Hampstead Sinfonietta

The Hampstead Sinfonietta was formed  in the early 2000s and has co-existed with the Royal Free Music Society ever since.  The orchestra performs two or three times a year attracting players  from across London with its varied repertoire that might not be available to more traditional orchestras .  These include choral works  as well as chamber pieces, symphonies and concertos.

Conductor: Andrew Rochford

Andrew studied singing with Geraldine Hackett-Jones and started playing the bassoon at the age of 10 under the tutelage of Charles Cracknell, OBE. He has since had tuition from Gareth Newman (London Mozart Players & Royal Academy of Music, and an old pupil of Charles).  Andrew has performed solo concerti with Lawyers Music and the Abbots Langley Symphony Orchestra; and when time permits, he plays with the London Charity Orchestra.  After leaving school in Canterbury, Andrew completed a degree in Medical Biochemistry at King’s College, London.  He then studied Medicine at the Royal Free where he was a founding member of the RFMS in 1995. He was Musical Director of the choir until 2010. Andrew trained in London and is a Gastroenterologist at Newham University Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust; he has a special interest in Clinical Nutrition and has recently been seconded to NHS Improvement as Regional Clinical Director for the Emergency Care Improvement Programme in the South of England.