Northern Sinfonia new season

The Northern Sinfonia (who are based at the Sage, in Gateshead) will be making a return to London's South Bank Centre in February 2013 for The Rest is Noise Festival; the orchestra will be playing a programme of 20th century classical music influenced by folk music with music by Komitas, Ives and Grainger.

They are also commissioning a new piece from Benedict Mason to be premiered as part of their 2012/13 season at the Sage. This is a concerto for sackbut (!), which will be performed by Mike Svoboda the trombonist and composer. They are also working with advanced composition students from Newcastle University.

The main season includes all of the Brahms and Schumann symphonies paired together, conducted by Thomas Zehetmair. Plus their Late Mix series which encourages the audience to explore new areas, via eclectic programmes with supplementary lectures and events around the concerts, the series looks at works in their wider cultural context, from Venice in the 1500s and Austria in the 1700s, to the sounds of post-WW1 Paris and those of contemporary North America.