PLANET in London

My chamber orchestra piece PLANET (premiered in the 2024 Aldeburgh Festival) is coming to London for the first time, and will be played in "Handel's Church" - St George's Hanover Square - on Tuesday October 6th.

The performers are Orpheus Sinfonia (conductor Thomas Carroll). Orpheus are an orchestra of young professionals and recent graduates, with some seasoned players in the main chairs. This is in the same spirit as the group who premiered PLANET - Ryan Wigglesworth's Knussen Chamber Orchestra. The creation of that ensemble in Aldeburgh is such a wonderful tribute to the great man, which I think he would have loved.

Now my mind has turned in this direction, I can see that training/experience orchestras have become "a thing", with many of our big symphony orchestras also giving side-by-side" opportunities to young performers new to the scene. I'm not sure what it says about our musical economy that we now have so many post-student orchestras platforming college graduates. But for composers it's surely a win-win; excellent, motivated musicians with a positive attitude to playing in an orchestra.

PICTURED: Definitely not in training, this is the fabulous BBC NOW Orchestra in Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, about to rehearse my very difficult score I give you the end of a golden string, also an Aldeburgh commission.