The Cardiff and Vale Youth Orchestra was founded in 1975. The orchestra rehearses weekly, during term time, at Cardiff High School. 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.
Youth Orchestra rehearses on Friday evenings from 6:30 to 9pm during term time at Cardiff High School.
| Term | Start Date | End Date |
| Term 1 – Autumn | 18 September 2026 | 27 November 2026 |
| Term 2 – Spring | 8 January 2027 | 12 March 2027 |
| Term 3 – Summer | 9 April 2027 | 2 July 2027 |
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.