LSO St Luke's Spring 2016 Events Guide

London Symphony Orchestra

Spring 2016 WHAT’S ON AT LSO ST LUKE’S CELEBRATE SHAKESPEARE

Lunchtime Concerts LSO Discovery Day GET SINGING!

Choral immersion days Want to join our choirs?

THE FUTURE

21st century music

2  SPRING HIGHLIGHTS LSO FUTURES Witness what goes into getting a piece of music ready for an orchestra to play in a Panufnik Composers Workshop, plus see our Soundhub composers in action.

Turn to page 6 for more

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for Eve s t r e c Con 0 Page 1

F Pa utur ge e 6 Mu

NEW TO CLASSICAL MUSIC? Then why not try our Free Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concerts: 45-minutes of lunchtime bliss and a chance to ask questions in a relaxed setting.

Read more on page 10

Ne Pa w S ge o 8 und

OLD STREET, NEW SOUNDS Try something different with the Orlando Consort, discover a long-lost work by Louis Spohr or hear the dynamic Pavel Haas Quartet at our BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts.

Try something new, see page 8

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Bring o Page 1 n the Bard 4

SHAKESPEARE 400 Join in with the country-wide celebration of Shakespeare, 400 years after his death including Lunchtime Concerts, an LSO Discovery Day and more. Turn to page 14

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Ge Pagt Singi e 12 ng!

Look Page ing for Li sting 18–21 s?

EVERYTHING IN DATE ORDER To browse our entire spring season at LSO St Luke’s, head towards the back. You’ll find ticket information and other details there too.

Flick to page 18

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MEET OUR AMBASSADORS Mike Morfey and Richard Hames talk about being ambassadors for LSO St Luke’s and pick their favourite concerts.

Read more on page 16

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Amb Page assador s 16

EE AE AH OH OO … the sound of the LSO Community Choir warming up their vocal chords!

The LSO has an array of singing activities both at LSO St Luke’s and at the Barbican for all levels of singers.

Join in on page 12

KEEP IN TOUCH Say hi online, join our mailing list or browse the website for more! lso.co.uk/lsostlukes

4 WELCOME

Welcome to LSO St Luke’s …

You probably walk past us all the time.

Contrary to popular belief, we’re not a church!

Thirteen years ago, the London Symphony Orchestra, Resident Orchestra up the road at the Barbican Centre, decided to transform what was the shell of a de-consecrated church into a totally unique music venue for everyone to enjoy, together with one of its corporate partners, UBS. Created principally as a space for the Orchestra’s education and community projects, as well as for the LSO itself to rehearse in, the venue also hosts hundreds of events each year at little or no cost to the public, exploring genres as far-reaching as world music, folk and jazz alongside classical.

As a Grade I listed building with a stunning contemporary interior, LSO St Luke’s has proved a hit with the hire market too, and regularly hosts award ceremonies, daytime conferences, gala dinners and more.

WHAT’S INSIDE? We’re not just a beautiful concert hall. We also have a welcoming café and bar situated in the old crypt, a digital technology studio, a specially designed Gamelan room and meeting spaces.

Find out more and read about our history at lso.co.uk/lsostlukes

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… the home of LSO Discovery LSO Discovery, the LSO’s community and education programme, opens the doors to new generations of music-makers to play alongside the inspirational musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra.

LSO St Luke’s creates a supportive environment for participants of all ages and levels of experience to explore and progress at every stage of their musical journey and enables music-making across generations.

Aged 12–20? Compose or remix your own music using the digital technology studio as part of the Digital Technology Group. Interested in world music and want to take up something unique and different?

Join our LSO St Luke’s Community Gamelan Group and be taught in a fun group setting by professionals. Prefer singing choral works or maybe you really like musicals? Either way, and whatever your level, there’s an LSO Singing Day for you. And our Concerts for Under-5s offer a great opportunity for those first miniature steps in music-making.

There’s so much for you to explore, experience and join in with.

Explore everything we offer at lso.co.uk/lsodiscovery

6 FUTURE MUSIC

Future Music Think you know classical music? Think again. LSO Futures is a series of concerts, workshops and conferences exploring the music of composers who push the boundaries of the classical genre to its limits.

‘Everything’s about immersion really, it’s about getting the audience completely inside the music, inside the visuals and inside the space as well.’

Darren Bloom, Soundhub Associate At the heart of the genre-defying LSO Futures series is a pair of concerts conducted by François-Xavier Roth that place masterworks of the last century alongside world-premiere performances of pieces by two of today’s most distinctive emerging compositional voices.

Concert I (13 Mar 4pm) at LSO St Luke’s centres on the first performance of LSO Soundhub scheme alumnus Darren Bloom’s mesmerising new score for chamber orchestra, live video design and immersive lighting – Dr Glaser’s Experiment. In this work Bloom places the audience in the middle of an intense and dynamic musical landscape that is by turns brooding and brilliant. Dr Glaser’s Experiment will be performed alongside the pioneering chamber symphonies of Schoenberg and Thomas Adès, works composed at opposite ends of the 20th century.

Concert II (13 Mar 7pm) takes place in the Barbican Hall and features the world premiere of a new work for full symphony orchestra, Sleep & Unremembrance, composed

by Panufnik scheme alumnus Elizabeth Ogonek. This energetic ten-minute romp for orchestra bounds with colourful, evocative harmony and hyperactive, vibrant rhythms.

Sleep & Unremembrance stands alongside two icons of the 20th century – Ligeti’s swirling mass of symphonic energy, Atmosphères, and Berio’s Sinfonia, a neurotic journey of quotations and astounding sonic effects for orchestra and eight voices.

Elsewhere in the series there will be the opportunity to hear the first play-through of six new three-minute works for orchestra at the Panufnik Composers Workshop, and the chance to attend a conference led by UK composer and teacher Julian Anderson on contemporary music and dance.

GET A FUTURES WEEK PASS LSO Futures Week Pass £30 + booking fee (£0.60 online £0.70 by phone) Includes access to 9 Mar Conference and 11 Mar Panufnik Workshops at LSO St Luke’s, and all three 13 Mar LSO Futures Concerts.

Only available by booking over the phone; please ask for an ‘LSO Futures Week Pass’ when booking for the 9 Mar conference.

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DARREN BLOOM’S Dr Glaser’s Experiment will be premiered as part of LSO Futures on Sun 13 Mar Look out for Darren’s blog at lso.co.uk/blog

LSO FUTURES Wed 9 Mar 10am–6pm, LSO St Luke’s

Sun 13 Mar 4–5.15pm, LSO St Luke’s

LSO FUTURES / GUILDHALL

LSO FUTURES: I AFTERNOON CONCERT

GETTING IT RIGHT? NEW MUSIC AND DANCE A CONFERENCE IN COLLABORATION WITH GUILDHALL RESEARCHWORKS

Julian Anderson curator Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker key speaker This one-day conference, the third in a series of Guildhall ResearchWorks/ LSO Getting it right? conferences, brings together leading figures and emerging artists from the worlds of new music and dance to explore the dynamic relationship between the two disciplines.

Fri 11 Mar 10am–1.30pm & 2.30–6pm, LSO St Luke’s LSO FUTURES

PANUFNIK COMPOSERS WORKSHOPS François-Xavier Roth conductor London Symphony Orchestra Featuring new works for orchestra

by Patrick Giguere, Bethan Morgan-Williams, Deborah Pritchard, Daniel Lewis Fardon, Daniel Moreira and Ewan Campbell, plus works from 2014’s composers Jack Sheen and Michael Taplin.

Supported by the Helen Hamlyn Trust

CONCERT

Darren Bloom Dr Glaser’s Experiment (world premiere, LSO commission) Thomas Adès Chamber Symphony Schoenberg Chamber Symphony No 1 LSO Chamber Orchestra François-Xavier Roth conductor LSO commission generously supported by the PRS for Music Foundation and the Britten Pears Foundation

Sun 13 Mar 6pm, Guildhall School Lecture Recital Room Berio Folk Songs Elim Chan conductor Guildhall School musicians Free entry, no ticket required Sun 13 Mar 7pm, Barbican CONCERT

LSO FUTURES: II EVENING CONCERT Ligeti Atmosphères Elizabeth Ogonek Sleep & Unremembrance (world premiere, Panufnik commission) Berio Sinfonia London Symphony Orchestra François-Xavier Roth conductor Synergy Vocals Commission supported by the Helen Hamlyn Trust

LSO Futures is a festival pushing the boundaries of music-making. Find out more at lso.co.uk/futures

8 NEW SOUNDS ON OLD STREET

Old Street, New Sounds Take these coming months as an opportunity to try something a little different at LSO St Luke’s.

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET perform a series of BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts in February lso.co.uk/lunchtimeconcerts

lso.co.uk 020 7638 8891 9 Why not get out of the office to join us for a live musical lunchtime?

The Pavel Haas Quartet, an exhilarating chamber group from the Czech Republic, are in residence for four BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts in February.

They bring the fierce modernism of Bartók, the anguished sonorities of Smetana and the lush Romanticism of Schubert to the Jerwood Hall – so pick a date and spend a lunch hour here with us at LSO St Luke’s.

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (29 Jan) shocked audiences in 1928 with its frank and uncompromising depiction of the trial and execution of the young French rebel. You can experience this iconic work of silent cinema like never before, with the renowned Orlando Consort bringing it to life with a carefully curated soundtrack of period music to immerse you in the sights and sounds of 15th-century France.

The Soundhub Showcase (30 Jan) is your chance to hear music that is completely fresh – two works hot off the press, composed by two of the UK’s most distinctive compositional voices, Daniel Kidane and Na’ama Zisser.

A brilliant composer, a fearsome violinist, a meticulous conductor – Louis Spohr was a triple talent. Back in the 19th century he was as celebrated as they come, but the passage of time has seen his brilliant legacy fade into obscurity – unjustifiably, because his music is rich and powerful and assembled with the kind of care that only a consummate musician can create. Discover his forgotten masterpiece The Last Judgement (4 Mar) with the Faust Ensemble.

Browse all our events and buy tickets online at lso.co.uk/lsostlukes-events

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT …

Fri 29 Jan 8pm

Thu 4 Feb 1pm

Thu 25 Feb 1pm

BARBICAN PRESENTS

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (film showing with live vocal soundtrack)

Smetana String Quartet No 2; String Quartet No 1 (‘From my life’)

Schubert String Quintet in C major D956

Paval Haas Quartet

Paval Haas Quartet Danjulo Ishizaka cello

VOICES APPEARED

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: I

The Orlando Consort

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: IV

Thu 11 Feb 1pm Sat 30 Jan 7pm LSO DISCOVERY

SOUNDHUB SHOWCASE: PHASE II Featuring composers Daniel Kidane & Na’ama Zisser with LSO musicians LSO Soundhub supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Hinrichsen Foundation

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: II Prokofiev String Quartet No 1 Bartók String Quartet No 5 Paval Haas Quartet Thu 18 Feb 1pm

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: III

Shostakovich String Quartet No 10; Piano Quintet Paval Haas Quartet Denis Kozhukhin piano

Fri 4 Mar 7.30pm GUEST PERFORMERS

FAUST CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Spohr The Last Judgement Faust Chamber Orchestra Cambridge University Music Society Chorus Mark Austin conductor

10 CONCERTS FOR EVERYONE

No experience necessary!

Concerts for everyone at LSO St Luke’s and the Barbican

Sun 3 Jan 7pm, Barbican

NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA Tchaikovsky Overture: Hamlet Korngold Violin Concerto Prokofiev Symphony No 5 National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain Nicholas Collon conductor Tai Murray violin Fri 29 Jan 12.30–1.15pm, LSO St Luke’s

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT † FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Mendelssohn Octet LSO String Ensemble Clare Duckworth leader Wed 3 Feb 7.30pm, Barbican

LSO STRING ENSEMBLE Elgar Introduction and Allegro Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis Britten Variations on a Theme

by Frank Bridge

Fri 26 Feb 12.30–1.15pm, LSO St Luke’s

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT † FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Korngold Nine Shakespeare Songs Guildhall School musicians Alison Langer soprano Lawrence Thackeray tenor Ljubica Stojanovic piano Nathan Tinker piano Rachel Leach presenter Fri 4 Mar 12.30–1.15pm, LSO St Luke’s

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT † FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Debussy Cello Sonata Barriere Sonata Number 10 Paganini Variations on a Theme

by Rossini (‘Moses’) Eve-Marie Caravassilis cello Daniel Gardner cello † LSO Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concerts are supported by the Rothschild Charities Committee, Schroder Charity Trust and LSO Friends

LSO String Ensemble Roman Simovic director

Mon 21 Mar 7.30pm, LSO St Luke’s

Fri 12 Feb 12.30–1.15pm, LSO St Luke’s

LSO COMMUNITY CHOIR CONCERT: SONGS OF HOPE AND FREEDOM

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT † FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Guildhall School musicians Rachel Leach presenter Harpists from the Guildhall School perform works by Ravel and Debussy.

David Lawrence conductor LSO Percussion players Guildhall School musicians Songs inspired by hope and freedom including ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free’.

NICHOLAS COLLON conducts the National Youth Orchestra at the Barbican

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If you’ve never been to a classical music concert before, the idea may seem daunting, whether it’s choosing what to hear or who to see, knowing what to wear, or wondering whether you need to sit still for two hours thinking ‘when am I meant to clap?’. Contrary to these preconceptions, it’s not as unnerving as you’d think and here at the LSO and LSO St Luke’s we have many performances where you needn’t feel that prior experience of being a classical music concert-goer is required.

FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERTS Our LSO Discovery Free Friday Lunchtime Concerts are a great place to start. At only 45 minutes, these bitesize performances by LSO players and Guildhall School musicians offer a musical treat and are hosted by regular presenter Rachel Leach – she will guide you through the music.

Our spring series features two themes with three of the concerts exploring Texture and Light in music, taking inspiration from LSO St Luke’s itself – where bright sunlight streams onto the warm cherry wood stage, and the rich brick and stonework is juxtaposed against the view of dappled trees outside.

In the first performance (29 Jan), eight virtuoso LSO string players perform a work that child prodigy Mendelssohn composed at only 16-years-old, his Octet.

It’s full of the vitality of youth, with lightness in its fast-paced energy, combined with the texture of two luxuriant string quartets playing simultaneously.

Second up, Guildhall School harpists take us on a journey through music by the ultimate composer in light and shade, Frenchman Claude Debussy.

He composed at the same time as the Impressionist artists were exploring similar ideas in their paintings. Debussy takes centre place in the last of these concerts too, performed by two LSO cellists and piano. Read more about our other theme, Shakespeare 400, on page 14.

AT THE BARBICAN If you can’t make it across at lunchtime, why not join us for a concert at the Barbican? We open the new year by playing host to the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (3 Jan). The young conductor Nicholas Collon will take them through a feisty programme. A month later, the LSO String Ensemble (3 Feb) performs beautiful music by British composers; one piece you are sure to recognise from TV dramas and films – Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis – you can find it on YouTube.

OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY PERFORM …

Or finally, why not come and see the LSO Community Choir (21 Mar)?

Performed by people living and working around LSO St Luke’s, this concert features songs on the theme of hope and freedom.

So the only difficult decision you need worry about is which date to come along to …

RACHEL LEACH presents LSO Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concerts

12 GET SINGING

Get Singing

As the London Symphony Chorus (LSC) celebrates its 50th anniversary, the LSO’s visionary Choral Director Simon Halsey prepares the Chorus for concerts with Daniel Harding, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Mark Elder.

He’s interested in recruiting new singers to the LSC, and he’s a man with a mission to get all of London singing. Have a go yourself!

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‘Not only is music one of the fundamental ways we bond with each other, it literally shapes our brains.’

Dr Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain

At LSO St Luke’s, Simon Halsey is leading Choral Singing Days on Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius (23 Jan) and Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ Symphony (6 Mar) – your own chance to sing with the LSO’s professional choral team.

The day starts at 11am with a warm-up and then we dive straight in to learning the choruses. If you already know these works, you’ll enjoy Simon Halsey’s special mix of experience, enthusiasm and energy. If you don’t, then you will come away having enjoyed a whistle-stop introduction to the pieces. Each Singing Day concludes with a performance to family and friends.

On 23 January the spotlight is placed on Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, a towering work of the English choral tradition, which was nevertheless considered a bold musical statement by its original audiences in 1900.

Set to Cardinal Newman’s poem tracing a man’s journey from faithful life to redemptive death, Elgar’s music is at once brilliantly virtuosic, passionate and inspiring.

On 6 March we turn to the choral finale of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – the ‘Ode to Joy’ – famous to many as the European Anthem and an accompaniment to New Year celebrations and sporting events the world over.

With words by Friedrich Schiller that speak of universal brotherhood, the music radiates with optimism. Beethoven broke new ground by crowning his final symphony with the sound of the human voice, and it’s frequently dubbed the greatest piece of all time. Come along and see what all the fuss is about.

LSO Sing is supported by the Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement, Slaughter and May, Rothschild Charities Committee and LSO Patrons

SINGING EVENTS & ACTIVITIES SINGING DAYS AT LSO ST LUKE’S

CHORAL CONCERTS AT THE BARBICAN

HOW TO JOIN OUR CHOIRS

Sat 23 Jan 11am–4.30pm

Sun 17 Apr 2016 7pm

LSO SING

LSO SING

Haydn The Seasons (sung in German)

CHORAL SINGING DAY THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS Elgar The Dream of Gerontius (accompanied by piano) Simon Halsey conductor

Sir Simon Rattle conductor London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director Sun 24 Apr 2016 7pm Elgar The Dream of Gerontius

Sun 6 Mar 11am–4.30pm LSO SING

CHORAL SINGING DAY BEETHOVEN’S NINTH Beethoven Symphony No 9 (‘Choral’) (accompanied by piano) Simon Halsey conductor

Sir Mark Elder conductor London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director 5.30PM LSO PLATFORMS: GUILDHALL ARTISTS

English song recital Thu 12 May 2016 7.30pm Schumann Piano Concerto Beethoven Symphony No 9 (‘Choral’) Michael Tilson Thomas conductor Leif Ove Andsnes piano London Symphony Chorus Simon Halsey chorus director

LSO DISCOVERY CHOIRS 4–5pm Junior Choir (7- to 11-year-olds) 5–6.15pm Senior Choir (11- to 18-year-olds) Applications for 2016/17 open in late Spring, email youthchoir@lso.co.uk LSO Discovery Choirs are supported

by Slaughter and May and LSO Patrons LSO SING

COMMUNITY CHOIR FOR ADULTS

To find out more or apply email andra.east@lso.co.uk LSO SING

LONDON SYMPHONY CHORUS FOR ADULTS

To find out more and apply, email Aoife McInerney auditions@lsc.org.uk

14 SHAKESPEARE 400

Celebrating Shakespeare 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death – celebrate his legacy across the capital.

Centuries may have passed since the death of William Shakespeare in his hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616, but the renown and popularity of this great poet-playwright could not be higher in the 21st century. His dramas, which were first brought to life right here in London, are held up as some of the greatest ever written and are performed all over the world. Hamlet alone has been produced and published in over 75 languages, while countless expressions from Shakespeare’s works (from ‘love is blind’ to ‘a wild goose chase’) have found their way into everyday turns of phrase.

Over the centuries composers have found inspiration in Shakespeare’s timeless stories, which deal in comedy and tragedy, love and loss, power and ambition. As part of Shakespeare 400, this spring is your chance to discover how this great playwright’s words have been translated into music. Join us at LSO St Luke’s – which sits less than a mile away from the site of the Curtain Theatre, where Romeo and Juliet and Henry V were first performed – for a whole host of events dedicated to the literary icon.

We’re joined by some of the world’s most skilled chamber musicians for a series of four BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts. There are instrumental pieces that bring to life Shakespeare’s most colourful characters (7 Jan), including Beethoven’s eerie conjuring of the Witches from Macbeth, and songs based on his words that take us from Shakespeare’s own era (14 Jan) right up to a world premiere (28 Jan).

You can go in-depth at an LSO Discovery Day (28 Feb), which delves into the composer Berlioz’s deep passion for Shakespeare’s works, or for a more informal introduction, enjoy music and readings at an LSO Discovery Friday Lunchtime Concert (26 Feb). Outside LSO St Luke’s, you can enjoy a series of Shakespeare-inspired LSO concerts at the Barbican, bring the whole family to an LSO Discovery Family Concert (7 Feb) with music inspired by his plays and scenes set by a cast of actors, or get involved in the Barbican’s own Play On … festival, which brings together music, cinema, theatre, talks and workshops.

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LSO AT THE BARBICAN

Thu 7, 14, 21 & 28 Jan 1pm, LSO St Luke’s

Sun 7 Feb 2.30pm, Barbican

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

FAMILY CONCERT: PLAY ON, SHAKESPEARE!

Featuring Gould Piano Trio, Iestyn Davies Elizabeth Kenny, James Gilchrist Anna Tilbrook and the BBC Singers

Shakespeare needs the help of Puck and the Orchestra to get over his writing block! With music inspired by the Bard’s plays, expect love, war, laughter and magic.

LSO DISCOVERY

SHAKESPEARE 400

Fri 26 Feb 12.30–1.15pm, LSO St Luke’s

London Symphony Orchestra Timothy Redmond conductor Aileen Gonsalves director

LSO DISCOVERY

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT

Recommended by Classic FM

Korngold Nine Shakespeare Songs

Tue 16 Feb 2016 7.30pm, Barbican

Guildhall School musicians Alison Langer soprano Lawrence Thackeray tenor Ljubica Stojanovic piano Nathan Tinker piano Rachel Leach presenter

Mendelssohn Symphony No 1; A Midsummer Night’s Dream London Symphony Orchestra Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor Monteverdi Choir Thu 25 Feb 2016 7.30pm, Barbican

Sun 28 Feb 10am–5pm, Barbican and LSO St Luke’s LSO DISCOVERY DAY

BERLIOZ AND SHAKESPEARE A morning watching Gianandrea Noseda guide the LSO through Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet Suite at the Barbican, with an afternoon talk and more at LSO St Luke’s.

Smetana Richard III Liszt Piano Concerto No 2 Tchaikovsky Overture: Romeo and Juliet Strauss Macbeth London Symphony Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda conductor Simon Trpcˇeski piano Sun 28 Feb 2016 7pm, Barbican Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 2 Berlioz Romeo and Juliet – Suite London Symphony Orchestra Gianandrea Noseda conductor Janine Jansen violin

Shakespeare 400 is a cultural initiative across London in 2016.

To celebrate, cultural institutions based in and around Greater London have come together in partnership with the London Shakespeare Centre at King’s College London. From January to September a special season of connected performances, broadcasts, exhibitions and educational outreach events will underline London’s pivotal role in the performance and public understanding of the works of Shakespeare. shakespeare400.org barbican.org.uk/playon

5.30PM LSO PLATFORMS: GUILDHALL ARTISTS

Shakespeare song settings LSO Barbican tickets from £10 + booking fee (£3 online, £4 by phone)

IESTYN DAVIES appearing as part of the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert Shakespeare series

16 MEET OUR AMBASSADORS MIKE’S PICKS …

Thu 18 Feb 1pm, LSO St Luke’s BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

Community Champions

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET

Shostakovich String Quartet No 10; Piano Quintet Paval Haas Quartet Denis Kozhukhin piano Tue 16 Feb 7.30pm, Barbican Hall LSO BARBICAN CONCERT

SHAKESPEARE 400 Mendelssohn Symphony No 1 Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream London Symphony Orchestra Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor Monteverdi Choir

MEET MIKE MORFEY

Mike has volunteered at LSO St Luke’s for ten years.

Having been an ambassador, tour leader, event steward and more, we speak to him about getting involved.

The Ambassadors meet to discuss what we can do to promote the work of the LSO, particularly thinking of local audiences. One of the great things we do is ‘Into the LSO’ nights for people who wouldn’t normally go to classical concerts, or would think they are elitist or are frightened to come along. We pick a friendly concert – the next featuring Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (16 Feb) – and we all take as many tickets as we think we can sell.

When we have a stall on Whitecross Street market we play LSO Live CDs, give out literature and just talk to people. I particularly like helping on our information stalls, interacting with people and telling them about

the concerts and encouraging them to come back.

If there’s one thing I really enjoy it’s the LSO’s outdoor BMW LSO Open Air Classics concert in Trafalgar Square.

They’re free. And it gives me an opportunity to talk to hundreds of people.

I think it’s special the way that the LSO engages in Discovery work outside of the concert hall. They go to schools, day centres and hospitals. It’s wonderful the way they give up their time for others.

What I like doing is providing a bridge between the LSO and local people, bringing the best music to the greatest number of people.

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MEET RICHARD HAMES

RICHARD CHOOSES …

Sun 13 Mar 4–5.30pm, LSO St Luke’s CONCERT

LSO FUTURES I: AFTERNOON Darren Bloom Dr Glaser’s Experiment (world premiere, LSO commission) Thomas Adès Chamber Symphony Schoenberg Chamber Symphony No 1 LSO Chamber Orchestra François-Xavier Roth conductor Commission supported by the PRS for Music Foundation and the Britten Pears Foundation

Richard is an LSO St Luke’s ambassador and Soundhub Associate. He recommends his favourite concerts and tells why he chose to volunteer for LSO St Luke’s.

There are a lot of exciting things happening at LSO St Luke’s in the New Year but if I had to pick, I’d like to recommend two, both part of the LSO Futures series and both taking place on 13 March. The first features a world premiere by Darren Bloom, whose subtly lyrical work Dr Glaser’s Experiment (inspired by the experiments of Dr Donald A Glaser, inventor of a precursor to the modern particle accelerator) will be followed by Thomas Ades’ Chamber Symphony (written when he was 19), and Schoenberg’s Chamber Symphony No 1.

The second concert of the day pairs two of the most exciting works in modern music (Ligeti’s Atmosphères and Berio’s Sinfonia) with a world premiere

by Elizabeth Ogonek, recipient of an LSO/Panufnik commission, and now resident composer at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her music is always intensely colourful and dramatic, and this piece, Sleep & Unremembrance, promises a major expansion of her world onto the palette of the orchestra.

Sun 13 Mar 2016 7pm, Barbican CONCERT

LSO FUTURES II: EVENING Ligeti Atmosphères Elizabeth Ogonek Sleep & Unremembrance (world premiere, Panufnik commission) Berio Sinfonia London Symphony Orchestra François-Xavier Roth conductor Synergy Vocals Commission supported by the Helen Hamlyn Trust

I chose to become an ambassador for LSO St Luke’s because it offers a chance to evangelise about something I feel immensely passionate about – contemporary music at a professional level. There is an enormous amount of contemporary music that goes on in London, and the number of ensembles and venues involved is staggering – but it is the projects with the LSO which offer a whole further level of polish and sophistication.

I started being involved with the LSO through the Soundhub scheme – which offers composers a range of fantastic opportunities – fromthe essentials of musicmaking like rehearsal facilities, to seminars on fundraising, recording, and so on.

It has already allowed me and my fellow composers to pursue projects we could not have otherwise hoped to be involved in.

Exploring diverse musical cultures fascinates me and I am hoping that being an ambassador will reveal new opportunities that I had not previously considered.

Our community ambassadors Left to right: Mike, Richard, Ros, Joelion, Fotini, Francisca, Tim Why not join them! To find out more, email lsostlukes@lso.co.uk

18 EVENT LISTINGS

Listings s t n e v 016 E Spring 2 ALWAYS ON WEEKLY EVENTS AT LSO ST LUKE’S

Mondays from 11 Jan to 21 Mar LSO DISCOVERY

SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL FOR 1- TO 5-YEAR-OLDS

10–10.45am Tiny tots 11–11.45am Toddlers 12–12.45pm Infants Fun morning music sessions for early years are a great way to introduce little ones to the world of music making. With no more than 15 children per session, your child will receive individual attention as well as taking part in group activities. £95 per term (10 sessions) To find out more email earlyyears@lso.co.uk

LSO SING

LSO DISCOVERY CHOIRS 4–5pm Junior Choir (7- to 11-year-olds) 5–6.15pm Senior Choir (11- to 18-year-olds) The Choirs encourage young people in the local community, of all abilities and regardless of background, to find their voice and experience the joys of singing and making music.

Applications open in late spring for the 2016/17 school year.

Annual membership £45 To find out more email youthchoir@lso.co.uk Supported by Slaughter and May and LSO Patrons

Mondays from 11 Jan to 21 Mar 4–7pm LSO DISCOVERY

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY GROUP FOR 12- TO 20-YEAR-OLDS

SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL

LSO DISCOVERY

LSO CREATE WORKSHOPS FOR ADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES

If you’re a producer, songwriter or performer aged 12 to 20, we want you to get involved! The Digital Technology Group based at LSO St Luke’s gives you the chance to make music and get heard. Develop your sound and style with access to cutting-edge studio equipment, rehearsal spaces and industry professionals.

FOR ADULTS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS

Free

Participants take the spotlight in these interactive workshops that introduce adults with learning disabilities and their supporters to creative musicmaking, developing their skills in an informal, relaxed environment.

To find out more and to apply email chris.rogers@lso.co.uk or phone 020 7566 2878

Mondays from 11 Jan to 21 Mar LSO DISCOVERY

COMMUNITY GAMELAN GROUP FOR ADULTS

5.30–7pm Beginners 7.20–8.30pm Advanced Explore the hypnotic and inclusive world of Balinese gamelan in weekly music-making sessions. Play gongs, metallophones, drums and bamboo flutes, with professional players and regular performance opportunities. £6.50 (£4.50 concessions) per week To find out more email wallis.leahy@lso.co.uk LSO SING

COMMUNITY CHOIR FOR ADULTS

Now in its thirteenth year, the LSO Community Choir is an integral part of LSO St Luke’s. Conducted

by David Lawrence, the Choir rehearses in the beautiful Jerwood Hall once a week and performs regularly with professionals, including the London Symphony Orchestra.

To find out more email andra.east@lso.co.uk

Supported by Finsbury Educational Foundation

To find out more email lydia.nickalls@lso.co.uk Supported by The City of London Corporation’s charity and City Bridge Trust

DAVID LAWRENCE

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JANUARY 2016 JERWOOD HALL, LSO ST LUKE’S

Thu 7 Jan 1pm

Sat 23 Jan 11am–4.30pm

Fri 29 Jan 12.30–1.15pm

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

LSO SING

LSO DISCOVERY

SHAKESPEARE 400: I

Schumann Excerpts from ‘Novelletten’ Korngold Much Ado About Nothing – Suite Beethoven Piano Trio in D major Op 70 No 1 (‘Ghost’) Gould Piano Trio Tickets

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CHORAL SINGING DAY THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS Elgar The Dream of Gerontius (accompanied by piano) Simon Halsey conductor Tickets

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See page 12 for more details on Singing Days LSO Sing is supported by the Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement, Slaughter and May, Rothschild Charities Committee and LSO Patrons

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Mendelssohn Octet LSO String Ensemble Clare Duckworth leader Rachel Leach presenter Free entry, no ticket required Supported by Schroder Charity Trust and LSO Friends

Sun 24 Jan 10am–5pm, Barbican and LSO St Luke’s LSO DISCOVERY DAY

AFTER ROMANTICISM

GOULD PIANO TRIO (7 JAN)

Thu 14 Jan 1pm BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

Join conductor François-Xavier Roth in a morning Barbican rehearsal, followed by an afternoon at LSO St Luke’s exploring the post-Romantic idea of the ‘hero’, with chamber music and an afternoon talk.

Tickets

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SHAKESPEARE 400: II

Thu 21 Jan 1pm BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

SHAKESPEARE 400: III

Programme includes: Arne Where the bee sucks Haydn She never told her love Schubert An Sylvia; Ständchen Wolf Bottom’s Dream Quilter Under the greenwood tree Warlock Pretty ring time Parry When icicles hang by the wall Tippett Three Songs for Ariel Dring It was a lover and his lass and four composers’ realisations of ‘Take, O take, those lips away’ James Gilchrist tenor Anna Tilbrook piano Tickets

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BARBICAN PRESENTS

VOICES APPEARED La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (film showing with live vocal soundtrack)

Tickets

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Sat 30 Jan 7pm

Iestyn Davies counter-tenor Elizabeth Kenny lute A

Fri 29 Jan 8pm

The Orlando Consort

17th-century songs by Morley, Robert Johnson, Banister and Purcell to texts by or inspired by Shakespeare.

Tickets

LSO STRINGS (29 JAN)

LSO DISCOVERY

FRANÇOIS-XAVIER ROTH (24 JAN, 11 & 13 MAR)

Thu 28 Jan 1pm BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

SHAKESPEARE 400: IV

Kodály An Ode for Music Giles Swayne Three Shakespeare Songs Wood Full fathom five; It was a lover and his lass Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Four Shakespeare Songs Cecilia McDowall When time is broke (world premiere) Paul Mealor Let fall the windows of mine eyes Vaughan Williams Three Shakespeare Songs BBC Singers David Hill director Tickets

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SOUNDHUB SHOWCASE: PHASE II Featuring composers Daniel Kidane Na’ama Zisser A chance to meet composers in their second year of the Soundhub scheme, who have spent the year pushing their work in diverse directions with a series of new chamber pieces written for musicians from the LSO. Tickets

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Supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Hinrichsen Foundation

All events take place in LSO St Luke’s Jerwood Hall unless otherwise stated.

For full booking and ticket information, see page 24.

20 EVENT LISTINGS

FEBRUARY 2016 JERWOOD HALL, LSO ST LUKE’S

Thu 4 Feb 1pm

Fri 12 Feb 12.30–1.15pm

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

LSO DISCOVERY

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: I

Smetana String Quartet No 2 String Quartet No 1 (‘From my Life’) Paval Haas Quartet Tickets

A

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Guildhall School musicians Rachel Leach presenter Guildhall School harpists perform music by Ravel and Debussy.

Free entry, no ticket required

Fri 5 Feb 12.30–1.15pm LSO DISCOVERY

STORYTELLING FOR UNDER-5s LSO musicians Vanessa King presenter LSO musicians retell a children’s story through music. Dance and sing your way through the concert as the instruments bring the tale to life!

Tickets

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Supported by Schroder Charity Trust and LSO Friends

Fri 26 Feb 12.30–1.15pm Thu 18 Feb 1pm BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: III Shostakovich String Quartet No 10 Piano Quintet Paval Haas Quartet Denis Kozhukhin piano Tickets

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Thu 11 Feb 1pm

LSO DISCOVERY

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Korngold Nine Shakespeare Songs Guildhall School musicians Alison Langer soprano Lawrence Thackeray tenor Ljubica Stojanovic piano Nathan Tinker piano Rachel Leach presenter Free entry, no ticket required

BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

Supported by Schroder Charity Trust and LSO Friends

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: II Prokofiev String Quartet No 1 Bartók String Quartet No 5

Sun 28 Feb 10am–5pm, Barbican and LSO St Luke’s

Paval Haas Quartet Tickets

DANJULO ISHIZAKA (25 FEB)

LSO DISCOVERY DAY

BERLIOZ AND SHAKESPEARE

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A morning watching Gianandrea Noseda guide the LSO through Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet Suite at the Barbican, with afternoon talks and more at LSO St Luke’s.

Tickets

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DENIS KOZHUKHIN (18 FEB)

Thu 25 Feb 1pm BBC RADIO 3 LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

PAVEL HAAS QUARTET: IV Schubert String Quintet in C major D956 Paval Haas Quartet Danjulo Ishizaka cello Tickets PAVEL HAAS QUARTET (4, 11, 18 & 25 FEB)

A GIANANDREA NOSEDA (28 FEB)

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MARCH 2016 JERWOOD HALL, LSO ST LUKE’S

Fri 4 Mar 12.30–1.15pm

Sun 13 Mar 4–5.15pm

LSO DISCOVERY

CONCERT

FREE FRIDAY LUNCHTIME CONCERT

LSO FUTURES I CHAMBER CONCERT

FOR EVERYONE OVER 5

Darren Bloom Dr Glaser’s Experiment (world premiere, LSO commission) Thomas Adès Chamber Symphony Schoenberg Chamber Symphony No 1

Debussy Cello Sonata Barrière Sonata Number 10 Paganini Variations on a Theme

by Rossini (‘Moses’)

LSO Chamber Orchestra François-Xavier Roth conductor

Eve-Marie Caravassilis cello Daniel Gardner cello Rachel Leach presenter

Tickets

Commission supported by PRS for Music Foundation and The Britten-Pears Foundation

Free entry, no ticket required Supported by Schroder Charity Trust and LSO Friends

PANUFNIK WORKSHOP (11 MAR)

Sun 6 Mar 11am–4.30pm LSO SING

CHORAL SINGING DAY BEETHOVEN’S NINTH Beethoven Symphony No 9 (‘Choral’) (accompanied by piano) Simon Halsey conductor Tickets RACHEL LEACH (5, 12 & 26 FEB; 4 MAR)

Fri 4 Mar 7.30pm GUEST PERFORMERS

FAUST CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Spohr The Last Judgement Faust Chamber Orchestra Mark Austin conductor Rosalind Coad soprano Anna Harvey mezzo-soprano Bradley Smith tenor Gareth John baritone Cambridge University Music Society Chorus Tickets

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Sat 5 Mar 7.30pm GUEST PERFORMERS

CAMDEN MUSIC SERVICE We are delighted to welcome back Camden Youth Jazz Band, New Camden Jazz Ensemble and some of Camden’s youngest jazzers with special guests the London Youth Folk Ensemble, to perform in the first of their two Spring Music Festival Concerts at LSO St Luke’s.

Tickets

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See page 12 for more details on Singing Days LSO Sing is supported by the Sir Siegmund Warburg’s Voluntary Settlement, Slaughter and May, Rothschild Charities Committee and LSO Patrons

Fri 11 Mar 10am–1.30pm & 2.30–6pm LSO DISCOVERY

Sat 19 Mar 1pm BARBICAN PRESENTS

LUNCHTIME WITH GEORGE BENJAMIN Purcell arr George Benjamin Fantasia No 7 George Benjamin Viola, Viola Bach arr George Benjamin Canon and Fugue for small orchestra George Benjamin Shadowlines Musicians of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra George Benjamin composer George King piano Sara Mohr-Pietsch presenter Tickets

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Part of Benjamin at the Barbican

PANUFNIK COMPOSERS WORKSHOPS

Mon 21 Mar 7.30pm

Featuring new works by: Patrick Giguère Bethan Morgan-Williams Deborah Pritchard Daniel Lewis Fardon Daniel Moreira Ewan Campbell plus works from 2014’s composers Jack Sheen MIchael Taplin

COMMUNITY CHOIR CONCERT: SONGS OF HOPE AND FREEDOM

London Symphony Orchestra François-Xavier Roth conductor

LSO SING

David Lawrence conductor LSO Community Choir LSO Percussion players Guildhall School musicians Songs inspired by hope and freedom including ‘I wish I knew how it would feel to be free’.

Tickets

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Free entry, booking essential Supported by The Helen Hamyln Trust

All events take place in LSO St Luke’s Jerwood Hall unless otherwise stated.

For full booking and ticket information, see page 24.

22 OUR VENUE

enue Our v HIRE LSO ST LUKE’S

YOUR EVENT

An impressive and stylish building just yards from Old Street’s bustling Silicon Roundabout, LSO St Luke’s offers flexible and inspiring spaces to hire for arts, corporate and private events.

There’s no better time to discover this unique heritage space, and with our experienced team on hand you can organise the perfect event in no time at all.

The Jerwood Hall is a distinctive setting that can accommodate a broad spectrum of activity, from intimate dinners through to company parties for as many as 450 people. A stunning contemporary restoration sits within evocative historical features, with a sophisticated infrastructure capable of meeting even the most ambitious requirements.

ENVIRONMENTAL CREDENTIALS LSO St Luke’s is a member of the Islington Sustainable Energy Partnership, an organisation set up eight years ago with a commitment to achieving a 15% reduction in carbon emissions across our busy London borough.

CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS SEMINARS AND TRAINING AWARD CEREMONIES GALA DINNERS CHRISTMAS PARTIES WEDDING RECEPTIONS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PERFORMANCES REHEARSALS AND RECORDINGS FILMING AND TELEVISION WINE TASTING EXHIBITIONS Call 020 7566 2871 or email lsostlukes@lso.co.uk to find out how we can help turn your ideas into reality

LSO ST LUKE’S CAFÉ LSO St Luke’s runs an in-house Bar and Café service, offering a selection of hot and cold drinks including a well-stocked bar, sandwiches, snacks, cakes and pastries for one hour before the start of most concerts and again during the interval. Hot food is available before and after the BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts on Thursdays, and our Bar and Café Manager Stuart Connery and his team look forward to meeting you.

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ACCESS

SUPPORT OUR WORK

You can get this Guide in large print, audio and electronic format.

MAKE MUSIC MATTER

Call 020 7490 3939 or email access@lso.co.uk.

HEARING FACILITY We have personal receivers for use with or without a hearing aid in the Jerwood Hall and Clore Gamelan Room.

Please call 020 7490 3939 in advance to reserve a personal receiver as numbers are limited.

MEMBERSHIP Visitors who have joined the Barbican Access Membership scheme can inform us of their access requirements, receive information in alternative formats and may be eligible for reductions on tickets.

Contact the Box Office or visit barbican.org.uk.

Thanks to our funders – and through your valued support – we are able to offer many LSO Discovery activities at little or no cost to participants from all walks of life. For us to continue to thrive and offer inspiring opportunities to over 60,000 participants every year, the London Symphony Orchestra seeks additional support from companies, individuals, charitable trusts and foundations. Your contribution means that our investment in music education can grow and ensures that LSO St Luke’s, the UBS and LSO Music Education Centre, remains at the heart of the local community.

To find out more about how you can help email felicity.hindle@lso.co.uk, visit lso.co.uk/supportus or call 020 7588 1116.

The London Symphony Orchestra is a registered charity in England No 232391.

24 INFORMATION

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LSO

LSO St Luke’s, UBS and LSO Music Education Centre 161 Old Street, London EC1V 9NG LSO St Luke’s is situated on Old Street, in the heart of central London. It is easy to get to by public transport. For details of parking, bus routes and train stations, visit lso.co.uk/yourvisit

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HOW TO FIND LSO ST LUKE’S

LONDON WALL

TICKET PRICES

FEES & HOW TO BOOK

Tickets A BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts £12 (£10 concessions) + booking fee

Tickets G Voices Appeared £20 £25

Tickets B LSO Singing Days £20 (£15 concessions) + booking fee includes music hire Afternoon spectator ticket £5

Tickets H Faust Chamber Orchestra £10 £18 £21 £25 + booking fee

Tickets C LSO Discovery Day £20 (£15 concessions) + booking fee £14 afternoon only from 2.30pm Tickets D D LSO Soundhub Concert LSO Community Choir Concert £7 (£5 concessions) + booking fee Tickets E Storytelling for Under-5s £3 children, £5 adults + booking fee under 12 months free (no ticket required) Tickets F LSO Futures: Chamber Concert £10 £16 £22 + booking fee

Tickets J Camden Music Service £10 (£5 concessions) + booking fee Tickets K Lunchtime with George Benjamin £15 £20

lso.co.uk (£0.60 booking fee per transaction) 020 7638 8891 (£0.70 booking fee per transaction) Open 10am–8pm Mon–Sat, 11am–8pm Sun In person at the Barbican Advance Box Office, Silk Street entrance (no booking fee) Open 10am–9pm Mon–Sat, 12–9pm Sun and Bank Holidays Latecomers are normally admitted during a suitable break in the performance.

On occasion, this may not be possible once the performance has started. Some performances are unsuitable for babies and young children; customers are advised to check before booking. Children under 16 must be closely supervised by an adult.

Concession ticket prices apply to wheelchair users, disabled patrons, over-60s, students, under-18s and the unemployed. All bookings and discounts are subject to availability.

All events are promoted by, or in association with, the LSO. Print Tradewinds Photography Kevin Leighton, Marco Borggreve, Benjamin Ealovega, Igor Emmerich, Ranald Mackechnie, Simon Weir

LSO ST LUKE’S PRINCIPAL DONORS

LSO is funded by Arts Council England in partnership with the City of London Corporation, which also provides the Orchestra’s permanent home at the Barbican.