Our Principal Conductor, Thomas Payne, takes a look back at last season and talks about what he’s looking forward to in 2024-2025.
What makes you proud of LCO’s 2023-2024 season?
What a season! There were so many high points. But perhaps one of the things I’m proudest of is our first children’s concert. Held at St Gabriel’s in July, it was generously sponsored by The Fishmongers’ Company and supported by Restore the Music.
Children from all over London came to hear us perform film music, try out instruments and have a go at conducting the orchestra. It was magical to see the excitement in their eyes. It demonstrates the power of music and underlines the importance of making sure that all children have access to music from an early age.
Another highlight was our concert at the Royal Academy of Music in March this year. I love working with vocalists, so I jumped at the chance to programme Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène and give the orchestra the opportunity to work with world-class singers. The orchestra, which was very favourably reviewed for this performance, showed incredible musical maturity and I witnessed how much they have grown as an ensemble.
I’m extremely grateful that our guest conductor, Adrian Varela, took charge of our first concert in November 2023, and produced some magnificent music. The orchestra performed La Valse by Ravel, Sinfonia da Requiem by Britten as well as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Suite. Many players felt that the concert was a real high spot in the season.
In July, we returned to Cadogan Hall for our blockbuster film concert that featured a great mix of classic film music such as Korngold’s Sea Hawk and Bernstein’s On the Waterfront alongside family favourites including Star Wars and Schindler’s List, where our wonderful leader, Tim Yap, was the soloist. I love to hear orchestral musicians stand out in solo moments and we have a lot of these coming up this season. I’d like to give a special mention to Philip Keller, our guest conductor, who conducted Khachaturian’s Adagio and Walton’s Spitfire, Prelude and Fugue. Without his support, so much of what we do at LCO would be impossible.
What makes LCO special?
First of all, the players. They’re so quick and musical. They play at a really high level and everyone works really hard to make our concerts special. They all pull together to make wonderful music.
Players have a say in the repertoire, and we make a real effort to choose works that are both enjoyable and stretching. By pulling towards the same goal, over and over again, we achieve amazing results.
We’re also lucky to have such a strong, dedicated committee. They’re brilliant at solving problems, offering fresh perspectives and making sure we’re always moving forward. They’re second to none, the heartbeat of LCO.
What does LCO offer players?
If you want to raise your standards and work on interesting, challenging repertoire, come and join us. You’ll be playing alongside some of the best non-professional players in London!
We have fantastic music staff, including excellent conductors, and players also have sectionals with members of London’s top orchestras, who share their insights and encourage everyone to take their playing to a new level.
We’re also a friendly, social bunch. We meet up in the pub after every rehearsal so that people have a chance to get to know each other personally as well as musically. I think the aspect of the orchestra is particularly strong!
What can people look forward to this season?
We’re working on some massive repertoire this season.
First up is our Shakespeare concert on 16 November at St Gabriel’s in Pimlico. The whole programme is brilliant. We’re performing Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture, Walton’s stirring Henry V Suite and Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In my view, it’s worth coming just to hear Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite; it’s mind-blowing how the composer uses the colours of the orchestra to depict both the joy and suffering of the title roles.
We’re back at St Gabriel’s for our Christmas concert in December, when people can look forward to the traditional singalong to carols as well as plenty of mulled wine and festive cheer. As a special treat, we’re performing the world premiere of Winter’s Light, a piece written by our bassoonist and composer in residence, Siobhan Connellan.
In Spring, in response to the orchestra’s request to try different formats, we’re performing a concert on 8 February that showcases the different sections of the orchestra with some fun and exciting repertoire.
On 12 April, we’ll be at Sinfonia Smith Square to perform some of the finest orchestra writing ever produced: Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and Respighi’s Pines of Rome.
For the final concert of 2024-2025 season, on 5 July we’ll be at St John’s Waterloo. We’re performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto, with one of our talented cellists, Ferec Necef, as soloist. Alongside that, we’re playing Rachmaninoff’s epic Second Symphony.
Oh, and keep an eye on our website for news of our next children’s concert, which will take place in June next year.
Come along!
We’ve set up a hugely diverse and exciting array of concerts for the coming season. There’s something for everyone. We love sharing our music with you, so do come along and hear us.
And if you’d like to be part of the LCO family as a performer, supporter, patron or even part of the committee, we’d love to hear from you.