When Don Riddell formed a youth orchestra for Saturday mornings in 1971, he was told youngsters would never want to play music at the weekend when they could be at the beach instead.
Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, the call of sand and sea was clearly not strong enough to steer members away from weekend practice.
With several European tours and a number of awards under its belt, the orchestra is thriving under the directorship of Don's daughter Susanna.
Don set up the Poole College Youth Orchestra but when Bournemouth and Poole colleges merged, the orchestra's name was changed to represent the entire community.
These pictures were taken at Wessex Youth Orchestra's 30th-anniversary concert in July 2001.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel