The English Chamber Orchestra has its origins in the
Goldsbrough Orchestra, founded in 1948 by
Lawrence Leonard and Arnold Goldsbrough. The name was considered to prevent success outside of the UK and in 1960 it was changed to the English Chamber Orchestra, when Quintin Ballardie (a principal violinist with the original orchestra) invited Dr. Ursula Jones-Strebi to found and co-manage the new orchestra, where they also expanded its repertoire beyond the
Baroque period for the first time. Its repertoire remained limited by the group's size, which has stayed fairly consistently at around the size of an orchestra of
Mozart's time. Shortly afterwards, it became closely associated with the
Aldeburgh Festival, playing in the premieres of
Benjamin Britten's ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960), Owen Wingrave (1970), Curlew River'' and several other of his works. The occasions on which Britten conducted the orchestra included the opening concerts of the
Queen Elizabeth Hall and
Snape Maltings in 1967. He also made a number of records with the group. The orchestra did not at this time have a principal conductor but worked closely with a succession of guest conductors including
Raymond Leppard,
Colin Davis and
Daniel Barenboim. In 1985,
Jeffrey Tate was appointed the ensemble's first principal conductor. In 2000,
Ralf Gothóni was appointed second principal conductor. In June 2009, the English Chamber Orchestra named
Paul Watkins its new
music director, effective with the 2009–2010 season, for an initial contract of three years. The orchestra has also worked regularly with guest conductors
Paul Goodwin,
Lawrence Power and
James Sherlock. In 2023, the orchestra appointed
Roberto Forés Veses as Principal Guest Conductor. Having led the orchestra for over 30 years, Stephanie Gonley was recognised as Leader and Principal of the English Chamber Orchestra in 2023. King Charles III has been patron of the orchestra since 1977. ==References==