The Bath Festival Orchestra presents a vibrant London debut, joined by Julian Bliss
From Imprisoned Suffragettes of the twentieth-century to Scottish composers of today’s world, the spirited players of the newly revived orchestra share virtuosic work from across the centuries.
- The Bath Festival Orchestra take their vital work and mission into the UK capital, with a debut London concert at Kings Place on 18 October
- In their first concert since a sold-out launch event in May, the young musicians of the Bath Festival Orchestra bring their ambitious energy to London, showcasing a rich, intricate programme of old and new works spanning over two centuries of music
- The concert features the music of Ethel Smyth, an astonishing twentieth-century composer, suffragette and champion of women’s rights, in a display of her effervescent Serenade in D
- Elsewhere, the orchestra will perform Helen Grimes’ brilliant Clarinet Concerto, Vaughan Williams’ reflective Two Hymn Preludes, and Haydn’s stately Symphony No.104 ‘London’
- The evening features clarinettist Julian Bliss and conductor Peter Manning, who is also Artistic Director of the Bath Festival Orchestra
- Speaking of the concert, the Bath Festival Orchestra’s Concertmaster and Artistic Creator Maren Bosma said: ‘The BFO is quickly establishing itself as a dynamic, outstanding orchestra of young professionals in the UK. As we approach our London debut, I am thrilled to present such a diverse programme with the orchestra: contemporary sounds in Helen Grime’s Clarinet Concerto, the nostalgic music of Ralph Vaughan Williams, a classical touch in Joseph Haydn’s final ‘London’ Symphony and – a personal favourite of mine – the monumental Serenade in D by Dame Ethel Smyth, a celebrated suffragette whose music can compete with that of Brahms, Mendelssohn and Beethoven.’
- The Bath Festival Orchestra re-launched during the pandemic with a mission to invigorate musical engagement and open conversations about the way current and future generations connect with music itself
- Devoted to the future of classical music and its accessibility with young people, the orchestra has already been working on education projects to take place ahead of their London debut
- Orchestrate focuses on providing young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with the building blocks to experience, appreciate and love music at a crucial stage in their education that will impact their lives forever
- Earlier this year, the Bath Festival Orchestra took Orchestrate into a London school, setting up an orchestra at The Bobby Moore Academy, who had never had a school orchestra due to lack of resources. Orchestrate was so successful at the school that the Bath Festival Orchestra have been invited back to continue their outreach work there for a full academic year
- The industry is currently at a crisis point and requires dismantling and rebuilding to ensure that music is made accessible to young people regardless of their background
- Harnessing technology and the future of media, the Bath Festival Orchestra is partnering with theworld’s greatest technology institutions and collaborators to propel music experiences into the future and to take advantage of broadcast opportunities. Partners and collaborators will be announced soon
- Originally founded in 1959 by Yehudi Menuhin, the Bath Festival Orchestra has long been established as the beating heart and resident ensemble of the Bath Festival.
- The dynamic community of young artists are committed to a new model for orchestras that is artist-led and untethered to the boundaries of genre and disciplines
- The programme for The Bath Festival Orchestra with Julian Bliss can be found here
For the Bath Festival Orchestra website click here (and they can also be followed on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram)