Editing Chester (section)

===Music===
Chester has had a professional classical music festival – the Chester Summer Music Festival, beginning in 1967 and regularly since 1978. The festival went into liquidation<ref>Michael Green, Chester Chronicle. [http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2012/09/05/chester-festivals-organisation-goes-into-voluntary-liquidation-59067-31774900/ "Chester Festivals organisation goes into voluntary liquidation "] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525222352/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2012/09/05/chester-festivals-organisation-goes-into-voluntary-liquidation-59067-31774900/ |date=25 May 2013 }}, ''[[The Chester Chronicle]]'', Chester, 5 September 2012. Retrieved on 30 March 2013.</ref> in 2012. A major new music festival was launched in March 2013 (previously known as Chester Performs<ref>Chester Performs. [http://www.chesterperforms.com/blog/mbna-chester-music-festival-on-sale/ "MBNA Chester Music Festival on Sale"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510214610/http://www.chesterperforms.com/blog/mbna-chester-music-festival-on-sale/ |date=10 May 2015 }}, ''Chester Performs'', Chester, 15 March 2013. Retrieved on 30 March 2013.</ref>), running annually every summer. The Chester Music Festival features the professional music group ''Ensemble Deva'' led by Giovanni Guzzo and Music Director Clark Rundell. Ensemble Deva regularly features soloists and section leaders from the country's leading symphony orchestras, including Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hallé and Manchester Camerata.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/whats-on/music/chester-cathedral-host-manchester-camerata-9595311 |title=Chester Cathedral to host Manchester Camerata and Chester Festival Chorus |last=Green |first=Michael |website=chesterchronicle |access-date=17 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324101115/http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/whats-on/music/chester-cathedral-host-manchester-camerata-9595311 |archive-date=24 March 2016 }}</ref>

The composer [[Howard Skempton]] was born in Chester in 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://global.oup.com/uk/music/dance/skempton/|title=OUP: Howard Skempton|work=oup.com|access-date=26 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226163926/http://global.oup.com/uk/music/dance/skempton/|archive-date=26 February 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chester has a brass band that was formed in 1853. It was known as the Blue Coat Band and today as The City of Chester Band.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chesterbrass.co.uk |title=City of Chester Band website |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607121731/http://www.chesterbrass.co.uk/ |archive-date=7 June 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is a third section brass band with a training band. Its members wear a blue-jacketed uniform with an image of the Eastgate clock on the breast pocket of the blazer.

Chester Music Society was founded in 1948 as a small choral society. It now encompasses four sections: The Choir has 170 members drawn from Chester and the surrounding district; The Youth Choirs support three choirs: Youth Choir, Preludes, and the Alumni Choir; Celebrity Concerts promote a season of six high-quality concerts each year; The club is a long established section which aims to encourage young musicians and in many cases offers the first opportunity to perform in public.

The Chester Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) was founded in 1884 and is one of the premier non-professional orchestras in North West England. Formerly the Chester Orchestral Society, it performs music from a vast repertoire. The Orchestra is a registered charity and usually performs four or five concerts each year (including an annual carol concert) in the magnificent setting of Chester's ancient Cathedral under the direction of well-known professional conductors.

Telford's Warehouse, Alexander's Jazz Bar and The Live Rooms are the city's leading live music venues.

An annual popular music festival started in 2011 called Chester Rocks. It is held on the grounds of the Chester Racecourse.

The founder members of the band [[River City People]] (guitarist Tim Speed and his drummer brother Paul Speed) are from Chester. They had a number of hits in the early 1990s. Later into the same decade, [[Mansun]] formed in the city after singer Paul Draper met guitarist Dominic Chad whilst working in the local former Fat Cat Bar. More recently, [[Shy and the Fight]], featuring Chester-based musicians, has achieved national attention via airplay on [[BBC Radio 1|Radio 1]] and [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]], also appearing at [[Wychwood]] and [[Sŵn|Swn]] festivals. Other bands that have gone on to achieve a degree of success outside of the city include The Suns, The Wayriders, Motion Empire, Casino and Face Of Christ and The Lovelies.