City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Since 2008, Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons has been Music Director of the 90-strong City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Sir Edward Elgar conducted the inaugural concert of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in November 1920. Over the nine decades since, under the direction of such conductors as Adrian Boult, Andrzej Panufnik, Louis Frémaux, and most notably under the 18-year leadership of Sir Simon Rattle, the CBSO has gained a worldwide reputation. The CBSO continued to flourish under the Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo, who was appointed Principal Conductor in 1998 and Music Director in 1999, a post he held until 2008. In 2005, a new post of Assistant Conductor was created for Michael Seal, who combines this with a performing career in the CBSO’s violin section.
The talented young Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons took up the position of Music Director in September 2008 and has received world-wide recognition ever since. In February 2009 the CBSO travelled to Athens for its first overseas appearance with the new Music Director. This was followed by a tour to Spain (Cuenca and Madrid), and in the summer of 2009 the CBSO visited festivals in Lucerne, Gstaad, Berlin, Bonn and Wuppertal. A further 11-concert tour of Germany follows in March 2010, with a return to the Lucerne Festival in August.
As the resident orchestra of Birmingham’s Symphony Hall, the CBSO performs over 80 concerts each year in one of the world’s finest concert halls. The Orchestra is in demand globally, acting as an ambassador for the city in venues and festivals across Europe, Asia and America. Its many recordings have won numerous international prizes.
Ignite, the CBSO’s programme to engage audiences and the community, includes an acclaimed family of choruses, chamber groups, youth ensembles and an education programme that in total reaches upwards of 53,500 people each year.
The CBSO‘s concerts include a wide range of symphonic and contemporary classical repertoire, but also lighter music – the popular Friday night series features everything from film themes to musical hits - together with Schools and Family concerts which ensure that the CBSO offers something for everyone.
Recent projects that show the CBSO’s ability to be at the forefront of innovative music making include a collaboration in October 2009 to fuse the qawwali music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with a full symphony orchestra. Another collaboration in October brought our Chorus and Orchestra together with those of the great Mariinsky Theatre of St Petersburg for two roof-raising performances led by Valery Gergiev.
Looking towards the Orchestra’s centenary, the new CBSO:2020 series will highlight the wealth of great music written in the decade leading up to the Orchestra’s birth in 1920. This kicks off in spring 2010 with performances of music by Vaughan Williams, Stravinsky and Bartok.
Through its family of instrumental and choral ensembles and world-class symphony orchestra, the CBSO aims to offer the very best in musical performance and education, flying the flag for the people of Birmingham, the West Midlands and the UK, and performing a broad and ambitious repertoire to the widest possible audience.
To find out more, access the monthly podcasts and to book tickets on-line, visit the website www.cbso.co.uk
