THE

EXETER CHILDREN'S ORCHESTRA

A BRIEF HISTORY

It was way back in 1970 that a little blind girl was being taught to play the recorder by Colin Broughton who was, at the time, a student at St. Luke's Teachers Training College in Exeter. This little girl's friends, attracted by her enthusiasm for learning music, also came to have lessons.

Soon, the idea of widening the activities to include other instrumentalists led Colin Broughton to form an orchestra made up of children. When he left St, Luke's, the Orchestra continued with its regular Saturday morning rehearsals under his direction. The Exeter Children's Orchestra had been born.

Colin left Exeter in December 1976 and was briefly succeeded by Gary Jones. Since 1977 the Orchestra has been under the musical direction of Richard Bowyer who has helped to bring the stability and musical achievement for which the Orchestra has become renowned. Under Richard's direction, the smaller Chamber Orchestra was formed, allowing some of the senior members to play more challenging music in a better balanced group.

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