Covent Garden Chamber Orchestra is one of London’s leading non-professional orchestras. The players come from many different professions, including architecture, arts administration, the BBC, IT, law, media, medicine, publishing and teaching. They come together at CGCO for some seriously enjoyable music making. Enquiries to join are always welcome and should be done through the website.

CGCO gives a regular series of concerts in the splendid Victorian church St Peter’s Notting Hill (90 Kensington Park Road) and also performs in other London venues. These have included St Paul’s Covent Garden(the Actor’s Church), St John’s Smith Square, St James Piccadilly, Southwark Cathedral, St Peter’s Eaton Square and St Jude’s-on-the-Hill, Hampstead. A wide repertoire of both classical and modern music is performed. Concerts have included the UK première of Iscariot by the American composer Christopher Rouse, Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste (Bartók), Violin Concerto (Weill), Dumbarton Oaks and Pulcinella Suite (Stravinsky) and Cello Concertos by Barber, Korngold, Milhaud and Shostakovich. Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra (Martinu), Viola Concerto (Walton) Night Music (Colin Matthews) and Symphony No. 7.(Robert Simpson)

Concert preparation is over a two week period consisting of two evening rehearsals per week with one in the afternoon of the concert making a total of 15 hours rehearsal. CGCO has a policy of inviting guest conductors. These have included Nicholas Collon, Laurence Cummings, Nicholas Daniel, Richard Dickins, Andrew Gourlay, Daniel Harding, Colin Lawson, Joan Enric Lluna, Robert Max, Tim Murray, Graham Ross, Peter Stark, Benjamin Wallfisch and Howard Williams. Soloists have included Nancy Argenta, William Bennett, Sarah Anne Davies, Nicolai Demidenko, Steven Devine, Nicola Eimer, Joy Farrall, Rebecca Hill, Emma Johnson, James Kirby, Ralph Kirschbaum, Colin Lawson, Richard Lester, James Lisney, Joan Enric Lluna, Marie Macleod, Eniko Magyar Robert Max, Melinda Maxwell, Paul Silverthorne, Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Sarah Williamson, Nadia Wijzenbeek and Raphael Wallfisch.