Official photographs of the IWSO courtesy of Allan Marsh

Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra Society

Welcome to the IWSO
2024 – 25 Season

The Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra (IWSO) gave its inaugural concert on 25th November 1978. It has been performing top quality symphonic music on the Island for 46 years. Our mission is to continue this tradition as well as providing a pathway for talented young local musicians to experience large scale orchestral works. We continue to bring to the Island some of the rising stars in the classical world to perform with us including, this year, Ignas Maknickas and Mathilde Milwidsky. We are very much looking forward to another season of exciting performances in 2024 – 25, and we would like to thank all our friends and followers once again for their continued support.

If you have never experienced the sensation of a full symphony orchestra performing in front of you, or you are already hooked on live classical music, you are most welcome to our 2024 – 25 series of five concerts. They will be under the baton of our Musical Director, Jonathan Butcher. We perform in the relaxed setting of the Medina Theatre which provides outstanding sight lines from every seat. There is a bar serving drinks and other refreshments and the venue has plenty of accessible parking. Please join us for what promises to be a very exciting year of concerts.

With the ongoing support of our sponsor Wightlink, the Isle of Wight Symphony Orchestra continues to provide a vital part of the island’s cultural life with performances regularly sold out. Please look at our season ticket offer to guarantee your seat

New Season Programmes

We launch our season in November with a concert celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of Anton Bruckner by performing his 4th Symphony. In the same concert we welcome pianist Ignas Maknickas playing Shostakovich’s 2nd Piano Concerto.

In January we welcome back cellist Finn Mannion to play Elgar’s ever popular Cello Concerto. The concert concludes with the Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninov which is guaranteed to keep the orchestra busy, and you leaving with a spring in your step.

In March we celebrate local composing talent by featuring the Concertante for Violin and Orchestra by orchestra member Neil Courtney. The concert concludes with the spectacular 4th Symphony by Tchaikovsky.

In May we welcome back internationally renowned French Horn player Ben Goldscheider to perform Glière’s lyrical Horn Concerto. The concert opens with Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis by Vaughan Williams and concludes with Dvořák’s Symphony ‘From the New World’, both popular with classical music listeners. We also include a piece by local musician Clive Malabar in tribute to him following his recent passing.

We end the season in July with a programme of music for dance, in particular ballet. It features a number of popular favourites and will bring the curtain down on another concert season at the Medina Theatre.