YLSS was inspired by the East London Late Starters Orchestra (ELLSO) which had been founded in the early 1980's off the back of the ground-breaking Tower Hamlets childrens music project, itself a forerunner of schemes like In Harmony and Sistema Scotland. Sheila Nelson was key in establishing the Tower Hamlets scheme from which an international network of Late Starters orchestras has now developed, and almost everyone who has ever learned a stringed instrument will have played some of her compositions and arrangements.
From its own small beginnings in September 2000, YLSS has grown to nearly fifty players with more joining each year. Each section has a range of abilities from virtual beginners upwards to experienced players.
Our members join us from all over Yorkshire and our rehearsals take place on Saturday mornings during term time, 10.00am - 12.30pm, at Allerton High School, Leeds.
Our priority is to give our members the chance to simply enjoy playing together, to learn, and to grow in experience and confidence. We aim to make our music and our playing the best we can, but we're certainly not worried about a few wrong notes along the way!
Our music is very varied and in recent terms included:
- Byrd - Pavan & Galliard
- Rameau - La Timide
- Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night
- Beethoven - Allegretto from 7th Symphony
- John Gibbs - Norwich Suite
- Herschel - Symphony
- Holst - St Paul's Suite
- Dvorak - Nocturne
- And not forgetting our latest New Music Competition winning piece, A Madman's Mirror is Between Us by Max Knight.
From September 2026 we're running a new pre-rehearsal session that we're calling YLSS Foundations. If you're new to playing in an ensemble, or are returning to playing after a break and are feeling a bit rusty, or perhaps you're looking for a confidence boost or an opportunity to look at a passage that's been bugging you, then this session will be for you!
It will run right before the main rehearsal covering the music scheduled for that day’s main orchestra session wiith special focus on note reading, timing, mastering your cues and understanding the conductor.
There is no need to commit to every single week - use it as a permanent stepping stone to build your confidence, or just dip in and out when a specific piece of music is giving you trouble.
Come along, ask questions, make mistakes, and have fun before the main baton drops!
See the YLSS Foundations page for more information.
Full Member £102 per term, with concessions of £72.
Payments are paid by bank transfer and details are available when members complete their termly subscription form. We can also accept cheques made payable to Yorkshire Late Starters Strings.
Concessions apply to those in dependent on benefits and for full time students. If in doubt, you can have a confidential conversation with Steven, our treasurer, who will be happy to advise.
YLSS is registered charity number 1088105, and welcomes contributions that attract gift aid to support our activities. Charitable contributions support the general work of YLSS and also help to sustain our biennial new music competition, helping to encourage and support new composers. If you are kindly making a charitable contribution and you are eligible for gift aid, you can make a gift aid declaration by clicking here.
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