Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Enhancing lives through music

"Not a hair of a note was out of place; this was a performance by a world-class orchestra" The Times

Founded in 1893 by Sir Dan Godfrey, one of the most important figures in British musical life, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra throughout its illustrious history has worked with some of the finest composers, conductors and musicians in the world including Elgar, Sibelius, Holst, Stravinsky, Vaughan Williams and Sir Thomas Beecham to name but a few. More recently the BSO has worked with eminent British composers including Sir Michael Tippett, John Tavener and Sir Peter Maxwell Davies.

Dynamic young Ukrainian Kirill Karabits has been appointed Principal Conductor of the BSO beginning in the 2009/2010 season. He continues the fine tradition of esteemed past Principal Conductors who have included Sir Charles Groves, Constantin Silvestri, Rudolf Schwarz, Paavo Berglund, Andrew Litton, Yakov Kreizberg and Marin Alsop.

The Orchestra has toured widely and performed at some of the world's most famous venues including the Musikverein, Vienna; the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Carnegie Hall, New York; The Rudolfinum, Prague: and The Philharmonie, Berlin. To commemorate the BSO's centenary Andrew Litton led a triumphant tour of the USA, the Orchestra took up a residency in Hong Kong in 2001, and more recently under Marin Alsop, the BSO has made visits to Valencia, Madrid, Rotterdam, Ghent,Toulouse and Lyon.

The name of the BSO is known across the world through over 300 recordings. Previous acclaimed CDs have been nominated for Gramophone Awards and Grammys in the US and the recording of Elgar's Symphony No.3 remained in the top ten classical charts for the entire year. The Orchestra continues to release five or six CDs every year making it one of the most recorded orchestras in Britain today. Recent releases of Bernstein, Takemitsu, Finzi, Glass, Bartok, Weill and Bach/Stokowski have all received rave reviews. Radio broadcasts enable the BSO to continually reach new and wider audiences; a continuing partnership with BBC Radio 3 ensures regular UK broadcasts of live BSO concerts and this together with countless plays on Classic FM allows over thirteen million people to enjoy the BSO's work each year.

The BSO serves the South and South West of England, covering an area of over 10,000 square miles, from its base at Poole, giving upwards of 130 concerts every year in Poole, Bournemouth, Exeter, Portsmouth, Winchester, Weymouth, Southampton, Bristol and Basingstoke. In addition to its main season concerts, the Orchestra performs a series of classical open-air firework spectaculars, attracting thousands of people every summer. The Orchestra performs the length and breadth of the UK, regularly appearing at venues across the country including Birmingham Symphony Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and at various Festivals such as Litchfield, Henley and Cheltenham. The Orchestra has also performed in numerous London venues including St Paul's Cathedral, the Royal Opera House, and the Barbican plus regular performances at the BBC Proms held at the Royal Albert Hall.

As well as performing orchestral concerts, the BSO is strongly committed to its award-winning Community and Education programme. BSO ensembles take music into the community, performing at smaller and more unusual venues across the region, while the BSO's contemporary music ensemble Kokoro is at the forefront of commissioning and performing works by living composers. BSO musicians also take part in an extensive array of education and community projects, from national curriculum based workshops in schools, through to tea dances for the elderly and song writing projects for homeless young people. Annually the BSO reaches more than 125,000 children and adults through such projects.

Dartington Hall Trust

The Dartington Hall Trust is a pioneering charity nurturing ideas to address pressing problems; working for the advancement of the arts, sustainability and social justice. Together with University College Falmouth and King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC) the charity facilitates a programme supported and recognised by Arts Council England as one of three national centres of excellence in music and the arts, alongside The Sage Gateshead and Aldeburgh. The organisation's portfolio of activity includes a strong and very natural emphasis on music and arts education and performance and production, benefiting from the skills and experience of each of the partners.

Federation of Music Services, South West
Supported by ABRSM and Yamaha Music (UK) Ltd

The Federation of Music Services was established in 1996 and currently has a membership of 147 music services. They work closely with the DCSF, OfSTED, ABRSM Professional Development and the QCA as well as fellow music organisations such as MEC and NAME.

Wells Cathedral School

Patron :  HRH The Prince of Wales
HMC Co-educational Boarding and Day

An inspiring education in a beautiful and musically alive environment as a brilliant foundation for life.

Established in 909 to educate choristers, Wells can claim to have been a Specialist Music School for about 1100 years.  For more than 30 years the School has been part of the DfES Music and Dance Scheme, teaching many of the country’s finest young musicians.  The architecture and physical environment create a tremendous backdrop and inspiration for the students.

Wells, a co-educational 3-18 boarding and day community, offers an extensive academic and co-curriculum, and arranges individualised programmes for its specialist musicians.  There are approximately 1600 music lessons a week, 150 concerts a year and over 80 members of staff involved in the delivery of music. 

The specialist musicians enjoy not only international standard music making, but the breadth which the whole school offers.  Many musicians leave Wells to continue their studies at conservatoires in the UK and abroad, others opt for academic studies at university.

Wiltshire Music Centre

The Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon is a unique contemporary music education facility with good access, nine flexible workshop spaces and a first class 300 seat concert hall. The Centre is owned and run by an independent charitable trust and, since opening 9 years ago, has become one of the country’s most successful regional arts lottery projects attracting over 62,000 visitors a year.

Innovative education and community work runs alongside a year round programme of high quality public concerts. These embrace classical, jazz, folk and world music traditions and feature artists of international standing as well as talented young musicians and community groups – all celebrated equitably on the same platform.

Department for Children, Schools and Families: Skills, Music and Dance Scheme

Our Principal supporter.

PRS Foundation

The PRS Foundation for New Music (PRSF) is the UK's largest independent funder purely for new music of any genre. Its main aims are to stimulate and support the creation and performance of new music in the UK, and to help this reach a wide audience. The Foundation provides essential core support for creators, performers and producers of new music and underpins exciting musical developments. This is achieved through its own funding schemes and partnerships with other organisations.