AN AMBITIOUS musician who started out playing for Tilbury Brass Band as a child has founded his own 60-member orchestra.

Spencer Down, 38, is hoping to take the musical world by storm with his dynamic orchestral offering, which he’s called the Docklands Sinfonia.

They perform their first concert tomorrow.

The dad-of-one has spent the past year putting together the orchestra to serve the thriving Canary Wharf area of London.

Spencer, who grew up in Ward Avenue, Grays, before recently moving to Kensington, in west London, said: “There are more than 100,000 people working in the Docklands area but it hasn’t had its own orchestra until now.

“I just thought there was a niche there. I want to reflect the vibrancy of Canary Wharf through the Docklands Sinfonia.”

“It’s been hard work, but well worth it.”

The orchestra’s inaugural concert will take place in the capital and Spencer, who is conductor and musical director of the group, is hoping the evening will go like clockwork He said: ”It’s nerve-racking on one hand but really exciting on the another.

“Hopefully, this will just be the start of many concerts to come.

“It seems like I’ve been working on this for a lifetime, but it’s amazing to think this Friday, we will be playing our first concert.

“I can’t wait.”

Spencer began his musical career when he joined the Tilbury Brass Band at the age of seven to learn the euphonium.

He is hoping the orchestra will attract the attention of big-name investors from the Docklands business community and even the 2012 Olympic committee.

The entrepreneur, who is also a graduate of the prestigious Guildhall School of Music, is focused on making the Sinfonia a noted success.

The group is a mix of players, ranging from professional musicians who have performed in some of the most famous concert halls in the world, to talented amateurs hungry to be part of something fresh.

Some members of the orchestra come from Southend and Thurrock, while others are based across London and other parts of Essex.

Spencer added: “The quality of the applicants has been amazing.

“We’ve had dozens of players trying out for almost every spot.”

The concert will take place tomorrow at St Anne’s Church in Newell Street, London, at 7.30pm. Tickets are £10. Call 020 87632922 to book.