Ernest Read

Ernest Read CBE (22 February 1879 – 9 October 1965) That orchestra spawned 4 more youth orchestras in the city of London and 11 affiliate youth orchestras throughout Great Britain.

In 1931 Read founded the Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra (ERSO), a professional orchestra with a commitment to performing concerts accessible to children as well as adults. He conducted the orchestra up until his death 34 years later, taking it to concerts in schools, concert halls and for the BBC.

For some years (running until the late 1990s) the related organisation ERMA (Ernest Read Music Association) ran summer schools for talented musical students and keen adult amateur musicians. These primarily featured orchestras playing the large-scale symphonic orchestral repertoire, but also with associated choral, conducting, percussion and listeners' courses. These took place initially at Queenswood School, Herts, and latterly at St Mary's School, Wantage.

Read was a keen exponent of Dalcroze eurhythmics, a holistic approach to music through bodily movement, developed by Swiss musician Émile Jaques-Dalcroze. Read died, aged 86, in London.