About “the young friends of music”

Gli Amici is an independent group of young singers and instrumentalists, run by students for students. The society aims to bridge the gap between youth orchestras, higher education, and even the profession, with members’ ages ranging from about 15 to 30.

For more than 30 years, Dorset’s young musicians have gathered in each of the main school and university vacations to stage a concert, often including challenging, unusual and large-scale works... and have a lot of fun along the way!

The society coordinates an orchestra and a choir, the conductors of which are both drawn from the membership. While there is an emphasis on performing to a professional standard, rehearsals - usually concentrated in the space of a week - are informal and enjoyable, with players and singers meeting socially afterwards. We’re not known as the young friends of music for nothing!

Wide repertoire

The society has a reputation for tackling challenging works; the orchestra has performed symphonies by Shostakovich, Beethoven and Mahler, and other large-scale works by composers as diverse as Stravinsky, Sibelius and Lutoslawski.

The choir’s repertoire is equally varied; recent performances have included Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, for which they were joined by the orchestra, and unaccompanied works such as Allegri’s Miserere, Palestrina’s Missa Brevis, and the Tallis Lamentations.

Both choir and orchestra have performed specially commissioned works by contemporary composers.

Other opportunities

In addition to its regular concert schedule, Gli Amici has appeared on Radio 3, recorded a compact disc, and participated in a number of international tours.

Society members are also given the chance to perform solo works with the choir and orchestra, with a concerto forming the centrepiece of one of each year’s concerts. There are also opportunities to learn valuable leadership and team skills by joining Gli Amici’s committee and helping to organise the Society’s activities.

Come and join us!

Anybody with an interest in widening their musical knowledge will enjoy the varied and exciting ventures organised by Gli Amici, so please come and join us.

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Gli Amici della Musica is a registered charity - no. 1071421