Youth Orchestra

The Cardiff and Vale Youth Orchestra was founded in 1975. The orchestra rehearses weekly, during term time, at Whitchurch High School on the outskirts of Cardiff. We currently have 100 members aged 13 to 22. 

The Youth Orchestra is the senior of three CF Music Education orchestras which meet weekly. It is aimed at musicians who are Grade 6 standard or above. The orchestra rehearses on Friday evenings during the school term, holds termly residential/non-residential weekend courses and performs three concerts at prestigious venues in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan annually. The orchestra also undertakes a 10 day tour in Europe biennially, and has been on many highly successful concert tours including those to Stuttgart, Arhensburg, Vienna, Edinburgh, Italy and the Czech Republic.

The staff of the orchestra are often assisted by a team of leading professional musicians from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, who take sectional rehearsals.

Please see below for the Youth Orchestra’s full timetable for 2024-25.

RE NOEnsemble  DayTimeVenue Rehearsal Date
1Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 19th September
2Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 26th September
3Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 3rd October
4Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 10th October
5Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 17th October
NO REHEARSAL FRI 24TH OCTOBER
HALF TERM (27th October – 31st October)
6Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 7th November
7Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 14th November
8Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 21st November
9Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 28th November
10Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 5th December
11Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 12th December
 Youth Orchestra RehearsalSaturday9:30am to 6:30pmCHS 13th December
 Youth Orchestra RehearsalSunday9:30am to 6:30pmCHS 14th December
 Youth Orchestra ConcertFriday2:00pm to 5:30pmHoddinott Hall 19th December
Hoddinott Hall Xmas Concert (Friday 19th December at 7:00pm)
HALF TERM (22nd December – 02nd January 2026)
12Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 9th January
13Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 16th January
14Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 23rd January
15Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 30th January
16Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 6th February
17Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 13th February
HALF TERM (16th to 20th February 2026)
18Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 27th February
NO REHEARSAL FRI 6TH MARCH
19Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 13th March
20Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 20th March
 Youth Orchestra CourseSaturday9:30am to 5:30pmVenue TBC 21st March
Whitchurch High School Easter Concert (Friday 27th March)
HALF TERM (30th March to 10th April 2026)
21Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 17th April
22Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 24th April
23Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 1st May
24Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 8th May
25Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School 15th May
NO REHEARSAL FRI 22ND MAY
HALF TERM (25th May to 29th May)
26Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School5th June
27Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School12th June
28Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School19th June
29Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School26th June
30Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School3rd July
31Youth OrchestraFriday6:30pm to 9:00pmWhitchurch High School10th July
 Youth Orchestra CourseSaturday9:30am to 6:30pmBishop High School  CHS?11th July
 Youth Orchestra CourseSunday9:30am to 6:30pmBishop High School CHS?12th July
 Youth Orchestra Concert RehearsalTuesday2:00pm to 5:30pmBBC Hoddinott Hall14th July
Tuesday 14th July 2026 BBC Hoddinott Hall Concert at 7:00pm

Conductor Biography

Eric W. Phillips MBE (Music Director)

Born in Neath, Eric graduated from University College Cardiff with a BMus (Hons) degree and went on to complete his masters degree, before taking up his first teaching appointment at Whitchurch High School in 1980. He studied piano with Richard McMahon and Martin Jones at University, where he won the ‘Eric Harrison Memorial Prize for Pianists’.

His work with Whitchurch High School Orchestra has involved him conducting in the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall, London, St. David’s Hall, Cardiff and on concert tours abroad.

Eric joined the staff of the Youth Orchestra in 1980. Five years later, he became Associate Conductor and was appointed Principal Conductor of the Orchestra in 1993. Under his direction, the Orchestra has given outstanding performances of some of the most demanding works in the orchestral repertoire – Mahler’s 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th Symphonies, Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2, Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra. Eric was awarded an MBE in the 2013 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.