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Yorkshire Late Starters Strings - YLSS - is a friendly and informal string orchestra for adult musicians of varying levels of experience. We are a learning orchestra, supported by a supportive and talented team of professional musicians who lead and conduct our rehearsals.
During our Saturday morning rehearsals we play string music of all styles and periods from the baroque and earlier to the present day. Our music is carefully chosen to suit the abilities of the group. We work hard to ensure there is challenge for our more confident players but with plenty of music for newer players to access and enjoy. Simplified parts are often available so that you can join in even if you are at an early stage of study on your instrument.
Our players enjoy learning in a supportive, non-competitive and friendly atmosphere. We don't have auditions and we don't organise formal concerts, but we do have a celebration playthrough event each summer for our friends, family and supporters.
Join us
We are always keen to welcome new musicians at YLSS at any point during the year.
If you've been playing a while, you may feel ready to join our full orchestra rehearsals however, we also run a new learners group for less experienced players during the first half of our rehearsals, so there's a great opportunity to get involved with YLSS even if you've only been playing a short while, or if you're still working on lower grades.
We're very pleased to offer new members a free introductory session to help you get a flavour of orchestra and our ethos. Click below to find our more.
Diary Dates
Summer Term 2025
Sat, 26 Apr 2025 to Sat, 17 May 2025Wydale Residential Weekend 2025
Fri, 23 May 2025 to Mon, 26 May 2025Summer Term 2025 Continues
Sat, 31 May 2025 to Sat, 19 Jul 2025
Latest News
- By Royal Invitation
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Date Posted: Sun, 6 Apr 2025
Thursday 3rd April 2025, Windsor Castle
We were astounded and delighted in about equal measure when we learned that YLSS had been invited to attend a reception at Windsor Castle hosted by His Majesty King Charles III to recognise and celebrate music making in communities across the UK, an event also attended by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Three of our Trustees, Sue, Steve and Simon, were among the 350 guests who together represented a diverse range of organisations and included leaders of community music groups and music-related projects.
It was a huge honour and privilege for us to represent YLSS and, more broadly, all Late Starters groups that provide adults with a friendly and supportive space to take up an instrument later in life or return to playing after a break, perhaps due to establishing a career or raising a family, and we hope we might have made a small contribution to raising awareness of these groups and their importance in providing opportunities for adults to make music together fostering a sense of belonging and improving mental wellbeing.
We did invite the King to attend a rehearsal should he ever find himself in Leeds on a Saturday morning, but he said he hadn’t had much time to practice the cello lately - no problem we said!
- Round 9 of YLSS's New Music Competition Goes Live
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Date Posted: Sun, 9 Feb 2025
YLSS’s biennial composition competition is back!
Inspired by the success of previous rounds, we are now inviting entries for our 2025-26 New Music Competition. Four of the submitted pieces will be chosen for a Workshop with award-winning composer Andrew Toovey, and YLSS players, and from these one piece will be selected for performance in 2026. In addition, each shortlisted entrant will be offered a one-to-one tutorial with Andrew Toovey.
Full details and an entry form can be found on this page: https://www.ylss.org/new-music-25-26.
If you're not a composer, but want to suport the competition and help us continue to offer this opportunity, you can read more here about how the competition works and how to donate.
Our two most recent winners were Jasmine Simons and Tom Carr. Follow the links to learn more about their pieces.
Closing date for entries is July 31st 2025
