Easter Orchestra Week 2027
Tuesday 30 March 2027 — Monday 5 April 2027
Ellesmere, Shropshire
Applications for EOS 2027 will open in August 2026
On this page you will find information about the Easter Orchestra Week.
Click on the video below for a glimpse of what it’s like at the Easter Orchestra Week.
The Easter Orchestra Week
The Easter Orchestral Society organises an annual orchestral residential week for adults and students aged 18+, based at Ellesmere College, close to the market town of Ellesmere in Shropshire, UK. Click here for directions to Ellesmere College.
During the week we aim to tackle repertoire most amateurs do not normally get the opportunity to play, as well as firm favourites: there is something for everyone! With large string sections, we can tackle a very wide range of the orchestral repertoire, usually including several pieces which rarely get played. It is intensive and challenging, but fun and friendly. See below for repertoire.
Most participants choose to stay on campus. There are single, twin and double rooms available. A limited number have en suite bathrooms which are allocated on a strictly first come, first served basis. You can also choose to arrange your own accommodation and stay elsewhere as a non-resident.
Facilities on campus include plenty of rooms for chamber groups, a swimming pool, gym, tennis courts, a golf course and on-site car parking. There is a bar on campus; local pubs are within walking distance.
A typical day involves rehearsing the principal works in the morning followed by lunch. There is free time in the afternoon and then we tackle a major play-through work (often a large-scale symphony) after tea. We break for dinner, and then there’s more, often lighter, play-through repertoire after dinner. Most of us then head for the bar! At the end of the week there is an informal concert where we play the principal works.
Players need to be of at least Grade 8 standard with orchestral experience and excellent sight-reading skills. You are advised to apply as soon as possible once applications open because there is competition for all playing places, particularly in the woodwind and brass sections. Priority will be accorded to applications received from players who have attended the previous two orchestra weeks; however, please note that even for previous participants there is no guarantee of a place. Applicants should not make any arrangements for the Easter Week (e.g. booking travel or external accommodation) until they have received written confirmation from the EOS Secretary that their application has been successful. The Musical Director’s decision on acceptance is final.
The Musical Director is Michael Thorne. Lewis Gaston is Assistant Musical Director. Read their biogs here.
Easter Orchestra Week subscriptions (per person) are set out below.
Download the EOS 2026 information brochure here: EOS26 brochure final
Free Places for Students/Young People
Student/young people’s scholarship places are available which provide places free of charge (including accommodation and full board) to string and harp players aged 18–25. Numbers are limited, so please apply as soon as possible after applications open because the free places go quickly.
Half Price Places for Full-time Students/Young People
There are a few subsidised student/young person places for instruments for which there is a vacancy, which halves the subscription. Subsidised places are limited, so please apply early if you are interested.
Reduced subscriptions for players aged 30 or under
Reduced subscriptions for players aged 30 or under on the day the week starts – £450. String, percussion and harp players are asked to use the standard application form on this page, checking the box for a reduced subscription. If you are a woodwind or brass player who has not attended EOS in the past 2 years, you will need to join the Waiting List first.
Ellesmere College
REPERTOIRE 2026
Repertoire for 2026 is listed below. EOS 2027 will appear here when agreed.
There’s a list of all the repertoire we’ve played since 2006 here: Easter Orchestral Society Repertoire Listing to 2025
Morning Sessions – Concert Works | |
| Michael Daugherty | Last Dance at the Surf |
| Ottorino Respighi | Belkis (Queen of Sheba) |
| Richard Strauss | Ein Heldenleben |
Afternoon Works | |
| Florent Schmitt | La Tragédie de Salomé – Suite |
Henry Kimball Hadley | Salome |
Aaron Copland | Music for a Great City |
Pēteris Vasks | Lauda |
Igor Stravinsky | Petrushka (Revised Version |
Kalevi Aho | Symphonic Dances |
Evening Works | |
William Grant Still | Symphony no. 5 |
Andrzej Panufnik | Heroic Overture |
Ethel Smyth | On the Cliffs of Cornwall |
Ruth Gipps | Symphony no. 2 |
George Gershwin (arr. Bennett) | Porgy and Bess – A Symphonic Picture |
Ástor Piazzolla | Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons in Buenos Aires) |
Gian Carlo Menotti | The Telephone |
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Piano Concert no. 1 |
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Suite from The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh |
Alexander Borodin | In the Steppes of Central Asia |
| Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov | Capriccio Espagnol |
| Doreen Carwithen | Suffolk Suite |
| Alexander Tsfasman | Suite for Piano and Orchestra |
| Benjamin Britten | The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra |
Final Morning Play Through | |
Dmetri Shostakovich | Ballet: The Lady and the Hooligan |
Easter Orchestra Week Subscriptions 2026 (per person)
2026 subscriptions are below. 2027 subscriptions will appear here when agreed.
Single Room
Shared Bathroom- Full Board
- Players aged 30 or under on first day of the week – reduced subscription of £450.
Single Room
En Suite- Shared double Rooms (en suite) are £645 per person
- Full Board
Twin Room
Shared Bathroom- Full Board
Non-resident
Own accommodation- Tea/coffee plus one meal per day
The number of en suite rooms is limited. They are allocated on a strictly first come first served basis. Where an en suite room has been requested, but is unavailable, a shared facilities room will be allocated, at the lower subscription, of course! However, the single shared bathroom rooms are comfortable, and in many cases larger than the en suites, and you never have to share a bathroom with many other people. Alternatively, some players opt to find their own accommodation nearby.
There is a special discounted rate for players aged 18-30 at the start of the Easter Week of £450.
Full Board includes accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner and tea/coffee/biscuits/cakes in breaks starting with dinner on the first day of the week and finishing with breakfast on the final day.
Players travelling by train to Shrewsbury station can book a return minibus transfer from the station to Ellesmere College for £16 return. The minibus must be booked and paid for in advance on the application form for those wishing to use this service. The minibus pickup and return drop off will be approximately 3.30pm on the first day, and just after breakfast at 9am on the final day. More information will be sent to players who book the minibus about exact timings.