The Bridgewater Sinfonia is Berkhamsted’s own local orchestra. Formed of local professional musicians, the orchestra has been enriching the cultural life of Hertfordshire since 1997.

Performances are of the highest calibre and range from the great classics to new and less familiar works, offering that very special experience of live orchestral music.

Our History

The Bridgewater Sinfonia was founded in Berkhamsted in 1998, originally as the Bridgewater Band, by a group of local professional musicians under the directorship of Adrian Davis, with a vision to create “an orchestra from the community, for the community”.

The orchestra draws on the wealth of professional musicianship in the locality and also aims to offer performing opportunities for young student musicians on the threshold of their careers.

Since its first concert — when press reviews commented “it could have been the South Bank” — the Bridgewater Sinfonia has continued to offer symphonic concerts of the highest calibre, covering a wide spectrum of styles and periods, the great classics as well as unfamiliar and new works especially by British composers; all this in the intimate atmosphere of St Peter’s Church and at an accessible ticket price, as Berkhamsted’s own local orchestra. Audiences, players and soloists alike recognise this as a unique combination and enjoy the advantage of these uplifting concerts of live orchestral music on their doorstep.

In 2008 the Bridgewater Sinfonia celebrated its tenth anniversary season, with a gala concert on 7 June 2008. This coincided with the happy announcement of the appointment of Sir Andrew Davis as the Bridgewater Sinfonia’s Honorary Patron – a great honour and privilege for the orchestra as it looks to its next decade.