St Mewan Sinfonia
Cornwall's premier string ensemble
Making music in Cornwall for over 50 years
Leader Martin White
Conductor Nick Beach
About St Mewan Sinfonia
Our ethos
We believe in bringing music to the community so people of all backgrounds can enjoy live classical music. We also love what we do, enjoying making music together, both in rehearsals and during our live performances. The orchestra raises money for charity by giving a series of concerts of classical music every year. Our repertoire is b
We believe in bringing music to the community so people of all backgrounds can enjoy live classical music. We also love what we do, enjoying making music together, both in rehearsals and during our live performances. The orchestra raises money for charity by giving a series of concerts of classical music every year. Our repertoire is broad with music from the Baroque period right up to the present day. Our musical director, Nick Beach, has a wide breadth of musical knowledge and has the knack of introducing new and interesting pieces to the orchestra.
Solo singers and instrumentalists have also performed with us over the years.
We rehearse every Thursday evening (except school holidays), with a new repertoire every term.
St Mewan Sinfonia is a registered charity (no. 1021171).
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Our history
In the early 1970s a string quartet was formed. Wanting to expand their repertoire and musical experience they brought on board more players and by 1974 St Mewan Sinfonia was born. Rehearsals moved from the cellist's front room to St Mewan Church Hall, near St Austell, from whence we get our name.
Since then we have never looked back. We
In the early 1970s a string quartet was formed. Wanting to expand their repertoire and musical experience they brought on board more players and by 1974 St Mewan Sinfonia was born. Rehearsals moved from the cellist's front room to St Mewan Church Hall, near St Austell, from whence we get our name.
Since then we have never looked back. We have welcomed local conductors and players as well as those who have returned back home to Cornwall or who (quite sensibly!) moved to the county. Over the years we have sadly said goodbye to much loved members too but united by our passion for music and a great sense of community we continue to develop and support each other.
Welcome to St Mewan Sinfonia
Focus on people
Our Conductor - Nick Beach
Nick grew up in Cornwall where he led the Cornwall Youth Orchestra. He
studied at Dartington with Malcolm Latchem and then at the National
Centre for Orchestral Studies. Nick worked for several years for
Berkshire Young Musicians Trust as a violin teacher and later manager.
There he conducted the Berkshire Youth Orchestra and several string
orchestras. He also conducted several large scale collaborative projects,
including community operas. In 2002 Nick moved to Trinity College
London in a role working closely with UK music services, including
providing training and development for teachers. He was appointed as
Academic Director with Trinity in 2010 with leadership of Trinity’s
qualifications and examiners across the performing arts. In 2018 Nick
stepped down from Trinity and he and Sally moved to Jopes Mill, where
they have set up Jopes Music which is developing music performance
activities in South East Cornwall, including the Jopes Mill Orchestra which
Nick conducts. He is also active in Cornwall as a violinist and is leader of
the Jopes Ensemble, a flexible group offering chamber concerts in
Cornwall and Devon. Nick writes on music education and has two
previously published books and another coming out later in 2024.
Our Leader - Martin White
Martin studied violin from an early age most notably with Nesta
Franklin and Sue Otty. He attended specialist music school on
Saturdays during the whole of his school career, and read English and
Music at university. He completed external degrees on the violin from
Trinity College London.
Now retired from teaching in state secondary schools, he is a member
of a number of music ensembles in Cornwall including the Corineus
quartet, the Heinichen Ensemble an original instrument group and the
South West Baroque Orchestra based in Devon.
Our next live events
When- Sunday 5th July 2026, 7pm
Where-St Sampson's Church, Golant, Nr Fowey, PL23 1LB
£10 adults, £5 under 18s, tickets available on the door
Refreshments by donation
We will be starting rehearsals in September for our new series of concerts in 2026/27. Stayed tuned for updates.
Look out for our merchandise which is available to buy at our concerts- a great way of sharing the love!
Are you interested in playing with us?
Sometimes we need new members to join us. We generally look for players of Grade 8 standard or of comparable orchestral experience. We do not audition in the formal sense, but ask any prospective member to come along to a couple of rehearsals to play next to the section leader who can then make a decision. Ideally, you would come along at the start of the term as we begin work on new repertoire.