Home Patrons: Craig Ogden; Gerald Garcia.
Registered as a charity no:1140302
Welcome to our website!.
Please feel free to look at our photos, listen to our recordings and read all about what we do.
If you're interested in joining us, please use the contact page and we'll reply as soon as we can.
Midlands Fretted Orchestra
Who we are... 
Midlands Fretted Orchestra is a thriving musical ensemble with more than 25 dedicated musicians of varying ages, abilities and styles who all play fretted instruments.
MFO prides itself on offering a unique musical experience for players and audiences; we bring together instruments not found in today’s orchestras, particularly mandolins, banjos, classical and acoustic guitars, mandolas, bass guitar and cello banjo.
We welcome players of all ages and abilities who share a passion for fretted instruments; our members’ ages range from 7 to 70+ and players standards range from professional musicians to those playing less than a year.
Diary Monday 5th March 2012, 7.30pm
MFO with Special Guests MONS and Dodici Corde
Octagon,mac,Cannon Hill Park,Birmingham,B12 9QH
Tickets £8.50/7.50 from 0121 446 3232
Saturday 30th June 2012, 7.30pm
MFO Summer concert
St Mary's Church, St Mary's Rd, Bearwood.
Tickets from 0121 422 7884
Saturday 8th September 201
MFO _ Artsfest
details tbc
Wednesday 31st October 2011 - Hallow'een , 7.30pm
Premier of Live Score by Mark Willetts for Screening of Classic Horror Film "The Phantom of the Opera"
mac Theatre, mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH
Tickets 0121 446 3232
Saturday 8th December 2012, 7.30pm (Doors and bar 7.00pm)
MFO Christmas Celebration
Bonded Warehouse, Canal Street, Stourbridge
Tickets £6.50 under 16s free when accompanied by an paying adult
available from 0121 422 7884
Find Us Directions from Junction 3 M5 : follow signs for Birmingham (A456). In approximately two miles continue straight over traffic lights junction with A4123 (Amber Tavern Pub on the right). After another half a mile turn left at traffic lights (Kings Head Pub opposite on the right) along Bearwood High Street (A4030). St. Mary’s Road is the fourth road on the left, the entrance to the car park is immediately on the right just behind St Mary’s Church..
Directions from Birmingham City Centre: leave via Broad Street (A456) following signs for Wolverhampton. In 3/4 of a mile at “Five Ways” island continue along A456 and in approximately two miles at traffic light junction (Kings Head on left) turn right along Bearwood High Street (A4030). St. Mary’s Road is the fourth road on the left, the entrance to the car park is immediately on the right just behind St Mary’s Church.
Rehearsals 2012
January 5th,19th,
February 2nd,16th
March 1st, 15th, 29th
April 12th,26th
May 10th,24th
June 7th,21st
July 5th,19th,
August 2nd,16th,30th
September 13th,27th
October 11th,25th
November 8th,22nd
December 6th,20th
We rehearse fortnightly at St. Mary's Church Hall, St Mary's Road, Bearwood, West Midlands. We begin at 7.30pm prompt so members arrive early in order to tune and set up in time. There is a refreshment break half way through and we usually finish at 9.30pm. Additional rehearsals are sometimes arranged just before a performance, usually meeting every Thursday and sometimes on the day of the concert.Members will be notified of this as necessary.
The hall has good disabled access and facilities.
There is a car park on site, please park against the wall of the hall on the left side of the car park (it's ok to double park on this side).
St Mary's is easily accessible by public transport, the number 9 bus from Birmingham City Centre along Hagley Road stops at the Kings Head Pub and it is then a short walk down Bearwood High Street; alternatively the number 120 bus stops at the Bear Tavern just round the corner from St. Mary's Church.
FAQs Frequently asked questions
How do I join the MFO as a player? - Firstly, please contact us to confirm your interest in attending. We’ll then suggest a date for you to come along to a rehearsal. You can either join in straight away or just sit in and shadow an MFO member to begin with, depending on your level of experience and how confident you feel.
Do I have to be able to read music? - Although it’s not a requirement to join, it is an advantage if you can read music and joining in will help you develop all your musical skills including sight reading. However there are members on hand who can help with tablature and chord symbols to start you on your way. You do need some basic playing ability before you join, as the orchestra will teach you how to play in ensemble but not specifically how to play your instrument.
Do I have to be a minimum standard or grade? - The MFO has an open access policy; we welcome everyone, regardless of level of ability.
Will I have to audition? - No!
Do you have instruments to loan out? - We have a limited amount of instruments which it may be possible to loan, this depends on your circumstances and the instrument in question.
Are you looking for players of any instrument in particular? - Whilst we actively welcome players of all fretted instruments, at present we are particularly looking to recruit classical guitarists and players of mandolin family instruments; mandolin, mandola, mando cello and mando bass.Orchestral string players (violinists and cellists) are very welcome to contact us if they are interested in developing a new skill, as many of our instruments are tuned the same as members of the orchestral strings and this can make swapping over very straight forward.
How much does it cost to join ? - Members pay £35.00 per year subs (£15.00 concessions). This helps to cover costs for hall hire, music and rehearsal refreshments. Money we raise from concerts also helps to cover these costs as well as paying for things like new equipment, instruments and commissioning new music. However, we would never turn anyone away through inability to pay the membership fee, this is a voluntary contribution to funds and anyone unable to contribute will still be welcome to join the orchestra.
How do I book MFO for a performance? - Contact us in the first instance, with information about the booking. (Please include as much information as possible such as; type of event, ie concert/fete/festival/charity or fundraising event; possible dates & times; fee/donation; venue)
How much will it cost? - This depends on the type of event and who it will benefit. As the MFO is a not-for-profit group, we exist to further the orchestra and rely on concert fees and fundraising to maintain the ensemble. We can help you fundraise for your charity, we do this regularly by sharing concert proceeds. Contact us with your ideas!
Where do you play? - In concert halls, churches, schools, bandstands, village halls, museums; at festivals, fetes, outdoor events, for dinners, lunches, meetings, parties, weddings etc etc
How many performances a year do you do? - Usually a minimum of four and up to as many as eight, per year.
What kind of music do you play? - We have a broad and diverse repertoire; this includes (examples of pieces, composers or genre in brackets) Gypsy jazz (Reinhardt), arrangements of Classical orchestral music (Tchaikovsky, Corelli, Stamitz, Faure) Blues (Tin Roof, Wolverine and St Louis Blues with our interpretations of Louis Armstrong improvisations), Ragtime (St Louis Tickle, The Stinging Bee, Shake yo’ Dusters), Folk (British, South American and European), Contemporary compositions for Fretted and Plucked Instrument Ensembles (Jezek, Gammie, Shearing) and Music Commissioned by MFO (Garcia, Jezek, Thomas, Gammie, Tong, Shearing, Mallinson).
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© MFO 2010 - Pictures courtesy of PT Graphics. Permission must be sought before use.
