The orchestra were delighted to welcome a full house to Wymondham Abbey Church back in November to celebrate their first concert with their new musical director, Theo Vinden. The support offered by the local community for the orchestra and for Theo’s first event was fantastic, and they can’t wait to share this new chapter in their development with you over the coming season (and new year).
The Spring Concert will feature new challenges in the shape of Rachmaninov’s 2nd Symphony - lots of practice has already been taking place in the players’ homes over Christmas, and the first rehearsal on 13th January was an exciting harbinger of things to come. To accompany the Rachmaninov, the orchestra will also feature English Dances Set 1 by Malcolm Arnold, and Concertino for Flute by Cécile Chaminade.
They are excited to present soloist Leila Hooton, who will perform the Concertino for Flute. Leila is a freelance flautist, piccolo player, and teacher, currently residing in London, where she serves as the President of the Royal College of Music’s Student Union. Leila performs with The Heart of England Philharmonic, Music in Felixstowe, The Sinfonia Stellaris, the function band Good Vibes and the ceilidh band The Sassenachs. She is currently the Pastoral and Operations Assistant for Guildhall Young Artists Norwich, and Assistant to the Norfolk County Youth Orchestra. She graduated from the College with a Masters in Performance in July 2024 where she learnt under Gitte Marcusson, Emer McDonough and Diomedes Demetriades. During her studies, Leila was kindly supported by the Fishmonger’s Company Beckwith Scholarship, Help Musicians UK and the Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust. She is delighted to be part of Talent Unlimited.
Leila has wide performance experience having played at the Barbican with the Britten Sinfonia Academy and recorded for the Peaky Blinders Soundtrack in England, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the EU Parliament in Belgium with Joe Broughton’s Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in Holland, the Summer Academy Voksenaasen in Norway, the Mozarthaus in Vienna as a finalist in the 3rd Vienna International Music Competition and toured Serbia (playing for Birmingham School of Acting) and Germany with Triorca.
Save the date to see Leila and Wymondham Symphony Orchestra on 21 March 2026 at 7pm in Wymondham Abbey Church for their Spring Concert!
Tickets are available online or at the Wymondham Abbey shop. There will also be some availability on the door, but we encourage you to purchase tickets in advance to beat the queues. Prices are £15, Friends of the WSO £13 and under 18s are free.
Want to get involved?
We’re a friendly group playing fantastic symphony repertoire with regular rehearsals at Central Hall in the heart of Wymondham. If you’re interested in joining the orchestra we’d love to hear from you. In particular, we’re on the lookout for viola (grade 7 or above), double bass, trombones, and percussion players. More details about the orchestra and how to join can be found on our website.
