Northern Sinfonia

Related links

• Visit Northern Sinfonia's website
• The Sage Gateshead

Northern Sinfonia is Classic FM’s Orchestra in North-East England and at The Sage Gateshead.

Northern Sinfonia, orchestra of The Sage Gateshead, has built a distinctive reputation as a fresh thinking, versatile orchestra, performing repertoire spanning three centuries and regularly commissioned new work.

“The Sage Gateshead has become one of the world’s most admired centres for music and Northern Sinfonia has raised its game to match.” Richard Morrison, The Times

The orchestra’s work includes concerts, broadcasts, recordings, national and international touring with its Music Director Thomas Zehetmair, Principal Conductors Simon Halsey, John Wilson and Mario Venzago and guest artists.

Northern Sinfonia regularly appears at leading venues throughout the world including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Musikverein in Vienna and the Royal Albert Hall in London where it has performed at the BBC Proms to great critical acclaim. Appearances at major festivals include the Edinburgh International and the Aldeburgh Festivals in the UK and a residency at the Hong Kong Festival in 2009.  

CDs recorded at The Sage Gateshead include Sibelius’ Symphonies 3 & 6 and Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto - "Thomas Zehetmair brings the work alive marvelously – four stars”, the Guardian; Brahms and Schumann - BBC Music magazine’s Disc of the Month, “Zehetmair’s daring success”; and Mozart Piano Concertos with Imogen Cooper - five star reviews in Classic FM magazine and The Sunday Telegraph.

Northern Sinfonia musicians are part of The Sage Gateshead’s wide ranging Learning & Participation programme, which offers opportunities for everyone to make music of all kinds, whatever their age or ability. Northern Sinfonia also has an associated award-winning youth orchestra, Young Sinfonia, and is joined for both performance and recording by Northern Sinfonia Chorus.

Projects away from the classical mainstream have included working with the Pet Shop Boys at a shipyard in North East England, a concert with Sting performing brand new orchestrations of his hits, and being invited by harpist and striking singer Joanna Newsom to join her UK tour launching her critically acclaimed album Ys.  

Northern Sinfonia is proud to be Classic FM’s Orchestra in the North East.