two separate parties. One travelled by air and had five days in Denmark before the other party arrived. The other party travelled by sea and stayed on a further five days after the air party had left. In addition to the usual sight seeing program, which included the Carlsberg breweries. The orchestra gave three concerts. The second concert was notable because part of it was broadcast on Danish National Radio. The final concert of the tour was given in the concert hall of the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. Mark Wigram's last concert with RYO, in February 1952, included the first public performance of Serenade (for small orchestra) by Richard Bennett, now Richard Rodney Bennett, who played in the percussion section of the orchestra. In 1959, at the age of 23, Bennett also composed an overture that was dedicated to Reading Youth Orchestra. This remained unplayed for many years in its full orchestral form, although it received its first public performance as part of the fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 1994. The concert given in June 1953 celebrated the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The tenth anniversary concert, conducted by John Russell, was held in the town hall on Friday, 16 July 1954. During the concert, Gwynneth Reed was presented with a bouquet of flowers and later a brooch after six years with the orchestra. Following the tenth anniversary concert, John Russell handed over the baton to Edward Underhill who had been deputy conductor since the early years of the orchestra's life. Conductors 1944–1949 Humphrey Hare 1950–1952 Mark Wigram 1952–1954 John Russell 1954–1974 Edward Underhill 1974–1976 Roy Goodman 1976–1997 Robert Roscoe 1997–2000 Rupert D'Cruze 2000–2006 Christopher Walker 2006–2020 Paul Cox 2020– Mel Le Breuilly Leaders 1948–1954 Gwynneth Reed 1954–1955 David Gribble 1955–1957 Margaret Martin 1957–1960 Vivienne Martin 1960–1962 Ronald Colyer 1962–1966 Susan Armitage 1966–1969 Stephen Lustig 1969–1970 John Berridge 1970–1972 Jane Chrzanowska 1972–1973 Penelope Gouk 1973–1977 Rosemary Seward 1977–1979 Colin Albery 1979–1981 Karen Fawcett 1981–1982 Edward Morton 1982–1983 Rebecca Richardson 1983–1985 Sarah Ewins 1985–1986 Patrick Evans 1986–1987 Hannah Lynch 1987–1989 Philip Montgomery-Smith 1989–1990 Guy Haskell 1990–1991 Laura Dudeney 1991–1993 Richard Briggs 1993–1995 Hannah Rowley 1995–1996 Catherine Offord 1996–1997 Hui Hui Ng 1997–1998 Emma Gostling 1998–1999 Rachel Rowntree 1999–2000 Nick Sexton 2000–2001 Biddy McClure 2001 Nathalie Dudman 2001–2004 Tim Hawken 2004–2005 Lucy Deeks 2005–2006 Arangan Nagendran 2006–2008 Lauren Willis 2008–2009 Laurence Beveridge 2009–2017 Rachel Newman 2018–2021 Euon Mallett Notable alumni Richard