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| The Westmorland Orchestra was formed in 1945 through the initiative of Kenneth Anderson, a member of the music staff of Sedbergh School. He became its first Conductor and saw it through its tentative early years, including performances of Mozart and Beethoven Piano Concertos with Kathleen Long, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with Alan Loveday, the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto with Eileen Croxford, and Mary Wakefield Westmorland Music Festival performances of 'Messiah' under the batons of Sir Charles Groves and John Hopkins. |
 Kenneth Anderson |
| Kenneth Anderson also conducted the orchestra in a lunchtime concert before Her Majesty the Queen, on the occasion of her visit to Kendal in August 1956. | |
 Eric Wetherell |
The baton then passed briefly to Eric Wetherell, who at that
time was organist at Kendal Parish Church. During his tenure
the Mozart bicentenary was celebrated by Eli Goren and Patrick
Ireland with the Sinfonia Concertante K364. Two years later, Eric Wetherell left Kendal and handed the baton over to Sidney Lewis. |
| Sidney Lewis had been among the original members of the Orchestra, playing the clarinet (or any other instrument required). He was organist at Ambleside Parish Church and a gifted all-round musician. For 15 years he moulded the Orchestra, developed its potential, broadening its experience and establishing its present commitment of three public performances a year. |
 Sidney Lewis |
| Among notable soloists were Leon Goossens, Rohan de Saram, Kendall Taylor, Gervase de Peyer, Frederick Grinke, Maria Donska, David Parkhouse and Jack Brymer, who continued a close relationship with the orchestra, and was its President from 1990 until his death in 2003. | |
 Reginald Stead |
In 1973 Barry Sharkey took over the conductorship. Barry had been playing the horn in the Orchestra for some years, and now began to build on the work done by his predecessors. In this he had the support of Reginald Stead, recently retired as Leader of the BBC Northern Orchestra, who served as Leader of the Westmorland from 1978 until 1988 and as President from 1975 until his death in 1989. |
| Now, since 1988 under the leadership of John Upson, the Westmorland Orchestra is the only symphony orchestra in the area able to perform the full orchestral repertoire. |
 John and Barry with Leland Chen |
| Works performed include the Brahms Symphonies and Requiem, Ibert's Flute Concerto with Wissam Boustany, Beethoven's Choral Symphony, Armstrong Gibbs's Westmorland Symphony, Gershwin's Piano Concerto with Sam Haywood, the Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Glazunov and Korngold Violin Concertos with Leland Chen, Rachmaninov's 2nd Symphony, Kalinikov's 1st Symphony, Verdi's Requiem, the first performance of Arthur Butterworth's Violin Concerto, Glazunov's 5th Symphony, Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Walton's Johannesburg Festival Overture, Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony, and most recently Mahler's 4th Symphony. Notable amongst other recent soloists are Lorraine McAslan, David Pyatt, Marat Bisengaliev, The Kungsbacka Piano Trio, Anthony Goldstone (for the seventh time), and Martin Roscoe, who has succeeded Jack Brymer as President. | |