|
The City of London Sinfonia (= CLS) was founded in 1971 by its Music Director, Richard Hickox. CLS performs over 80 concerts a year at many of the UK's leading festivals and concert venues, as well as touring abroad and giving regular radio broadcasts.
Performances throughout the UK include regular festival engagements; appearances in the concert series of all major UK cities; and Residencies in the towns of High Wycombe, Chatham, Ipswich and King's Lynn. Highlights of the 2003-2004 will include performances in Ipswich, High Wycombe, London, Glasgow, Brighton and Bath of the Orchestra’s special production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, with CLS performing music from W.A. Mozart’s great symphonies, the Serenade for 13 Winds, The Magic Flute and the Requiem.
In London, CLS regularly performs at the Barbican, with innovative programmes. The acclaimed Britten/Shostakovich - Masters of the 20th Century in 2000-2001 was followed in 2001-2002 with a season focusing on English Music, and in 2002-2003, Music Director, Richard Hickox conducted a series featuring W.A. Mozart’s last three symphonies performed alongside work by composers with significant anniversaries in 2003: Berlioz (200th of birth), Lennox Berkeley (100th of birth) and Prokofiev (50th of death).
The Orchestra’s Education & Community Programme was founded in 1988 and was one of the first of such programmes to be established by a chamber orchestra, it is widely recognised as a leader in the field. CLS musicians work closely with children and young people in mainstream and special needs education, parents and toddlers, musicians in amateur orchestras, patients in hospitals and residents in homes and hospices. Members of the Orchestra give informal performances and lead creative music-making workshops (often in conjunction with composers and artists from other artforms) which relate to the specific needs of each group and which are often linked to orchestral concerts. Present projects include work at Great Ormond Street Hospital and projects as part of the Orchestra’s Residencies in High Wycombe, Ipswich and King's Lynn.
CLS is active in the recording studio, having recorded for many leading labels including Classic FM, Chandos, EMI, Virgin and Naxos, among others. Its discography now exceeds 100 recordings including the recently released Albert Herring by Benjamin Britten, which has received wide critical acclaim. CLS has developed a long association with John Rutter having recorded many of his works. In the of summer 2003 CLS once again entered the studio to record his Mass of the Children with the Cambridge Singers (Director: John Rutter).
CLS undertakes at least one major foreign tour each year. Recent tours have included Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Greece, Monaco, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.
Name Variations: City Of London Sinfonia | City Of London Baroque Orchestra | City Of London Baroque Sinfonia | London Baroque Sinfinia |
