From Beethoven & Britten to Caroline Shaw & Gavin Higgins: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's 2026/27 season will be chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan's sixth

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Domingo Hindoyan (Photo: Gareth Jones)

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's 2026/27 will be Domingo Hindoyan's sixth as chief conductor and his concerts with the orchestra feature a wide range of repertoire including a complete Beethoven symphony cycle over two weeks.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the UK’s oldest continuing professional symphony orchestra. The origins of the Orchestra’s concert series date back to the formation of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society by a group of Liverpool music lovers in 1840.

Hindoyan opens the season with Mahler's Symphony No. 2, with soloists Lucy Crowe and Natalie Lewis. Other highlights of his concerts include the premiere of a work by Dani Howard celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Orchestra’s partnership with Classic FM; Hindemith's Mathis der Mahler Symphony, Roussel’s Symphony No. 3 and Aleppo Songs by Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom.

Hindoyan's Beethoven cycle features all nine symphonies across five concerts during January 2027, whilst Beethoven's chamber music is spread across the season and Liverpool Philharmonic’s 10:10 present Reinventing Beethoven celebrating composers who have been inspired by him including John Adams, Jay Capperauld, Samantha Fernando, Caroline Shaw, and George Stevenson.

Another anniversary is 50 years since Britten's death and the season includes the Violin Concerto with Simone Lamsma, the Cello Symphony with Guy Johnston, Suite on English Folk Tunes, Sinfonia da Requiem, Four Sea Interludes, A Charm of Lullabies and more.

The Orchestra's composer-in-focus is Caroline Shaw and works include the full orchestra in Observatory and a range of works with Liverpool Philharmonic’s 10:10, the Orchestra's contemporary music ensemble. The Orchestra has premiered and commissioned more than 300 new works over the past twenty years, and its Rushworth Composition Prize, which provides a range of opportunities for early-career composers. The winner of the Rushworth Composition Prize in 2018, Carmel Smickersgill has A Brick Thrown With Love premiered by the Orchestra at the BBC Proms. Gavin Higgins’ new clarinet concerto, written specially for artist in residence Mark Simpson receives its world premiere, marking the conclusion of Simpson’s residency.

Liverpool Philharmonic’s 10:10 showcase for new music from North West-based composers includes a world premiere from the 10th Rushworth Composition Prize winner Andrew Barney, alongside works by Mark Simpson, Grace-Evangeline Mason and Nneka Cummins, and a new work by 11th Rushworth Composition Prize winner Rob Hughes. The youngest ever finalist of the Leeds International Piano Competition, Kai-Min Chang, received the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Award and gives the world premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s Acid Drop, commissioned especially for him as part of the prize.

Through its Made in Merseyside series, the Orchestra provides a platform for artists at every stage of their careers, from emerging voices to internationally recognised names, while supporting pathways from regional training to national and global stages, including through In Harmony and Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, which together reach over 2,280 young people in the city each week.

This season includes collaborations with Liverpool-born vocalist MT Jones, rising singer- songwriter Lucca Mae, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and Bill Ryder-Jones, who reunites with the orchestra to mark the 15th anniversary of his debut solo album, plus contributions from North West artists such as Nneka Cummins and Timothy Jackson, and performances featuring Cumbrian mezzo-soprano Jess Dandy.

Principal Guest Conductor Andrew Manze opens the season and Conductor Laureate Vasily Petrenko returns. Guest conductors include Karel Deseure, Adam Hickox, Andris Poga, Kristiina Poska, Dinis Sousa and Joshua Weilerstein, alongside conducting debuts from Alena Hron, Kellen Grey and Bar Avni.

Full details from the Orchestra's website.

The vision of a healthier, higher-achieving future: In Harmony Liverpool Philharmonic recognised by Association of British Orchestras with their Impact Award

In Harmony Liverpool 13 Birthday Concert, 2022 (Photo: Mark McNulty)

Launched in February 2009, In Harmony Liverpool Philharmonic uses orchestral music making to improve the life chances of children by increasing confidence, wellbeing, skills and resilience, enhanced by opportunities to travel, learn, perform and collaborate with professional musicians, international artists and other young people. In Harmony Liverpool Philharmonic’s vision is a healthier, higher-achieving future for North Liverpool.  The programme enables over 1,800 children and young people aged 0–18 to learn music every week, free of charge. 

This week, the Liverpool Philharmonic's work with the programme was recognised when they were awarded the Impact Award for Learning and Development by the Association of British Orchestras for the In Harmony Liverpool Philharmonic programme.    

The programme reaches communities experiencing socio-economic disadvantage and works closely with schools and local partners to provide safe spaces where young people can make music and develop essential life skills, equipping them for broader educational and social outcomes.

This year, Liverpool Philharmonic is expanding its 11–18s programme, with new Youth Hubs opening across the city, including Walton, Kensington, Central Liverpool and Bootle. Designed in consultation with young people, In Harmony Youth Hubs support those for whom formal education can be challenging. They provide safe, welcoming spaces to make music, spend time with friends and access high-quality musical, creative and technical opportunities — all completely free of charge. 

Further details from the In Harmony Liverpool Philharmonic website.

Rooted in Liverpool’s music ecosystem: Mark Simpson returns home as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's 25/26 Artist in Residence

Mark Simpson (Photo: Matthew Johnson)

Composer and clarinettist Mark Simpson has been announced as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RLPO) new Artist in Residence for the 25/26 season. Simpson’s residency is launched with the UK premiere of his viola concerto, Hold Your Heart in Your Teeth, with the RLPO conducted by principal guest conductor Andrew Manze and featuring viola player Timothy Ridout. The 30-minute work is a musical response to a Romanian proverb encouraging you to ‘face your fears head on and move forward with courage’. (Soloist Timothy Ridout gave the world premiere last December at the Philharmonie). The concert will also feature a rarely heard version of Pictures at an Exhibition by Sir Henry Wood, featuring every one of the RLPO's famous church bells collection.

Further ahead, in January 2026 Simpson leads RLPO musicians as clarinettist in a programme pairing his own Geysir with Mozart’s Gran Partita. Then in March 2026, the RLPO, vocal ensemble EXAUDI and baritone Mark Stone perform Simpson’s oratorio The Immortal, conducted by Daniela Candillara. In this large-scale score for baritone, small chorus and orchestra, Melanie Challenger’s text explores paranormal events in the late Victorian era when mediums in different countries began writing down the same messages from a deceased psychical researcher who was harbouring a dark secret.

In April 2026, Simpson appears as soloist in John Adams’s clarinet concerto Gnarly Buttons with the RLPO’s contemporary music group Ensemble 10:10, conducted by George Jackson in a concert that also includes the UK premiere of Josephine Stephenson’s In Time Like Air. Finally, Simpson's season with RLPO concludes with a recital with pianist Ian Buckle in which they play Simpson's Lov(escape) and Echoes and Embers. Simpson describes how, “at this relaxed evening with me in the Music Room, I’ll be talking about growing up in Liverpool and how vital it was for my musical development and performing the music by my former composition teachers that brought me along the way”.

Simpson’s story is rooted in Liverpool’s music ecosystem and reflects both the city’s rich classical music infrastructure and the importance of access for young people. Born in Liverpool, Simpson began his musical journey in the Merseyside (now Liverpool Philharmonic) Youth Orchestra, which led him to the National Youth Orchestra. In 2006, at just 17, he became the first-ever winner of both BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year. 

His own formative experiences, from council-funded music tuition to Saturday morning ensembles, mirror the ambitions of the Orchestra’s In Harmony programme, which continues to transform the lives of children across Liverpool through music. This season also marks the 75th anniversary of the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the very ensemble where Mark Simpson began his journey, and highlights Liverpool Philharmonic’s leading role as a champion of new music. The RLPO is one of the UK’s most active commissioners and performers of contemporary work, having premiered more than 300 new pieces in the last 20 years, and continues that commitment in the 2025/26 season.

Full details of the RLPO's new season from their website, and further details of Simpson's residency from his publisher's website.

Vanessa Reed, ground breaking former chief executive of PRS Foundation returns to UK as CEO of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society

Vanessa Reed

For 11 years, Vanessa Williams had significant impact on the British classical music scene as chief executive of the PRS Foundation. But since 2019, she has been President and CEO of New Music USA, a New York based national resource which supports music creation and performance across the US. The good news is that she is now bringing her expertise back to the UK and taking over as chief executive of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society, taking up the position in June this year. As such, she will lead an organisation that includes Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company, and an extensive learning and community programme.

During her time at the PRS Foundation, Williams tripled its resources for organisations, composers, songwriters and artists by introducing a suite of national and international programmes including the Momentum Music Fund, created in partnership with Arts Council England (2013), New Music Biennial, which began as a programme of commissions for the UK’s Cultural Olympiad (2012), and Women Make Music, which was set up in response to the gender gap in music.

In 2017, she initiated Keychange in collaboration with Musikcentrum Öst in Sweden and Reeperbahn Festival in Germany, a programme that sets out to challenge gender imbalances in the music industry and create a global movement for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Williams already has significant links to Liverpool. She was a board member of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic between 2016 and 2019, was an Ambassador for the University of Liverpool and collaborated with Liverpool City Council to support emerging musicians. Her love for Liverpool stems from her father who studied law at Liverpool University in the 60s, loved the Philharmonic Hall, and inspired her and her family to support one of the city’s football teams. 

She is married to a Liverpudlian, Eddie Berg who founded the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), a Liverpool-based agency for the exhibition, support, and development of artists’ film, video, and new media projects. 

Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic's website.

Music and movement: new musicians in Liverpool, new artistic directors in Brighton & George Jackson continues in Amarillo

Domingo Hindoyan and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 2022

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has welcomed six new musicians into its ranks, whilst the Brighton Early Music Festival has announced the appointment of new co-artistic directors, and the young British conductor, George Jackson has had his contract renewed as music director of Amarillo Symphony Orchestra for a further three years.

On 17 October 2024 Domingo Hindoyan conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in Mahler’s First Symphony, Juan Bautista Plaza’s Vigilia and Strauss’ Four Last Songs with soprano Sarah Wegener. The opening concert in the orchestra's 2024/25 season, it also represented the first concert with the orchestra for six musicians being welcomed into the ranks - Fábio Brum, who joins as section leader trumpet, Miquel Ramos Salvadó as section leader clarinet, Nadia Debono as associate principal viola, Peter Liang as No.4 1st violin and Anna Crawford and Angus McCall joining the cello section. 

Brazilian trumpeter Fábio Brum is a former member of the Canadian Brass and Principal Trumpet for both the Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra and the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. Miquel Ramos Salvadó has regularly performed in orchestras such the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle Zürich, Liceu Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, and Festival Strings Luzern. Maltese viola player Nadia Debono's experience spans multiple genres and styles, including baroque and non-classical. She was co-leader of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, and Solo Principal Viola with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, in Norway.

Full details from the orchestra's website.

As many people will know, Deborah Roberts the co-founder and artistic director of Brighton Early Music Festival (BREMF) sadly passed away earlier this year. BREMF has announced the appointment of two new co-artistic directors, soprano Hannah Ely and recorder-player Olwen Foulkes. Both were previously part of the BREMF Live young artists scheme,they have both performed at the Festival in musical ensembles and opera productions, and have mentored other artists.;

Hannah Ely is a soprano specialising in Renaissance and Baroque music. In 2012 she founded the Fieri Consort, where she explores innovative performances of Italian madrigals, which has led her to her current venture on ornamentation in madrigals in the duo Accenti, as well as with the Monteverdi String Band, and she was recently appointed music director of Purbeck Arts Week Festival. Olwen Foulkes is a recorder player, curator and educator with a love of eighteenth-century chamber music, and a research focus of the early eighteenth-century London music scene. In 2019 she founded her chamber music group Ensemble Augelletti who are current BBC New Generation Baroque Ensemble and City Music Foundation Artists. She is Assistant Curator at Handel Hendrix House where she curates exhibition content, and she is an academic lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music.

Full details from the BREMF website.

Over in the USA, in Amarillo, Texas, George Jackson began his tenure as music director of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra in September 2022, leading the orchestra into its centenary season of 2023/24. He has now had his tenure renewed for a further three years. Under Jackson's artistic direction, the Symphony has experienced a surge in audience engagement, thanks to captivating programs that showcase the diverse cultural landscape of the Texas Panhandle. The orchestra has developed from relatively humble beginnings in 1924 to become a vital cultural force in the Texas Panhandle, serving a vast region spanning 25,000 square miles and beyond.

George Jackson leads the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra's 100th season opener at Hodgetown in Amarillo, August 2023 (Photo: Michael Cuviello/Amarillo Globe-News from Amarillo Globe-News)

George Jackson's performances in the UK that we have caught include La Boheme at Opera Holland Park [see my review], celebrating the 85th anniversary of The Beano with the BBC Concert Orchestra including the premiere of Gavin Higgins' new percussion concerto [see my review], Janacek's The Excursions of Mr Broucek at Grange Park Opera [see my review], Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Holland Park [see my review]. In 2021, I sat down for a chat with George Jackson, read more in my interview, 'The balance between a perfect art form & giving people what they want'. 

Full details from the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra's website.

New partnership between the British Double Reed Society and Liverpool Philharmonic's In Harmony Liverpool

In Harmony Liverpool's 13 Birthday Concert 2022 (Photo: Mark McNulty)

Liverpool Philharmonic has announced a new partnership between the British Double Reed Society and their flagship learning and engagement programme, In Harmony Liverpool. The partnership is the first of its kind for In Harmony, where a specialist instrumental foundation are supporting the development of the programme. The commitment will cover financial and in-kind support to the programme for three years from 2024-2027. Provision is specifically focused on providing double reed support, activity, and events to In Harmony students.

In Harmony Liverpool provides free music education and instrumental tuition to over 1,700 children across eight settings in Anfield and Everton, two of the city’s most disadvantaged communities. Children make music, learn an instrument, sing, compose, listen, rehearse and perform together each week in and out of school, led by professional musicians.  

Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic website.

Catalyst: National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, National Youth Brass Band & Jessica Cottis in Gavin Higgin's Concerto Grosso for Brass Band & Orchestra & much more

National Youth Brass Band

Gavin Higgin's Concerto Grosso for Brass Band and Orchestra was premiered at the BBC Proms in 2022 by The Tredegar Band, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Ryan Bancroft. The work was co-commissioned by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and the orchestra is joining forces with the National Youth Brass Band under conductor Jessica Cottis to give two performances of Higgins' work in Liverpool (12 April 2024) and London (14 April 2024). The programme will be completed by Prokofiev's wartime Symphony No. 5 but there is a lot more to events than that.

On Thursday 11 April, musicians from NYOGB under Agata Zając will perform music by Simon Steen-Anderson and Carlos Simon, plus a movement of Dani Howard's Trombone Concerto and Julius Eastmn's Stay On It.  Then Jessica Cottis conducts the NYOGB and National Youth Brass Band in Higgins and Prokofiev at the Philharmonic Hall on the evening of Friday 12 April and on Saturday 13 April, the National Youth Brass Band gets its own spot in a programme that includes Karl Jenkins' first work for brass band.

In London at the Southbank Centre on 14 April, Cottis and the young musicians will be repeating their Higgins and Prokofiev programme, and before hand the the Clore Ballroom will pulsate with the vibrant energy of Julius Eastman’s creative provocation, Stay on it!

In Liverpool, London and Saffron Walden, the young musicians will be running open events to share extraordinary music across the city, lead workshops and inspire others to play their part and get excited about music. 

Full details from the NYOGB's website.

600 young musicians aged 7-11 join the RLPO to celebrate 15 years of In Harmony Liverpool

Today (18 March 2024), the Liverpool Philharmonic together with 600 young musicians aged 7-11 from Anfield and Everton, will celebrate 15 years of In Harmony Liverpool with a birthday concert at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. The performers from Faith Primary, The Beacon CE Primary and All Saints Catholic Primary will present a concert with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra musicians to an audience of friends and family culminating in a joyous finale of massed choir and orchestra.

Launched in 2009 and benefiting over 4,000 children and young people, In Harmony uses orchestral music making to improve the life chances of children by increasing confidence, wellbeing, skills and resilience, enhanced by opportunities to travel, learn, perform and collaborate with professional musicians, international artists and other young people.

Children and young people make music every week free of charge, learn an instrument, compose, sing, rehearse and perform wide ranging music in orchestras and ensembles in schools, throughout the community and in concert venues. 

1,700 children and young people currently take part within and beyond the school day through partners, and many young people have gone on to perform in Resonate Youth Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company and the National Youth Orchestra’s Inspire programme.  

In Harmony Liverpool is part of the Liverpool Phiharmonic's wider learning and community engagement programmes and in 2022/23, over 100,000 participants of all ages took part in these, whilst over 18,000 people living with mental and physical ill-health have benefitted from our music and health NHS programme over the last 15 years.

Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic website.

Premiere of Eleanor Alberga's piano concerto, commissioned by Royal Liverpool Philharmonic for Leeds Piano Competition winner Alim Beisembayev

Alim Beisembayev (Photo: Nabin Maharjan)

Kazakhstan-born pianist Alim Beisembayev won First Prize at The Leeds International Piano Competition in September 2021, along with the medici.tv Audience Prize and a new prize, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society Prize for contemporary performance. This led the orchestra to commission a new work especially for Beisembayev, from the eminent Jamaican-born British composer, Eleanor Alberga, who will also be a Jury member of the 2024 Competition later this year.

Alberga's Piano Concerto will be premiered by Alim Beisembayev with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Domingo Hindoyan on 25 April 2024 at the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool as part of a concert that includes a suite from Roussel's Bacchus and Ariadne and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.

Alberga's concerto, her first piano concerto, has grown from solo works for piano and thematically draws on her life story. I chatted to Eleanor Alberga back in 2022 about her music and her Jamaican heritage, see my interview.

Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic website.

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's Music and Health Programme celebrates and its Emerging Musicians Fellowship returns

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is now accepting applications for its 2024/25 Emerging Musicians Fellowship, whilst the orchestra's Music and Health Programme has just celebrated its 15th anniversary 

 The fellowship is a paid development opportunity for emerging orchestral musicians, offering early-career orchestral musicians an immersive experience of professional orchestral life, on and off the concert platform. It has been designed to attract the widest talent pool possible and there is no upper age limit for applicants. 

This opportunity will culminate in a final wrap week including an exit audition, an intimate chamber performance programmed and performed alongside other Fellowship Musicians, and sessions around ongoing musical and professional development. The wrap week is also an opportunity to welcome the next cohort of Fellowship Musician to the programme and grow the Alumni network.

There are four places available for the 2024/25 Fellowship. Applications are welcome from the following instruments: 

• Strings: Violin, Viola
•  Woodwind: Flute, Piccolo with Flute, Bassoon, Contrabassoon with Bassoon 
•  Brass: Trumpet, French Horn, Percussion & Timpani

Full details from the orchestra's website.

The orchestra is also celebrating 15 years of its Music and Health Programme. The programme is now the longest-running and largest of its kind. It is an initiative that harnesses the power of music to promote well-being and improve the mental and physical health of participants. 

Working across 27 wards in 4 partner NHS trusts the programme has:

• Supported 18,000 patients and participants living with mental and physical ill-health across the Liverpool City Region
•  Conducted 15,000 hours of music-making
•  Presented sessions in 50 health, social care and community settings
•  Hosted 35 participant-led celebration events at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

The 15th anniversary celebrations will see current and past participants from across the programme take part in special performances both on the stage and in hospital wards.

Further information from the orchestra's website.

Young musicians to the fore: Bampton's singing competition and Liverpool's emerging musician fellowships

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Emerging Musicians Fellowship
Danny Cleave, Meggie Murphy, Ewan Miller, Méline Le Calvez

Bampton Classical Opera has announced that entries are now open for its 2023 Young Singers' Competition, whilst Liverpool Philharmonic has announced the appointment of four musicians selected for the second annual Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Emerging Musicians Fellowship. 

Applications are now open for Bampton Classical Opera’s sixth biennial Young Singers' Competition, launched in 2013 to celebrate the company’s 20th birthday.  Open to young professional singers aged 21-32 and their accompanists,  previous winners are mezzo-soprano Anna Starushkevych (2013), soprano Galina Averina (2015), mezzo-soprano Emma Stannard (2017), soprano Lucy Anderson (2019), and soprano Cassandra Wright (2021).  In 2017 an Accompanists' Prize was introduced, and the first winner was Keval Shah. 

After a closed first round, the public final take places in the Leonard Wolfson Auditorium, Wolfson College, Linton Road, Oxford OX2 6UD, on 25 November 2023. Judges for the competition include two internationally renowned British singers: tenor Bonaventura Bottone and mezzo-soprano Jean Rigby.

Applications entry deadline is Thursday 31st August 2023, full details from Bampton Classical Opera's website.

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's Emerging Musicians Fellowship offers early-career musicians a paid, immersive professional orchestral experience, both on and off the stage over the course of a year.  The Fellowship has no upper age limit and in 2023/24 over 270 musicians applied for the scheme. The four musicians selected are:

• Danny Cleave (double bass) - a native of Devon who has just finished his Masters degree at the Royal College of Music
• Meggie Murphy (trombone) - who studied at the Royal College of Music and was in the National Youth Orchestra 
• Ewan Millar (oboe) - from Yorkshire, currently enrolled in a Masters degree at the Royal Academy of Music and who won the woodwind final of BBC Young Musician
• Méline Le Calvez (clarinet) - born in Burgundy, France will finish her studies at the Royal Academy of Music this Summer

Sameeta Gahir, Principal Piccolo, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Lead Musician for the Emerging Musicians Fellowship, said, "In light of the successful launch of the Emerging Musicians Fellowship last year, this year we were overwhelmed by the sheer number of exceptional applications we received from talented musicians nationwide. The level of skill and dedication displayed by all the applicants was truly remarkable, and we extend our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of them for their commitment and effort in presenting themselves. It is with great excitement that we announce the newest Fellowship Musicians. Their exceptional musical abilities and unique talents have stood out among the many outstanding candidates, and we are delighted to have them on board for this upcoming season."

Full details from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's website.

Liverpool Philharmonic's £1 ticket sale returns

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic

On Sunday 2 October, the Liverpool Philharmonic will put 1000 tickets for sale for £1 each in response to the cost of living crisis. These will be for 10 events across Liverpool Philharmonic’s season; tickets will be available for purchase in-person only from the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall box office from 10am – 2pm. 

A wide range of concerts will be available, from performances by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra to rock/pop and Music Room events, all for less than the price of a cup of coffee. The sale has been running for over 10 years, inviting audiences to discover music and Liverpool Philharmonic for an affordable price. 

Domingo Hindoyan, chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra says: "I am delighted that we can once again offer £1 tickets for our concerts. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and I hope that this offer will encourage new audiences to join us for an exciting season at the Philharmonic Hall. Our love and passion for music is at the heart of every concert and performance, and we hope that audiences old and new can experience this."

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra is the UK's oldest continuing professional symphony orchestra. The origins of its concert series date back to the formation of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, a concert society founded by a group of Liverpool music lovers in 1840. Domingo Hindoyan joined the orchestra as chief conductor in September 2021. 

The orchestra is the largest music organisation and one of the largest cultural organisations in the city. Liverpool Philharmonic premieres and commissions more music than any other UK orchestra, with over 150 works premiered and commissioned in the last 10 years. 

In 2021/22, 107,817 participants of all ages took part in Liverpool Philharmonic's learning and community engagement programmes. Over 14,000 people living with mental ill-health have benefitted from its music and mental health programme over the last 13 years.

Full details from the Liverpool Philharmonic website.

Swapping his baton for a violin: conductor Domingo Hindoyan joins his players as Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performs side-by-side with Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra

Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra side by side with members of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

When musicians from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO) perform side by side with the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, they will be joined by an extra violinist as the RLPO's chief conductor, Domingo Hindoyan will be swapping his baton for his violin and joining the orchestra. The concert, on 20 November 2021, is the start of the youth orchestra's new season and the evening will feature Simon Emery conducting music by Beethoven, Piazzolla and Malcolm Arnold, and then Hindoyan returns to the podium to conduct excerpts from Stravinsky's Firebird Suite.

The concert will also feature the first ever public performance by the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Academy Orchestra, and ensemble for under-18 musicians. Conducted by the RLPO's sub-principal cellist, Gethyn Jones, the concert features Florence Price's Symphony No. 1 and excerpts from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.

Domingo Hindoyan joined the RLPO as chief conductor in September 2021, he started his career as a violinist and member of the Venezuelan music education programme El Sistema, and then was a member of Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. He later went on to study conducting and was the first assistant to Daniel Barenboim at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin between 2013 and 2016.

The Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra was founded in 1951 as the Merseyside Youth Orchestra, and is aimed at young people aged 13 to 23. It is one of a number of ensembles in the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Company, which also encompasses youth choir, brass band and the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Academy Orchestra, Over 73,000 young people participate in the Youth Company and associated ensembles, attend concerts, or take part in its In Harmony programme, which uses orchestral music making to improve the life chances of children, including from the most disadvantaged parts of the city. Over 14,000 people suffering from mental health problems have also benefitted from the Orchestra’s music and mental health programme over the last 13 years.

Full details of the concert from the Liverpool Philharmonic's website.

Liverpool welcomes new chief conductor Domingo Hindoyan for his first season

Domingo Hindoyan rehearsing, 20 June 2021 (Photo Brian Roberts)

The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra has a new chief conductor. After leading the orchestra for 15 years, Vasily Petrenko has stepped down and become conductor laureate with Domingo Hindoyan as the new chief conductor whose first season, 2021/22 has just been announced. 

Hindoyan launches the season with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and follows this with an intriguing mixture of waltzes by Strauss (Richard!) and Ravel plus dance-music from Falla and Granados. Throughout the season Hindoyan's concerts mix blockbusters, the unusual and a Latin-American strand inspired by his native Venezuala. He is joined by fellow Venezuelan musicians’ trumpeter Pacho Flores and Venezuelan cuatro (small guitar) player Leónidas Rondón for music including the European premiere of a new concerto for trumpet by Paquito D’Rivera and a work by Flores himself.

Alongside Brahms (with local boy, pianist Stephen Hough), Bruckner, Mahler, Schumann, Mozart, Sibelius, Nielsen, Ravel and Rachmaninov, there will also be Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle with soloists Jennifer Johnston and Károly Szemerédy, and the UK premiere of Edmund Finnis’ Acts of Waves. Hindoyan's wife is the soprano Sonya Yoncheva, and she joins her husband for Giuseppe Martucci's song cycle La Canzone dei Ricordi (The Song of Remembrance).

Other visitors include principal guest conductor Andrew Manze, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason as young artist in residence and baritone Roderick Williams as artist in residence. Female guest conductors include Marta Gardolińska, Alexandra Dunn, Elena Schwarz, Rebecca Tong, Sarah Hicks, Ellie Slorach, Jeannette Sorrell, Nil Vendetti and Gemma New. 

Amongst the 15 world premieres in the season there are eight new works by female composers including music by Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Katherine Balch, Grace-Evangeline Mason, and Tansy Davies plus Amy Beach's Symphony No 2 ‘Gaelic’. 

And of course there is much, much more. Full details at the orchestra's website.

Youthful opportunities: musical activities for young people and more from Opera North, the Liverpool Phil and Welsh National Opera

Opera North Orchestra Academy (Photo Justin Slee)

Nowadays, community engagement for professional music ensembles (orchestras, opera companies, choirs, etc.) does not involve simply going into schools talking to and playing to children and coming away again. Many companies have long-term involvement in a myriad of youth projects, providing opportunities for youth music engagement which are often not available to young people in today's climate of poor music provision in state schools. Both Opera North, in Leeds, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic have recently announced opportunities for engagement at a musical level in a variety of projects, whilst Welsh National Opera's community engagement programme has recently been supported by a grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation.

In Leeds, Opera North is preparing to open its redevelopment project the £18 million Howard Opera Centre this Summer, which includes a new Education Studio which will be the home to several initiatives including projects with the Opera North Youth Chorus, the Opera North Children’s Chorus and Opera North Young Voices. Children from the age of 8 to 19 years can join the Opera North Youth Company; no prior knowledge of opera is required to join, simply a love of telling stories through music, a desire to develop skills in singing and stagecraft, and a passion for performance.

Opera North Children's Chorus perform The Spiders' Revenge (Photo Tom Arber)

Intrumental opportunities include a Woodwind and Horn Academy and a Brass Academy at Yeadon Town Hall in Leeds, giving school age orchestral players the chance to learn from, and play with, members of the Orchestra of Opera North and Opera North education specialists. For young string players there is an immersive 4-day Strings Academy in the Howard Opera Centre while, for young musicians playing at grade 7 and above, the Opera North Summer Orchestra Academy will run in August. New this autumn is the Opera North Youth Orchestra which aims to help 16 to 21-year-old orchestral players transition from further education and regional youth orchestras into the professional world of music. Successful applicants will get the chance to be mentored by members of the Orchestra of Opera North and to work regularly in the Howard Opera Centre with professional conductors and soloists.  

Further information from the Opera North website.

Liverpool Philharmonic youth orchestra

In Liverpool, there are eight different ensembles that the Liverpool Philharmonic is recruiting for,  both choirs and orchestras, from the Resonate Youth Philharmonic (for children grade 2 and above) to Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (for ages 13 to 21 at grade 7 and above), from Liverpool Philharmonic Children’s Choir (for children in years 5 to 7) to Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir (for singers ages 18+ who can read music and sight-sing), and not forgetting Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Brass Band (for ages 13 to 21 at grade 7 and above).

And young instrumentalists are invited to “Come and Play” with Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Orchestra on Zoom Wednesday 21 April at 6pm to find out more about the orchestra, how you can join, meet current members, and make music together. Register here. 

They are also calling for composers, and there is the Rushworth Young Composers & Songwriters (for aspiring composers aged 14 to 18) and the Rushworth Composition Prize (for Northwest composers aged 18 to 30)

Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir

Further information on all the Liverpool Philharmonic's youth ensembles from their website.

Welsh National Opera (WNO) has an extensive community engagement programme including two youth opera companies, with regional groups for 6 to 18 year olds in South Wales, North Wales and Birmingham, and the Youth Opera Young Company which offers training and performance opportunities to young singers age 18 to 25, plus two Community Chorus programmes (one in Cardiff, one in Llandudno), and choirs for people with dementia and their carers and story-telling activities for refugees and asylum seekers. One such is WNO’s Cradle Choir based in Milford Haven since autumn 2019; working with Torch Theatre, Havenhurst Day Centre, Pembrokeshire Association of Voluntary Services and Pembrokeshire County Council, the group initially met in person weekly, bringing more than 40 people to sing together and now meets online and it has also held dementia friendly training with local schoolchildren.

Welsh National Youth Opera Sing Club (Photo Kirsten McTernan)

WNO has one of the highest levels of participation figures of opera companies in the UK. In 2019/20, pre COVID-19, more than 55,000 people took part in WNO engagement activities. And the teams have successfully maintained many programmes during lockdowns by moving them online.

Full details from WNO's website.

The first Liverpool Early Music Festival

The first ever Liverpool Early Music Festival takes place next week, from 20 to 27 September 2019. Presented by The Telling, the festival features six quirky and heartfelt events across three venues in the city. The Sixteen will open the festival with their Choral Pilgrimmage performance at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, juxtaposing the music of Sir James MacMillan with music by Wylkynson, Fairfax and Sheppard.

The Telling will be giving three performances including two of their trade-mark staged concerts, with Contemplation mixing the music of Hildegard of Bingen with troubadour songs, and  Into the Melting Pot which explores the stories of integration, love, cultural heritage & radical intolerance experienced by a community of Jewish, Christian & Muslim women in Spain (21 & 22/9).

The young recorder quartet Palisander brings a programme inspired by Renaissance exploration and discovery, with music from people and countries explored by Christopher Columbus, Sir Frances Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh (24/9). Palisander will also be taking part in workshops and performances with local schools.

We return to Spain for the festival finale as Lux Musicae London explores flamenco's roots in Medieval Spanish, Arabic and Sephardic music, with the group being joined by masters of Flamenco and Arabic oud Ignacio Lusardi and Julian Harris (27/9).

Full details from The Telling's website, and tickets from Eventbrite.