The Orchestra on the Hill is a combined orchestra of Cambridge’s ‘hill’ colleges. A student-run orchestra, it exists to promote good musicianship among members of the ‘hill’ colleges and the wider University. The ‘hill’ colleges include; Churchill, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards, Magdalene, Girton, Robinson, St Edmund’s and Lucy Cavendish.
The orchestra has built up an enviable reputation for innovative programming, as well as playing some core popular repertoire. Previous concerts have included: Handel’s Messiash (joint with Hill Chorus Choir), Saint-Saëns’ Organ Concerto, Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, Dvorak’s Hussite Overture, Beethoven’s Third Symphony, a wide range of film music, Corelli’s Christmas concerto and Sibelius’s Karelia Suite, and the orchestra have packed out Murray Edwards’ Dome, Fitzwilliam’s Auditorium and Churchill’s Wolfson Hall and Chapel.
The orchestra is open to any member of the University, especially to members of the ‘hill’ colleges, who play an orchestral instrument, usually to a standard of approximately grade
8 and above.
Rehearsals are on Sunday afternoons (1pm – 4pm) in the Music Centre at Churchill College. We perform a concert towards the end of each term, with a “Composers’ Concert” each Easter, where we play new music submitted by members of the university.
