Dublin Orchestral Players
Irish amateur orchestra
The Dublin Orchestral Players (DOP) is the longest established amateur orchestra in Dublin, Ireland, having been founded in 1939.
History
In late 1939, Irish composer Havelock Nelson was instrumental in founding the Dublin Junior Orchestra with a view to providing young players of classical music with the opportunity to gain orchestral experience. It gave its first concert on 5 June 1940 in the Abbey Lecture Hall. The orchestra grew rapidly under Nelson and adopted the name Dublin Orchestral Players for its second concert the following year. When Nelson left Dublin in 1943, Brian Boydell became permanent honorary conductor, a position he held until 1966. Fred O'Callaghan conducted the orchestra between 1967 and 1971. Thereafter the orchestra adopted a policy of offering opportunities for a wider range of younger conductors, but O'Callaghan frequently returned to conduct individual concerts up until 1995. Other conductors have included Robert Houlihan, David Carmody, and Fergus Sheil. Since then, principal conductors have been David Brophy (1998–2001), Adele O'Dwyer (2001), Cathal Garvey (2002–2006), and Ciaran Crilly (since 2007).
Role in Irish musical life
During the 1940s, before the establishment of the Radio Éireann Symphony Orchestra (RÉSO), the DOP supplied the demand in Dublin for symphonic music at a time when few orchestral concerts were otherwise available.
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