Chichester Symphony Orchestra: Medley of history from The Novium Museum

The Chichester Directory in 1881 records band practice on Monday evenings from 8.15pm for ‘a String Band of Amateur Instrumentalists’. One of the early adverts for the Chichester Orchestral Society appeared in the Bognor Observer on December 25, 1889. A later article in the Bognor Observer described the opening concert of the society on November 12, 1895, as ‘highly meritorious’. A second concert took place in 1896 to more critical acclaim, and a further 1899 concert at the Corn Exchange raised £97 for the Chichester Fund during the Boer War.

As well as the Assembly Rooms being a venue for concerts, the orchestra also played at the Corn Exchange. In the 1950s, when it was known as Chichester Light Orchestra, they performed concerts at Graylingwell Hospital, as the Assembly Rooms at that time had been condemned for public use. One of the orchestra’s main challenges was having sufficient funds, as well as members.