

The Watford Youth Sinfonia is an energetic student-led youth orchestra, founded in 2014 by its conductor and artistic director, Daniel Hogan. The orchestra has grown from a small chamber orchestra to a wealth of 100 regular members, with the talented musicians coming from local youth orchestras, the junior and senior conservatoires, and venturing from universities all over the country to come and play. Ever since, its aim has been to perform works considered incredibly ambitious and brave – pieces which therefore its members may not have had the chance to perform before. In previous seasons, these have included Mahler’s 4th and 9th symphonies, and in the future include Shostakovich’s 10th and Stravinsky The Rite of Spring. The orchestra also has a commitment to performing less known repertoire, allowing the orchestra and audiences alike to discover unfamiliar composers such as Respighi, Nielsen, Coleridge Taylor and Roussel. WYS has already been lucky enough to work with some of the country’s most exciting young soloists, such as Laure Chan and Isata Kanneh-Mason, and is also dedicated to performing a range of new music, including premieres from the country’s most promising young composers. All these factors combined emphasise WYS’ position as one of the most innovative and exciting youth orchestras around.
Daniel Hogan: Conductor, Composer and Artistic Director




Charis Sykesud: Leader of the Watford Youth Sinfonia
Charis Sykesud began playing the violin at eight years old, having already discovered her love for music through learning the piano. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and at Watford Grammar School for Girls, with Susan Collier as her violin teacher and Winnie Wu as her piano teacher, before doing her undergraduate degree in Music at the University of York. She continued at the university and, in September 2017, completed her Postgraduate Diploma in Performance Practice on the violin with Distinction, taught by William Leary. As an undergraduate, Charis enjoyed exploring composition and performing in recitals, both on the violin and on the piano. For her Diploma, she worked on solo repertoire by Beethoven, Janáček, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky. She also loves to play in chamber ensembles and in orchestral works.
Charis has led the Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra in repertoire such as Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 and the University of York’s Symphony Orchestra in Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7. Her orchestral experience has taken her on tour to Berlin and Madrid and she hopes to have many more opportunities to travel as a musician.
Charis has been the leader of the Watford Youth Sinfonia since it was founded in 2014. In March 2017, Charis performed Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3, and in July 2018, she performed Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy. The WYS accompanied her beautifully on both occasions. Charis also leads the Misbourne Symphony Orchestra, with whom she will be performing Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in their forthcoming season.
Meet the Orchestra!

The Watford Youth Sinfonia Committee:
Daniel Hogan – Artistic Director and Conductor

Charis Sykesud – Leader

Hannah Stephens – Librarian

Daisy May Stephens – Ordinary Member

Ashby Mayes – Chairman and Web Administrator

Kirsty Ryall – Treasurer

Henrietta Cooke – Secretary

Georgie Proctor – Publicity

Robert Carpenter – Ordinary Member
