A SERIES of events will mark the 50th anniversary of Wrexham Symphony Orchesta (WSO).

In 1969 a group of musicians in Cartrefle College, Wrexham, formed a small string ensemble and on October 30, performed their first concert in the then new Memorial Hall in Wrexham.

It is likely few of them realised that 50 years later, the Clywedog String Ensemble would become a full complement community wide orchestral ensemble and established as one of the most highly rated and progressive in Wales and the North West of England.

The orchestra offers opportunities for many members of the local community to perform music to exacting standards and provides a base for so many of our local, talented young musicians to fine tune their capabilities before moving on to continue their studies.

The Orchestra’s 50th Anniversary Gala concert on Saturday, May 4 in the William Aston Hall at 7.30pm, is going to be a very special occasion.

In a first collaboration partnership with Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and their Friends Association, the concert programme features Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 which will be performed by international concert pianist Vicky Yannoula, who is the chief executive of the Hackney Youth Orchestra Music Trust.

Mark Lansom, whose family connections with the Orchestra go back to 1971, will conduct the orchestra on this special evening for music in Wrexham.

Wrexham Business Professionals Network will be presenting a donation of £830 towards the charitable and educational work of the Orchestra during the Gala Anniversary concert.

Matthew Ellis, chairman of the orchestra, said: "The orchestra is an embodiment of all that is good and positive in Wrexham.

"Over the 50 years, we have been able to offer a large number of people from across our local community the opportunity to perform with us. Two of our members, Joy Thomas and Myra Roberts, performed in that very first concert and have remained with us ever since – our Gala Anniversary concert will be a very special occasion for them both as they continue to enjoy performing in our concerts.

"Education remains a heart beat for us as we support our young people - our work with the university and across the community through the weekly Live Music Showcase concerts and Music Festivals in Tŷ Pawb are clear evidences of this enduring commitment.

"We also offer opportunities to young people to join our concerts and gain valuable performing experience. We are justifiably proud that a significant number of our former young members are now performing with some of the UK’s leading orchestral ensembles."

During the year, Wrexham Symphony Orchestra will continue their 50th season through a series of concerts.

On Saturday, June 8 it returns to the British Ironworks Centre near Oswestry for another ‘Music for a Summer Evening’ concert which will feature classical and film music, along with music and favourite songs synonymous with the D Day Landings and Wrexham based soprano, Rachael Marsh will be performing.

The Proms concert will conclude with a dazzling ‘Star Wars Firework spectacular’. Tickets for the Proms concert are on sale at www.britishironworkcentre.co.uk/events.

On Saturday, July 20 at William Aston Hall 50 years since Neil Armstrong’s lunar landing and moon walk is commemorated in an exciting collaboration with Techniquest at Glyndŵr.

In this concert the orchestra will be supporting the work of Maelor Voluntary Services.

On, Sunday, November 3 at William Aston Hall there is a special ‘birthday party’ Sunday afternoon family concert to pay tribute to the 2019 Classic FM Hall of Fame and feature their charity ‘Make Some Noise’, which supports disadvantaged children and young people.

Local charities will be invited to join and in the run up a number of schools-based initiatives around music and singing will be promoted, working with the Tŷ Pawb team to hold a ‘Make Some Noise’ day during the 2019 October half term.

There is also the formal launch of the Music Themed Sensory Garden project which will be designed by students of Wrexham Glyndwr University along with students in Coleg Cambria and be installed in the Wrexham Memory Clinic by spring 2021.

The Orchestra’s 2019-20 concert season will see them make a return to Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to perform Gustav Mahler’s majestic choral work, his 8th Symphony which is commonly known as ‘The Symphony of a Thousand’ as it demands a large choral element of several hundred voices. This will be the largest concert event in the orchestras long history and will bring their long running and ground breaking Mahler Charitable concert series to a fitting climax in one of the world’s iconic concert venues, which is the home of The Halle.

Tickets for WSO concerts range from £20 for a family ticket; £12 balcony; £10 stalls (£8 concessions) and just £2 for students and young people under 16.

They are available from Wrexham Tourist Information Centre in Queens Square, Wrexham and from the Box Office desk in Wrexham Glyndŵr University.

They can also be purchased on line at www.wrexhamorch.co.uk/tickets and through the William Aston Hall events website. Llangollen Tourist Information Office in Castle Street also has tickets for sale.