The Borders Sinfonia / Sinfonia y Ffin is an orchestra with local roots. Many of the musicians grew up in North Wales or the North West of England.  Most are professionals recently graduated from Bangor, Manchester or Leeds Universities, the Royal Northern College of Music, Birmingham Conservatoire, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama or London Conservatoires. Other colleagues may not have graduated quite so recently, but are expert musicians currently actively involved in music at a professional level, living and working in or close to the Welsh and English borders. Many of the instrumentalists play regularly with full time orchestras such as the Hallé, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of Opera North and the Northern Sinfonia.

The next performance of the full orchestra will be accompanying the chorus of the Ellesmere Port Music Society on 30th April 2011 in The Dream of Gerontius by Elgar in Ellesmere Port Civic Hall. On this occasion the orchestra will be led by James Pattinson. Mezzo-Soprano Susan Marrs, tenor Martin Hindmarsh and bass Michael Pearce will be the soloists, and Tim Stuart the conductor. The chamber orchestra will be performing Vivaldi's Gloria and Haydn's Nelson Mass on 16th April in the 10th anniversary concert of Denbigh Choral Society, an event to be conducted by Beryl Lloyd Roberts in St Asaph Cathedral. Future performances include Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man, a Mass for Peace in Ellesmere Port on 12th November, led by Nia Bevan. Alongside this epic work the orchestra will perform Arvo Pärt's Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten.

Although the name is new, the orchestra has performed in a number of major concerts in Mold, Ellesmere Port and St Asaph: Haydn’s Creation (twice), Poulenc's Gloria, Handel’s Chandos Anthems, Brahms’ German Requiem, and works by Gounod, Satie, Barber, Kats-Chernin and Fauré are amongst the masterpieces it has expertly accompanied for Choral Societies, or performed alone under the batons of Shan Griffiths, David Poulter and Tim Stuart.

For the landmark concert on May 10 2008 in St Asaph's wonderful cathedral, the orchestra was fortunate to have the celebrated Welsh violinist Cerys Jones as guest leader, with James Pattinson as co-leader. Carmina Burana was the formidable vehicle which displayed the instrumentalists' virtuoso talents. The audience, which was a 'full house', gave the performers a standing ovation.

Please send any requests for further information to: sinfoniayffin@gmail.com