There is no doubt that this farewell concert was being seen as a key moment in the Orchestra’s history, and the seating was filled with a large, supportive and very appreciative audience.
One member of the audience was John Teague, who was poised to take over as Conductor, having been appointed to the post in January.  The orchestra was now ready to write a new chapter in its history.

This date marked the eagerly awaited first concert given by the orchestra under the baton of John Teague, Ian Ward’s successor as Conductor of the Sinfonia.  It took place in Holy Trinity Church, Oswestry, and included an innovative short, informal introductory talk by the conductor to explain some of the background to the music the audience were to hear.
The inaugural concert comprised:-

Weber  –  Overture:  “Der Freischutz”
Britten/Rossini  –  Soirée Musicales
Beethoven  –  Romance in F  (Soloist:  Leader of Oswestry Sinfonia, Huw Lloyd)
Schubert  –  Symphony No. 9 (The Great)

Saturday 25th November, 2006:  A new chapter begins...

In December, the Shrewsbury Choral Society invited Oswestry Sinfonia to renew its collaboration for the fourth successive year in a special Mozart concert staged to mark the 250th Anniversary of the composer’s birth.  The newly appointed Musical Director of the Choral Society, Martin Schellenberg, conducted, with the concert taking place in St Chad’s Church, and comprised:-

Mozart’s Solemn Vespers and his cantatas “Exultate Jubilate” & “Ave Verum Corpus”
The main work in the programme was Mozart’s “Mass in C minor”

The Spring 2007 concert  was another “first” for the orchestra – a  programme comprised entirely of popular ballet music.
The evening featured excerpts from Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet” and the famous “Clog Dance” from Hérold’s “La Fille Mal Gardée”.   “Les Patineurs” (Meyerbeer) began the programme, with Respighi’s arrangement of Rossini’s music for “La Boutique Fantasque” started the second half.
No ballet programme could ignore the contribution of Tchaikovsky to the genre, and his  “Nutcracker Suite” formed the centrepiece in the second half of the programme.