About

The Lydian Orchestra was founded in 1976 by June Clements with the aim of giving local talented young musicians the chance to play together, many of whom have gone on to high profile professional careers.    June recognised a need for young players to have the opportunity of performing some of the more challenging orchestral works. Sadly she died suddenly in 1996 but the Lydian Orchestra is still very much alive today.   Her husband Victor who sadly also died recently said in 2008 "June would be very pleased to know the orchestra is still going strong.  She was a remarkable and determined woman who found great satisfaction in creating opportunities and developing musical abilities, giving young people a chance to play beyond what they might have achieved otherwise.”   The Orchestra which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2006 with a Paris tour, is made up of up of students up to the age of 25 who have achieved a high standard of performance. Young soloists at the outset of their careers are included in the Lydian's programme, notable amongst those who have played with the orchestra are clarinettist Emma Johnson, cellists Alexander Baillie and Steven Isserlis, and Peter Oundjian, who went on to be leader of the internationally acclaimed Tokyo String Quartet.

The Orchestra is open to players up to the age of 25. While there is no pre-requisite for the level you must be at to play, it should be known that the difficulty of music varies from concert to concert so prior orchestral experience is useful and string players below Grade 6/7 would probably find the music challenging. There are no auditions to join. If you do not feel you are of the required standard to join the main orchestra, you can join the Lydian Training Orchestra, which aims to develop players for the main orchestra. 

The Orchestra rehearses during the Christmas, Easter and Summer school & university holidays over a period of 1 week. The courses culminate in public concerts given locally at venues such as the The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks, and Trinity Arts Theatre, Tunbridge Wells.  The Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year plays a Concerto with the orchestra usually as part of the summer concert. The orchestra has also given concerts in Rheinbach (1998), Czech Republic (2000), Italy (2001), Paris (2006), Belgium (2011) and Edinburgh (2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008).   However because of Health and Safety concerns the Lydian Committee does not necessarily guarantee places on tours for the youngest members of the orchestra, although we try to make exceptions in special circumstances. In the future, we hope to continue to expand the membership of the orchestra and play some of the more challenging and exciting works of the orchestral repertoire. We also intend to offer concerto opportunities to players, selected by audition. 

The June Clements Memorial Fund

This fund was created to honour the memory of our founder whose creative energy and enthusiasm over 30 years enhanced the musical life of people in west Kent. June was a valued member of the Sevenoaks District Arts Council and it is they who have created the memorial fund. This is used to support the Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year Competition. As mentioned above, it is customary for the winner to play a concerto with the Lydian orchestra at one of its concerts (usually the summer one) at which event the silver June Clements Memorial medal is presented.