Links

Vacation Chamber Orchestras, or VaCO, was formed in 1994 and has since promoted nearly 500 concerts in North Yorkshire, the Pennines, throughout Northern England & in Europe. Over 1,000 young musicians have benefited from the fantastic experience of VaCO's residential courses.  Visit

Ripon's St Cecilia Orchestra has been described as one of the finest non-professional orchestras in the country and the Yorkshire Post critic wrote: "that a rural community can provide a capacity audience is praiseworthy, that it can also provide most of an orchestra of this size and quality is little short of miraculous."  Xenophon has been musical director and conductor of both the St Cecilia Orchestra and its professional wings, the Mowbray Orchestra and Ensemble since their foundation in the early 1990s.  Visit

Xenophon is a long-standing member of the distinguished international jury at the European Festival of Music for Youth, Neerpelt, Belgium. In May 2007 he was awarded the accolade of "Ambassador of the Festival" in recognition of his services to the Festival and to youth music in Europe.  Visit