The NBO is 40 years old. Founded by the late violinist and teacher, Linda Williams it first emerged on 22 May 1985 as a chamber orchestra based in Rochdale with players from Greater Manchester, Saddleworth, West Yorkshire and further afield.

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The beautiful setting of St Aidan’s, which had benefitted from a legacy bequest to redecorate recently, was an ideal venue for a 3 pm winter afternoon concert.

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Today’s line-up was essentially a string orchestra (underpinned by harpsichord by Marek Bakota) which was right for the acoustic. Vivaldi’s scintillating Concerto ‘alla rustica’ set the Baroque mood with vigour, followed by works by Geminiani and Albinoni. The latter composition also featured an accomplished oboe soloist in Chris Browne (pictured right).

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Conductor Paul Witkiewicz singled out the new leader, violinist Maud Hodson for her sparkling playing of Bartok’s Romanian Dances to open the second half. Recorder soloist Ian Noonan was also appreciated by the audience for his fine playing of Telemann; and the concert rounded off with Handel’s glorious Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 7.

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On a sad note, Secretary David Shipp announced the recent sad death of Peter Collier. For ten years their harpsichordist, Peter also helped with advice on Baroque repertoire and even supplied music from his extensive library of musical score and parts. This he did for several other ensembles in the area. He will be greatly missed.

 

There are tricky logistics in gathering musicians for such wonderful music, but they aim for at least two concerts a year. Visit www.northernbaroque.org.uk for details of becoming a player, patron or member of the audience. The next NBO concert will be Saturday 13 June 2026.

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Dr Joe Dawson, published in Rochdale Observer on 29 November 2025