The Northern Chamber Orchestra (or NCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. Established in 1967, the orchestra gives concerts at Heritage Centre, Macclesfield, St Ann's Church, Manchester, as well as Blackburn, Skipton, Lancaster and Tatton Park, Knutsford. They are also currently the resident orchestra for the Buxton Festival. As of the 2010-2011 season, the orchestra contains 19 musicians. Diana Cummings was leader and soloist of the NCO for 10 years from 1975 to 1985. Since 1984, the orchestra's musical director and leader is the violinist Nicholas Ward. The orchestra has recorded commercially for the Naxos label, including works by composers such as Joseph Haydn,[1] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[2] and Georg Philipp Telemann.