The St Helens Sinfonietta is a professional chamber orchestra bringing regular classical concerts to the town of St. Helens and its environs.  The players are former members of major symphony orchestras in North West England and young professional musicians at the outset of their careers. The founder and conductor is Alan Free.

Established in 1997, the orchestra gives four or five concerts a year involving ensembles of varying size (sometimes strings only) and featuring distinguished soloists.  Its "home" venue is the United Reformed Church, a modern building in the town centre with a comfortable and acoustically excellent auditorium.

The orchestra is funded by ticket sales, donations and sponsorship.  Organisers and helpers give their services.

St Helens is a flourishing town in south-west Lancashire, U.K., widely known for its eminence in the glass industry through the work of the pioneering firm Pilkington Brothers, founded as long ago as 1829.  Another pillar of St Helens' industry for many years was the famous pharmaceutical company presided over by Sir Joseph Beecham -- and In the field of classical music, the town's chief claim to fame is as the birthplace of Sir Joseph's son, Sir Thomas Beecham, one of the great conductors of the twentieth century.

St. Helens is also the home of one of the leading teams in the top flight of the great game of Rugby League -- the king of all football games, now played in many parts of the world, but created and still deeply rooted in the North of England

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