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.

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.

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.

175 years young - Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra celebrate

Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra   © Mark McNulty

Under chief conductor Vasily Petrenko, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will be celebrating the orchestra's 175th anniversary during the season (their website has a blog recording people's memories) as well as completing the refurbishment of the Philharmonic Hall. Petrenko has been in place since 2006. 

Petrenko starts his season with the orchestra with a pair of concert pairing Strauss's mammoth Alpine Symphony with Berio's Folksongs and Canteloube's Song of the Auvergne (both sung by Jennifer Johnson) and Tchaikovsky's The Seasons, closely followed by Andrew Manze conducting a pairing of Holst's The Planet with a new Robin Holloway piece and RVW 8 (Manze returns with an all RVW programme in May 2016). The remainder of the action packed season includes Petrenko conducting Mendelssohn's Elijah with Susan Gritton, Patricia Bardon, Jeremy Ovendon and Thomas Oliemans, Ton Koopman conducting Handel, Bach and Haydn, four concerts from the Lithuanian violin virtuoso Julian Rachlin, the world premiere of Ludovico Einaudi's Piano Concerto, and music by Hugo Alfven.

Nathalie Stutzman is also in residence both singing Schubert's Die Winterreise and conducting the St Matthew Passion with John Mark Ainsley as the Evangelist and Christopher Purves as Christus. Other artists in residence include the folk group The Unthanks, who will be performing folk music with the orchestra, and harpist Catrin Finch who performs Mozart and Glere

There is also a chamber music series in the more intimate St George's Hall Concert Room.  All in all over 60 concerts in the season.