Music in Mayfair

Dear Visitor,

Music in Mayfair is a series of orchestral concerts and lunchtime recitals featuring young professional musicians- many of whom have recently graduated from, or are still studying at, the major London conservatoires.

The series was founded in September 2005 by me, Marc Corbett-Weaver, with the support of Robert Spooner, chairman of The Story of Christmas Appeal.  We subsequently produced thirteen evening concerts and forty-three lunchtime recitals over the following two years and founded an orchestra for the young professional musicians.

Music in Mayfair’s orchestra in residence, The Orpheus Sinfonia (formerly The Hanover Square Chamber Orchestra) was founded on 21^st March 2007 with a concert of music by Mozart.  Over the following months the orchestra grew in size and performed at eight further concerts at St George’s Hanover Square and two concerts at the Unicorn Theatre.  Highlights of the autumn season in 2007 included a performance of the Mozart Requiem presented by Music in Mayfair’s patron Dame Judi Dench and a concert of music by Tchaikovsky performed by an orchestra of fifty-five young professional musicians.

The majority of Music in Mayfair concerts take place at our home venue St George’s Hanover Square- there are occasional concerts at St James's Piccadilly.  St George’s is a magnificent and historic centre of musical excellence with very fine acoustics.  It was once the place of worship of the composer George Frederick Handel when he was living at number 25 Brook Street from 1723 until his death in 1759.  St George’s is currently in a critical state of disrepair and the St George’s Restoration Fund is in the process of raising the funds required to restore the fabric of the building.  The Music in Mayfair concerts are supportive of this cause and there is a retiring collection in aid of the St George’s Restoration Fund at every concert.  In addition to this one hundred percent of the revenue from ticket sales is donated to the appeal.

Music in Mayfair is now supported financially by a society of over sixty friends, ten corporate sponsors and two supporters.  The organisation is directed by an Advisory Board under the chaired by Robert Spooner and Artistic Director Marc Corbett-Weaver.  In addition, our Marketing and Corporate Relations Teams manage these two aspects of the organisation in a more focused way.

The eighth season of concerts begins in April 2008 as part of an ongoing calendar of ten orchestral concerts and nineteen lunchtime recitals taking place throughout the year.

Details of the forthcoming concerts can be found on the following pages of this site.  If you would like further information then please contact us by email and we will provide you with a copy of our latest season brochure.

I wish all the young musicians involved in our next season of concerts the very best of luck!

Kind regards,

Marc T W Corbett-Weaver

Artistic Director

Music in Mayfair & The Orpheus Sinfonia