Northern Chamber Orchestra's Artistic Director Steps Down

After almost four decades as Artistic Director and lead violin of Manchester's Northern Chamber Orchestra (NCO), British violinist Nicholas Ward has made the difficult decision to stand down from the post at the conclusion of the 2021/22 season.

The NCO was founded in 1967, and Ward, who is now 70, became the group's leader in 1984. Since that time, he has become an integral part of the fabric of the orchestra and has spent the majority of his career there.

A native Mancunian, Ward studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. After completing his degree, he headed to London, where he played in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, and the City of London Sinfonia.

Ward's service to the NCO was recently rewarded in the form of a Mayor's Civic Award for the contribution he has made to the arts and to culture in nearby town Macclesfield.

"Since starting as the leader of the Northern Chamber Orchestra in October 1984, I’ve had 37 years working with many great colleagues, with the support of a number of management teams, board members, friends, patrons and, of course, our audience," Ward said of the decision.

"I have had some enjoyable and worthwhile music-making during that time, but the time has come to step down and leave the NCO to the next generation."

"Nick is a very good thing, but as we know, even the best things must sadly come to an end," said NCO General Manager Charlie Rowley. "He leaves us an extraordinary legacy of music-making and a never less than entertained audience behind. I’m sure that I can speak for board, staff and most of all, the players – he will be sorely missed."