Scarborough Spa Orchestra Confirm 2023 Summer Season

Wednesday, 24 May 2023 11:07

By Matthew Pells

The Orchestra, will play seven concerts per week from Sunday to Wednesday.

The Scarborough Spa Orchestra are celebrating their 111th year - continuing a seaside tradition which dates back to 1912.

Often described as "the jewel in Scarborough's crown", the members of the legendary Spa Orchestra have begun preparations for their summer season which runs from 23rd July to 13th September.

There has been music on the Spa since the middle of the 19th Century, but a turning point was reached when the Spa Orchestra was founded in 1912. Previously the summer season music had been provided by brass and military bands, but the appointment of a new musical director changed all that. Alick Maclean's suggestion that there should be dedicated orchestra was given short shrift at the time, but over a hundred years later the naysayers have been proved very wrong.

The Spa Orchestra, today led by Paul Laidlaw, says it is is "no stick-in-the-mud, old fashioned, fuddy-duddy outfit".

The orchestra say:

"There's no old or new in our music: there's just good music and, above all, great tunes, lively rhythms and entertaining presentation. Why else would visitors come to Scarborough year after year simply to hear the Spa Orchestra? And they don't just come from all parts of the UK. There are even regular visitors from other European countries."

The Spa Orchestra has something of a unique pull, the time was when every seaside resort had its summer season orchestra. Now there is just one left - here in Scarborough.

The orchestra say:

"Nowhere else can you relax in the sun-drenched Sun Court or the magnificent Spa Grand Hall and be entertained by the tunes and rhythms of the very best in light music played by professional musicians. "

The Spa Orchestra's summer season for 2023 will run from 23rd July – 13th September with a variety of concerts across the week.