Gosport violinist Lelde Kasatkina has just been appointed leader of the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra and will perform her first concert in the role this weekend.

She will even have a small solo – as part of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sherezade – in the concert which will also feature soprano Jennifer Parker Lummis and the premiere of a piece by Barbadian composer, and orchestra timpanist, Nathan R. Whitney.

Entitled a ‘A Journey Beyond Imagination’, the concert is on Saturday June 27 (7pm) at the Stubbington…

Fareham soprano Jennifer Parker-Lummis has been warming up for her next concert, which will be with the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra in Stubbington on Saturday.

She will be singing a range of songs, including by Puccini and Offenbach, as well as music from the films, featuring among others Titanic, in a concert promoted by Monserrat Events entitled a ‘A Journey Beyond Imagination’.

The concert is on Saturday June 27 (7pm) at the Stubbington Community Centre.

As well as Parker-Lummis’s songs, there will be…

The Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra is going to premiere a piece, themed around pirates, at its next concert in Fareham later this month.

Composed by one of the orchestra’s members Nathan R. Whitney – a Barbadian musician who is presently studying at the University of Portsmouth – the piece is entitled ‘Voyager’ and will open the concert on Saturday June 27 (7pm) at the Stubbington Community Centre.

Promoted by Montserrat Events, the concert has the theme of ‘A Journey Beyond Imagination’ and will also…

Spark Community Space in Portsmouth has benefited by more than £500 – the proceeds of the latest charity concert by the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra.

Di Lloyd, chair of the orchestra, paid a visit to the centre earlier this month to find out more about what it does and present a cheque for £510, which was raised at the orchestra’s March concert. You can watch the video of the visit above.

At the concert, the audience enjoyed music by Max Bruch, featuring soloists Robert Blanken (clarinet) and Catherine…

The premiere of a piece of music by Portsmouth-based Barbadian composer Nathan R Whitney (pictured above) will be performed by the city’s philharmonic orchestra at its next concert in Fareham in June.

Entitled ‘Voyager’, the piece will open a concert at the Crofton Community Centre in Stubbington on Saturday June 27 (7pm) which has the theme ‘A Journey Beyond Imagination’ and the event will also feature local soprano Jennifer Parker-Lummis.

Nathan said of his piece: “Over the past few years I have been…

Colin Wilkins, Leader of the Portsmouth Philharmonic, bowed out after his last concert, having been involved in the orchestra from its formation in 2009.

A packed programme featured Bruch's double concerto for clarinet and viola, which featured soloists Rob Blanken and Catherine Lawlor (pictured above), who Colin had arranged to play in the concert.

The event raised around £500 for the Spark Community Space in Portsmouth and Colin explained afterwards why he had joined the orchestra.

He said: “This is a…

Catherine Lawlor, viola soloist in the next concert by the Portsmouth Philharmonic, has taken time out of her schedule to give us an exclusive interview on PPO I TV (below), detailing her career, Max Bruch’s concerto she will play in and has a word too for departing orchestra leader Colin Wilkins.

Lawlor will duet with clarinettist Rob Blanken to accompany the orchestra in performing Bruch’s concerto for clarinet and viola on Sunday March 22 (3pm) at the Church of the Resurrection in Drayton. It will be in…

Rehearsals are well underway for the Portsmouth Philharmonic’s latest charity concert later this month and one of the soloists – clarinet player Robert Blanken – has taken some time out to give an interview about his part in the proceedings, which can be watched below.

Blanken will duet with viola player Catherine Lawlor to accompany the orchestra in performing Max Bruch’s concerto for clarinet and viola on Sunday March 22 (3pm) at the Church of the Resurrection in Drayton. It will be in aid of the Spark…

Around £600 has been raised for the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth’s Annual Appeal at the Portsmouth Philharmonic’s latest charity concert, featuring music by British composers.

Entitled ‘Home Grown’, an audience of 70 people enjoyed the concert at the Church of the Resurrection in Drayton, as well as raising money for a good cause.

The varied programme, conducted by Ka Wai Cheng (pictured above), assisted by orchestra leader Colin Wilkins, got under way with a rousing rendition of Richard Rodney Bennett’s Farnham…

It’s less than a week to go until the orchestra’s next concert. Entitled ‘Home Grown’ it has the theme of Music by British composers and will be in aid of the Lord Mayor’s annual appeal.

Advance tickets, priced £10 for adults (accompanied children free) for the concert on Sunday November 30 (3pm) at the Church of the Resurrection, Drayton are on sale here.

The featured composers are George Handel, with his Music for the Royal Fireworks, Richard Rodney Bennett (Farnham Festival Overture), Ernest Tomlinson…

Music by British composers is the theme of the latest charity concert of by the Portsmouth Philharmonic orchestra which will be in aid of the Lord Mayor’s annual appeal.

Advance tickets, priced £10 for adults (accompanied children free) for the concert on Sunday November 30 (3pm) at the Church of the Resurrection, Drayton are on sale here.

Entitled ‘Home Grown’, the concert sees George Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks taking centre stage, but a varied programme will also include works by Richard Rodney…

More than £25,000 has been raised for good causes in the south east Hampshire area by the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra, after it handed over more than £800 to Fareham-based charity Second Chance.

Since the orchestra was founded in 2009 by Anne White, each year it plays three concerts with the proceeds of ticket sales going to help a variety of organisations.

Second Chance supports young people from Portsmouth and beyond who have perhaps failed to thrive in mainstream education or are vulnerable in some…

‘Victory’ was the theme of the latest charity concert by the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra, which teamed up with soprano Jennifer Parker-Lummis (pictured above) for the event at Lee-on-The-Solent.

Organised to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day, soprano Parker-Lummis brought the concert to a close with a rousing rendition of Land of Hope & Glory for the audience of more than 100 at St Faith’s Church.

Lummis also accompanied the orchestra in a number of pieces including the Band of Brothers…

Tickets are still available for our next charity concert on Saturday June 28 (7pm) at St Faith's Church, Lee-on-the-Solent.

Organised by Montserrat Events, the concert takes the theme of “Victory” to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE & VJ Days.

A packed programme, which can be found here features music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Holst and Eric Coates among others. The orchestra will be working again with soprano Jennifer Parker-Lummis (pictured above)  - as it has in the past two years at a concert…

Almost £800 was presented towards Farlington Parish’s Raise the Roof appeal on Sunday, the proceeds of Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert in March.

Chair of the Orchestra Di Lloyd (pictured centre) attended a service at the Church of the Resurrection in Penrhyn Road and, in front of the congregation, handed over a cheque for £778 to the Revd Canon Paul Gully (left), Rector of the parish and the Revd Deb Henning Vears (right), Assistant Curate.

Di said: “This was one of the highest amounts we’ve ever…

Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra is an amateur orchestra based in Portsmouth. The orchestra rehearses from September to July each year, normally giving three concerts in each season.

Our current leader is retiring early in 2026, so in preparation for this we are looking to appoint an experienced violinist/leader to give inspiration and confidence to our well-established string section, enhancing our tradition of friendliness and the enjoyment of making music together.

The orchestra was founded by a small…

Portsmouth ReadEasy will be putting £380 raised by the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert in December to good use supporting adult literacy projects in the city.

The orchestra's next concert is this Sunday March 30 (3pm) at the Church of the Resurrection, Penrhyn Avenue, Drayton, where it will be raising money for the Farlington parish roof fund.

The concert will feature music by Beethoven and Schubert, among others, and tickets are available priced £10 on the door and also online in advance at…

A concert featuring music from Schubert and Dvorak on Sunday March 30 is raising funds for the Farlington Parish roof fund.

The Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra has been playing and rehearsing at the Church of the Resurrection in the parish since 2011 and has already raised more than £24,000 for local charities since it was founded in 2009.

But now it is looking closer to home to support the parish’s roof fund, which is seeking to make repairs to leaky roofs at both churches under its control.

John Upton from…

The Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra's last concert in December raised £380 for the Portsmouth branch of ReadEasy, which seeks to help adults with their literacy.

Featuring music by Bizet, Tchaikovsky and Grieg, among others, the event proved a popular event and was attended by the deputy Lord Mayor Gerald Vernon Jackson and Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan.

The orchestra's next concert is scheduled for Sunday March 30 (3pm), at the usual venue of the Church of the Resurrection, Drayton. The programme and…

It's just a day before our final charity concert of 2024 in aid of Read Easy and the orchestra has been hard at work rehearsing under new Musical Director Ka Wai Cheng.

With music by Tchaikovsky, Goldmark, Bizet and Grieg, it's a varied programme but it would be wrong not to mark the season as well, so we're also performing Leroy Anderson's Christmas Festival. See below for a sneak preview from a recent rehearsal.

Tickets, priced £10 are available on the door and  also from our ticket partner Skiddle here…

The Portsmouth Philharmonic is delighted to announce the permanent appointment of Ka Wai Cheng (above) as Musical Director and Conductor.

Gosport-based Ka Wai has been working with the orchestra on an interim basis since April after the retirement of Hugh Carpenter and the committee decided earlier this month to ratify the appointment.

Chair of the orchestra, Di Lloyd said: “Everyone is delighted Ka Wai has agreed to take on the role permanently. She has impressed everyone with her approachable manner…

Works by Tchaikovsky, Bizet and Grieg feature in the latest charity concert by the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra in aid of the local branch of Read Easy UK.

Taking place at the Church of the Resurrection, Penrhyn Road, Drayton on Sunday December 1 (3pm, doors open 2.30pm), the programme includes three popular pieces – Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Romeo & Juliet Fantasy Overture, Georges Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite No 1 and Edvard Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No 1.

Also featured is Karl Goldmark’s ‘Rustic Wedding Suite’…

A Hampshire-based charity which helps the emergency services hunt for missing vulnerable people has benefitted to the tune of £750, the proceeds of the Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra's performance at a concert in Lee-on-the-Solent in June.

With soprano Jennifer Parker-Lummis supporting the orchestra, around 100 people attended the event at St Faith’s Church organised by Montserrat Events.

Orchestra chair Di Lloyd was given a guided tour of  Hampshire Search & Rescue at its Meon Valley HQ by Chairman Phil…

Orchestra solo flautist Sheila Price (pictured above) and soprano Jennifer Parker-Lummis stole the show at the Lee Summer Concert, organised by Monserrat Events, which raised £750 for the Hampshire Search and Rescue charity.

An audience of more than 100 at St Faith’s Church, were treated to Sheila’s rendition of Mozart’s Flute Concerto No 2, while Jennifer serenaded concert-goers with works from Dvorak, Gershwin – ‘Summertime’, what else? –  and the ever-popular ‘Habanera’ from the opera Carmen by Bizet…

The celebration of Portsmouth FC’s successful 125^th anniversary season continued with a civic reception at the end of April hosted by the Lord Mayor and orchestra Chair Di Lloyd and former conductor Hugh Carpenter were among the quests.

The club’s men’s and women’s teams won their respective leagues this season and will both play in the second tier of English football next season. Hugh is pictured above with the Lord Mayor Cllr Tom Coles and Pompey striker Kusini Yengi, together with the EFL League One…