Wednesday, 7 April 2021

Southbank Sinfonia and St John's Smith Square to merge

Southbank Sinfonia at St John's Smith Square (Photo Teralon)

In the light the present challenges for arts organisations, changes and re-structuring are unsurprising and news has just been released about an interesting merger with to organisations seeing greater synergy together. Southbank Sinfonia and St John's Smith Square will be merging to create a new organisation. 

The sinfonia, which offers an annual training programme for young orchestral players, has long been seeking a permanent home (it currently uses space at St John's Waterloo), and the new move will see the sinfonia based at the concert hall. The result will effectively by a concert hall with resident orchestra and training programme and it will be interesting to see how the new organisaation develops. Currently plans are for the new organisation to deliver both an annual programme of orchestral training and development, as well as the well-established programme of regular festivals (eg. Christmas Festival, Holy Week Festival & London Festival of Baroque Music) concerts and events from professional, community and education partners.

The new organisation, currently called Southbank Sinfonia at St John’s Smith Square (but expect that mouthful to change!) will have Simon Over (Music Director, Southbank Sinfonia) and Richard Heason (Director, St John’s Smith Square) as co-directors whilst things will be launched with a free live-streamed concert on Thursday 15 April - the first in a new series - and it is anticipated that the merger will be fully effected by the summer of 2021.

Full details from the St John's Smith Square website.

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