Southbank Sinfonia goes round, with three immersive films

Southbank Sinfonia has been thinking creatively about what can be achieved musically within the limits of social distancing, and using these limits as a springboard for some imaginative thinking. Across three Fridays in December the ensemble is broadcasting new films intended to give the audience a new immersive experience. Filmed at the Round Chapel in Hackney, each film will immerse the viewer within the sound of the orchestra as if wandering through a live performance.

Conducted by Chloé van Soeterstède, the three performances will explore underperformed music. On 4 December 2020 comes Cecilia McDowall’s Rain, Steam, and Speed (2006) is a symphonic journey inspired by JMW Turner’s painting of the same name. 

On 11 December there is Jessie Montgomery’s Starburst (2012) and Sally Beamish’s Reckless (2012). Starburst depicts the unpredictable nature of a group of stars so powerful it changes the structure of an entire galaxy, whilst Reckless is a bolt of lightening which rips open the orchestra to reveal the inner workings in all its technicolour.

Finally, on 18 December comes Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s elegant Novelleten (1903), charming almost salon music with a touch of humour.

Full details from the Southbank Sinfonia website.