attracts very high standard competitors from all over the UK and abroad and both the early rounds and, in particular, the final attracts large audiences.  As well as generous cash prizes, the winner has the opportunity to perform with the Orchestra. Previous winners include Dominic John, Alexandra Dariescu and Sara Deborah Struntz.

Graham Jones, Musical Director

Brought up in Holt, Norfolk, Graham Jones was educated at Gresham’s School and Durham University where he was an Organ Scholar.  He joined the Music Department at Eastbourne College in 1976 and was appointed Director of Music in 1991.  He co-founded ESO (then the Eastbourne Sinfonia) in 1979.  He is particularly keen on local people making music of a high standard which is at the same time accessible to the whole community.  Over the past twenty-six years he has conducted most of the ESO concerts and has worked with many of the country’s leading soloists.

How to join

The Orchestra welcomes new players of all ages. We ask that you be of at least grade seven or eight or equivalent. You will be invited to attend a rehearsal and sit with the leader of your section.

We also ask that you commit to the Orchestra and attend all rehearsals (typically two or three) before each concert.

Please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Orchestra Manager) if you are interested in joining the Orchestra or would like more information.

To join the ESO Chorus, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (Concert Manager).

Membership fee

The Orchestra is a Registered Charity and is funded mainly by ticket sales and generous supporters. Orchestra members pay an annual subscription of £25.