Come and listen to top quality music and world class soloists with Maidstone Symphony Orchestra, now in its 116th season
Join us for unforgettable performances with Maidstone Symphony Orchestra – a cornerstone of musical excellence in Kent.
Our next concert is at 7.30pm on Saturday 24 October 2026 –
Mote Hall, Maidstone Leisure Centre, Mote Park, Maidstone ME15 7RN
Come early to catch our Free pre-concert talk from 6.40 – 7.10 pm
Music Director Brian Wright introduces the season
First, an announcement: After 37 seasons, I’ve decided that this upcoming 2026-27 season will be my last as MSO’s Music Director and Conductor. I’ve had a wonderful time, and I must say that back in 1990, beginning to conduct MSO saved my musical life, which had got into a rut, too much focussed on choral music. However, as I reach 80 later in 2026, I find it all much more physically demanding, together with the hassle of driving on mostly rural roads for up to 3 hours to attend each rehearsal and concert. I believe I’ll leave MSO in rude health, wish the players, administrators and my successor all the best, and look forward enormously to my last season.
It’s an exciting one, with five splendid young international soloists playing popular concertos. We’ve a French violinist, Irène Duval, with Bruch, a French oboist, Armand Djikoloum, with Richard Strauss, a Lithuanian pianist, Kaspras Mikužis, with Tchaikovsky, a Scottish-Indian guitarist, Samrat Majumder, with Rodrigo, and our own star violinist, Callum Smart, appropriately with Elgar. MSO plays brilliant symphonies by Dvořák, Rachmaninov and Mahler, and in March we’ve Beethoven’s “Eroica” to commemorate – almost to the day – the 200th anniversary of his death. Our “Family Concert” in November – unusually on a Sunday afternoon – features popular suites by Bizet, Grieg and Tchaikovsky. And there are great overtures and incidental pieces by Borodin, Glinka, Wagner, Mozart and Smetana.
As ever, enjoy it all and buy lots of tickets..!
Pre-concert talks
Come early to catch our free pre-concert talk from 6.40 - 7.10 pm
Next Season
Come back next March for details of our next season of concerts
Venue
All our concerts are held in Mote Hall, Maidstone Leisure Centre, Mote Park, Maidstone ME15 7RN.
Upcoming Concerts
Saturday 24 October 2026
Irène Duval - Violin
We’ve plenty of favourites to start our season. Borodin’s Prince Igor Overture makes a powerful introduction to the operatic story of his struggles against invading forces. Glinka’s particularly interesting Kamarinskaya became famous as the first orchestral work based solely on Russian folk song. We then welcome Irène Duval to play Bruch’s brilliant 1st Violin Concerto. And finally there’s Dvořák’s ever-popular New World Symphony.
View the concert flyer
Sunday 29 November 2026
Samrat Majumder - Guitar
There’s plenty here for all ages to enjoy. Bizet’s Carmen Suite ends with the famous “March of the Toreadors”. Rodrigo’s Guitar Concerto is increasingly popular, with its haunting slow movement and ebullient Spanish rhythms. We welcome a young prize-winning guitarist, Samrat Majumder, to play it. Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite begins with the tender sounds of “Morning”, but ends with a flourish “In the hall of the mountain king”. Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite has all the best-known bits of the ballet, including “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy” and “Waltz of the Flowers”.
View the concert flyer
Saturday 30 January 2027
Armand Dijkoloum - Oboe
We’ve a whizz-bang start to this concert courtesy of Wagner and his effervescent Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin. There’s then a big change of mood for Richard Strauss’ beautiful Oboe Concerto, with its chamber music and pastoral feel. Written in 1945, it was one of the last works he composed, aged 81, during what is often described by biographers as his "Indian summer." Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony has everything, with its lush, romantic tunes and big-scale orchestration. The manuscript was lost, but it finally re-emerged and was auctioned in 2014 for over £1.2 million.
View the concert flyer
Saturday 20 March 2027
Kasparas Mikužis - Piano
Mozart is the key here. He was Tchaikovsky’s favourite composer and a great influence on Beethoven. The Magic Flute overture is one of Mozart’s finest, and we then welcome an outstanding young Lithuanian pianist to play Tchaikovsky’s much-loved First Piano Concerto.
Beethoven died on 26 March 1827, so our concert is within days of the 200th anniversary. His Eroica Symphony is one of his greatest with its magnificent slow movement Funeral March and exciting scherzo and finale.
View the concert flyer
Saturday 15 May 2027
Callum Smart - Violin
We’ve two masterworks to end our season, but we start with one of the most vivacious of romantic overtures, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride. It’s a joy to welcome Callum Smart back to MSO. It’s almost a musical family, as his first ever violin teacher is now our renowned Leader, Andy Laing. Elgar wrote of his Violin Concerto: "It's good! Too emotional, but I love it." Mahler conducted more performances of his First Symphony than any of his later works, and he used a very large orchestra, capable of great panache and fire.
View the concert flyer
About Us
Under the direction of acclaimed conductor Brian Wright, Maidstone Symphony Orchestra (MSO), founded in 1910 as Maidstone Orchestral Society, is widely regarded as one of the UK’s finest community orchestras.
Combining local professionals, ex-professionals, music teachers, and skilled amateur players, MSO produces concerts of professional standard through the dedication of its members, many of whom travel from across Kent and beyond for weekly Thursday rehearsals.
Conductor
Brian Wright has been Music Director and Conductor of Maidstone Symphony Orchestra since 1990. Brian studied as a Gulbenkian scholar in London and Munich. He won major prizes in conducting competitions at La Scala, Milan and with the London Symphony Orchestra. He was Assistant Conductor to the LSO and then Associate Conductor to the BBC, winning acclaim for performances at the Proms. Brian has conducted all the UK orchestras, toured in Europe with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and in Europe and China with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has been a guest conductor in almost 20 countries.
For further information click here to see Brian’s website
Leader
Andrew (Andy) Laing started learning the violin when he was 5, and by the age of 16 was appointed leader of the National String Orchestra of Scotland. He gained a place at the Royal Academy of Music, winning numerous prizes and scholarships. Andy was appointed sub-leader of the BBC Radio Orchestra, then Leader of the London City Ballet Orchestra. In the ’90s, he spent much time on stage at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he met his wife, Rachel, also a professional violinist. Andy is a keen amateur astronomer, and if music had not been his first love, it is entirely possible that a career involving the stars may have followed!
Friends of MOS
For over 35 years the Friends of Maidstone Orchestral Society have been our financial lifeline. The Friends help to bridge the gap between the price of our tickets and the actual cost of concerts, and have provided some of the equipment (eg acoustic screens) needed to make our concerts possible. The Friends’ activities inevitably fell quiet during Covid, but we are keen to revive and expand them. We would love you to join them and help the orchestra continue to perform its seasons of excellent concerts. The Friends charity is chaired by Jonathan Cane.
If you would like to know more about them, please email friends@mso.org.uk or pick up an explanatory leaflet at one of our concerts.
Make a donation
Your donation helps us bring outstanding live music to the community and supports the musicians who make it possible. Every gift makes a real difference—thank you!
Join Us
Join us as a player and share your passion for music in a vibrant, welcoming orchestra committed to performing at the highest standard.
Our Concerts
Our concerts celebrate the dedication of our talented players and the enthusiasm of our audience—both are essential to keeping live music thriving in our community. Come and watch us!
Rehearsals
Rehearsals take place every Thursday evening during school term times from 7.30pm – 10pm, and are normally held at Invicta Grammar School, Huntsman Lane, Maidstone ME14 5DS unless otherwise notified.
Sunday rehearsals are held the weekend before concert dates from 2.30pm – 6.30pm.
Concert 1: 24 October 2026
September (Sunday),
Concert: Saturday 24 October 2026, 7.30 pm (Rehearsal 2.30-5.30 pm)
Concert 2: 29 November 2026
October
Concert: Saturday 29 November 2026, 7.30 pm (Rehearsal 2.30-5.30 pm)
Concert 3: Saturday 30 January 2027
December
Concert: Saturday 30 January 2027, 7.30 pm (Rehearsal 2.30-5.30 pm)
Concert 4: Saturday 20 March 2027
February
Concert: Saturday 20 March 2027, 7.30 pm (Rehearsal 2.30-5.30 pm)
Concert 5: Saturday 15 May 2027
March
Concert: Saturday 15 May 2027, 7.30 pm (Rehearsal 2.30-5.30 pm)
