‘The Worcestershire-based ESO was founded by William Boughton as the English String Orchestra in 1978. It soon formed a reputation for performances of English music and made many recordings. For full orchestral repertoire, ESO grew to become the English Symphony Orchestra. Ever since then, “ESO” has served as an acronym with a dual meaning. The idea of ESO is to share the joys of live music with as wide a population as possible. Our typical concert programme will features performances by the Symphony and String Orchestras, and a variety of chamber ensembles, in locations around the West Midlands, Three Counties, Shropshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, plus invitations to appear elsewhere for festivals or in residence.’