Leeds University Union Music Society

Sinfonia

Rehearsals take place every Monday between 07:30pm – 09:30pm at the Clothworker’s Centenary Concert Hall (term time only).

For any queries, reach out to us at luums.sinfonia@gmail.com.

LUUMS Sinfonia is the non-auditioned symphony orchestra within the music society, welcoming students from all courses and musical backgrounds. Sinfonia aims to provide a safe, inclusive and supportive space for musicians who want to continue playing in an orchestra without the pressure of auditions. The orchestra performs a diverse range of repertoire like Wallace and Gromit and Pirates of the Caribbean, to the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

This year, the orchestra aims to continue performing diverse music, ranging from film music (How to Train Your Dragon) to classical music (Sibelius’ Finlandia) to game music (Hell Divers – A cup of Liber-tea) in order to offer an enjoyable music experience for players of all levels. The team, consisting of our two managers (Isla and Olivia) and our two conductors (Nathaniel and Sarah), wish to host both drinking and non-drinking socials for our members outside of rehearsal to continue to make sure the orchestra feels inclusive. Alongside this, we aim to run several fun events throughout this year. With all this being planned, the Sinfonia team is really excited for the upcoming year! 

Meet the Sinfonia team

Nathaniel Dingle

Nathaniel is a second year Mechanical Engineering Student from Sheffield. He has played both piano and French horn from a young age and has played in various ensembles in around Sheffield growing up.

Throughout his first year, Nathaniel loved being a part of Sinfonia, Symph, Concert band, and SWO as well as being the LUUMS freshers representative. He especially enjoyed Sinfonia for the amazing community it has. He can’t wait to be a part of another great year of the Sinfonia community.

Sarah Hobson

Sarah is a second year music student from Devon and is extremely excited to be co-conducting Sinfonia with Nathaniel. She has lots of rep ideas for the ensemble such as How to Train Your Dragon, Barber of Seville Overture and many more.

Since joining LUUMS in her first year, she has participated in many of the ensembles where she played clarinet or bass clarinet. Outside of music, she likes to go for long walks, explore new places and visit museums. She feels that LUUMS was key to her settling into uni and hopes that it can be for many of the freshers joining in September as well and is excited to help freshers feel at home in Sinfonia.

Isla Stevens

Isla is a second year mathematics student from near Portsmouth. She has been playing flute since age 8 and been part of various ensembles since secondary school.

She’s looking forward to working with Sinfonia as a manager and continuing the friendly atmosphere in LUUMS.

Olivia Barnes

Olivia Barnes has been studying at the University of Leeds since 2019, and is currently working towards a PhD in Choice Modelling. Viola is her main instrument, which she’s been playing since 2015 after switching from violin, and she also plays saxophone, piano and sings! She’s been involved in orchestras and choirs over the years, being Music Prefect and Head Chorister during Sixth Form. She also enjoys working at a strings course over the summer, helping younger children improve their ensemble skills whilst having fun playing music!

She’s made so many memories in LUUMS, being part of Chorus, Symphony Orchestra and String Orchestra alongside Sinfonia during her time at university. The LUUMS tour to The Netherlands last year was a particular highlight, mainly playing Scheherazade in Symph (her favourite piece!). Liv is looking forward to running an ensemble that has been such a big part of her university experience, making sure that Sinfonia is a safe space for everyone from any year of study, course and musical ability to play great music and most importantly, have fun!