BBC Symphony Orchestra 2018
©Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke

BBC Symphony Orchestra

“It’s official: if you want to be guaranteed an infallible musical adrenalin boost in London, you can always be sure to find it with Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo and his BBC Symphony Orchestra.”

Arts Desk, March 2017

The BBC Symphony Orchestra has been at the heart of British musical life since it was founded in 1930. It plays a central role in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, performing at the First and Last Night each year in addition to regular appearances throughout the Proms season with the world’s leading conductors and soloists.

The BBC SO performs an annual season of concerts at the Barbican in London where it is Associate Orchestra. Its commitment to contemporary music is demonstrated by a range of premieres each season, as well as Total Immersion days devoted to specific composers or themes. In 2022, the first Total Immersion day is devoted to music composed in World War Two ghettos and camps, and the second centres on the music of Frank Zappa. Further 2022 highlights at the Barbican include the world premiere of Up For Grabs, a multimedia tribute to Arsenal FC by composer and football fan Mark-Anthony Turnage (5 Nov); and collaborations with renowned authors Jacqueline Wilson (23 Oct) and Zadie Smith (22 Apr).

Sakari Oramo
Sakari Oramo © Benjamin Ealovega

The BBC SO’s enviable roster of titled conductors all make appearances in their 2021/22 season. Among other concerts, Chief Conductor Sakari Oramo revives a masterful symphony by Dora Pejačevic (26 Nov) and marks the 40th anniversary of the Barbican in a concert featuring Concrete by Judith Weir (4 Mar); Principal Guest Conductor Dalia Stasevska brings to life African American bass-baritone Davóne Tines’s powerful meditation on racial justice, Concerto No. 1: SERMON (7 Oct); and Creative Artist in Association Jules Buckley continues his innovative synthesis of classical and pop music in a collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson (25 Feb). Semyon Bychkov, holder of the Günter Wand Conducting Chair, contributes to BBC centenary celebrations with something else that is 100 years old – Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (11 Feb). And conductor Laureate Sir Andrew Davis celebrates half a century of conducting the BBC SO with Gustav Mahler’s posthumously completed Tenth Symphony (18 Feb). Guest conductors include Eva Ollikainen, the UK concert debut of Jordan de Souza, and the BBC SO podium debut of Nathalie Stutzmann, and for several performances across the season the BBC SO is joined by the BBC Symphony Chorus – one of the UK’s leading choirs.

The vast majority of the BBC Symphony and Chorus’s performances are broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and a number of studio recordings each season are free to attend. These often feature up-and-coming new talent including members of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists scheme. All broadcasts are available for at least 30 days on BBC Sounds and the BBC SO can also be seen and heard on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer, as well as the BBC’s online archive, Experience Classical.

The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Singers and BBC Proms offer enjoyable and innovative education and community activities and take a leading role in the BBC Ten Pieces and BBC Young Composer programmes.