The Duchess of Edinburgh's String Orchestra

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The official page for The Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra, British Army.

05/10/2026

⚔️ Congratulations to newly qualified PTI Sharma! ⚔️

After a gruelling 8 weeks of training, PTI Sharma has successfully qualified as the Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra’s very first Physical Training Instructor! 💪🎻

The course covered a wide range of physical training, alongside learning about the human body, fitness and how to train safely and effectively.

We look forward to training with you, improving our fitness as a unit, and seeing what you have in store for us!

30/09/2026

🎻 We were delighted to perform at Christ Church Bexleyheath in support of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 🎻

A huge thank you to everyone who came along, supported us and donated to such an important cause.

If you’d like to hear us perform again while supporting the RBL, come and see us at King’s Cross Station on 29th October for London Poppy Day. We’d love to see you there! 🎶

The Royal British Legion - Bexleyheath and Welling Branch
Royal British Legion
Mayor of Bexley

28/09/2026

🎻🏆 Outstanding achievements from our DESO musicians! 🏆🎻

A huge congratulations to Musician Clark and Musician Hodgson on their exceptional Initial Trade Training results! Here are the prizes they won:

Musician Clark:
- Studio Prize – awarded for the highest-scoring String Trainee across the Technical Exercise and Instrumental Performance Examinations.
- Cousins Memorial Silver Medal – awarded for achieving one of the two highest marks in the Instrumental Performance Examination.
- ‘Cassel’ Bronze Medal – awarded for the highest overall marks across his Initial Trade Training examinations.
- Distinction (90%+) – in his Instrumental Performance Examination, earning a Cousins Memorial Parchment Certificate.

Musician Hodgson:
- Norton Academic Prize – awarded for the highest-scoring Trainee in the Academic Music Examinations.
- Cousins Memorial Bronze Medal – awarded for achieving one of the two highest marks in the Instrumental Performance Examination.
- ‘Cassel’ Silver Medal – awarded for the highest overall marks across her Initial Trade Training examinations.
- Distinction (90%+) – in her Instrumental Performance Examination, earning a Cousins Memorial Parchment Certificate.

An incredible achievement from both musicians, and a fantastic reflection of their hard work, dedication and musical excellence. Congratulations! 🎶

24/09/2026

Congratulations to Musn Clark for achieving 2nd place at this year’s Household Division Musician of the Year!

The Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra were very proud to be represented by this wonderful musician and his stunning rendition of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Well done!

19/09/2026

🎻 ONE WEEK TO GO! 🎻

Join the Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra and The Royal British Legion - Bexleyheath and Welling Branch next Saturday at our Showcase for Strings concert featuring Elgar, Shostakovich, John Williams, and more!

Tickets are £15 and all profits go to the Royal British Legion charity. We hope to see you there!

📅 Saturday 26th September
🕰️ 7pm
📍Christ Church Bexleyheath
🎫 £15

16/09/2026

🎻 HOUSEHOLD DIVISION MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR 2026 FINALIST

Representing The Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra, cellist Musician Oliver Clark has been performing for 19 years.

Oliver began studying the cello with John Mustard in Forres, Moray, before continuing his musical education at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh. He later completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the Royal Northern College of Music and a Master of Arts degree at the Royal Academy of Music, where he received an EMI funding award.

A former Junior Fellow and teacher at the Royal Academy of Music’s Junior Department, Oliver has worked with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Opera House. He has also appeared as Guest Principal Cello with the Algarve Symphony Orchestra and the Arabian Philharmonic, performing internationally in Portugal and Saudi Arabia.

His chamber music career has taken him across Portugal and to prestigious UK venues including Wigmore Hall and the Barbican Centre. His recording credits include projects for Amazon Prime, Netflix and Howard Audio in Johannesburg.

For the final, Musician Clark will perform the first movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto.

📍 The Salvation Army, Regent Hall
📅 Friday 18 September 2026
🕐 1pm
🎟️ Free admission

Come along and support some of the Household Division’s finest musicians. We wish Musician Oliver Clark the very best of luck!

15/09/2026

Join the Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra and The Royal British Legion - Bexleyheath and Welling Branch next Saturday at our Showcase for Strings concert featuring Elgar, Shostakovich, John Williams, and more!

Tickets are £15 and all profits go to the Royal British Legion charity. We hope to see you there!

📅 Saturday 26th September
🕰️ 7pm
📍Christ Church Bexleyheath
🎫 £15

10/09/2026

🏆🎶 HOUSEHOLD DIVISION MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR 2026 🎶🏆

📍 Regent Hall Salvation Army
📅 Friday 18 September 2026
🕐 1:00pm
🎟️ FREE ADMISSION — JUST TURN UP ON THE DAY!

Five talented musicians from across the Household Division will take centre stage as they compete for the title of Household Division Musician of the Year 2026.

⭐ MEET OUR FINALISTS ⭐

🎵 Musician Cowling – Oboe
Band of the Scots Guards

🎺 Musician Booker – Trumpet
Band of the Welsh Guards

🎶 Musician Taylor – Trombone
Band of the Irish Guards

🎻 Musician Clark – Cello
The Duchess of Edinburgh's String Orchestra

🪈 Musician Coleman – Flute
Band of the Grenadier Guards

The afternoon will also feature performances from The Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra, including music by Rameau and Elgar.

⭐ Five soloists. Five instruments. One title. 🏆

Come along, take your seat and enjoy an afternoon showcasing some of the outstanding musical talent from across the Household Division.

No booking required — admission is completely FREE, so simply turn up on the day! 🎶👏

28/08/2026

Many thanks to St. Luke’s Church for hosting our cello quartet concert last month and to all the wonderful audience members who showed up to the beautiful venue.

You might recognise the gorgeous stained glass window from our ‘Amazing Grace’ video earlier this year!

St Luke and St Thomas

28/07/2026

A couple of weeks ago, the Orchestra hosted a concert entitled ‘Music for a Summer Evening’ at the historic St. George’s Garrison Church in Woolwich.

The evening showcased the talents of several of our more junior members and was jointly led by our Bandmaster SSgt Lamerton-Reece, and violinist LCpl Chu. LCpl Chu is an aspiring bandmaster herself, and this concert marked her first public performance conducting the Orchestra.

The programme also featured arrangements and an original composition by Musn Finley Partridge, one of our newest members, and a talented composer and arranger. Musn Clarke also took centre stage with a fantastic performance of Piazzolla’s ‘Oblivion’.

It was a wonderful evening of music in a very special setting. Thank you to everyone who joined us; we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Address

London

Telephone

+442087813219

Website

http://www.army.mod.uk/rcam

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