World Renowned Orchestra To Support Sussex Young Musicians Ahead Of Festival Performance

The London Symphony Orchestra has joined up with Brighton & East Sussex Youth Orchestra to mentor the youngsters prior to their performance at Brighton Festival.

The LSO will meet BESYO for  two mentoring sessions, providing support and guidance to help them prepare for the stage.

Echoing the call of Brighton Festival’s Guest Director, musician, DJ and broadcaster Nabihah Iqbal, for audiences and artists to ‘Gather Round’ in a celebration of collaboration and shared experiences, LSO’s professional musicians will share their expertise with East Sussex’s emerging young instrumentalists as part of an initiative called LSO Discovery.

This education and community outreach programme aims to connect the world-renowned orchestra and its music to everyone through a year-round series of workshops and events for performers, creators and listeners of all ages and backgrounds, to support future generations of classical musicians.

BESYO co-leader Esther said:

“It was an amazing opportunity to work with members of the LSO. They were backing up what our regular tutors have been saying, but also gave us different and new ways to improve our playing. We were also able to ask them about their jobs as orchestral musicians which was useful for those of us wanting a career in music.”

Brighton & East Sussex Youth Orchestra is one of the leading youth orchestras in the UK, offering young musicians working at grade 6 and above the opportunity to learn challenging classical repertoire and to perform annually at Brighton Festival. On 15 May, they will play a folk and dance-inspired programme informed by Iqbal’s love of folk music as a form of storytelling. Pieces include Doreen Carwithen’s Suffolk Suite, Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Elgar’s achingly nostalgic Cello Concerto, which will be performed by prize-winning young Polish cellist Maciej Kulakowski

BESYO is part of Create Music, a music education hub managed by Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival as part of the organisation’s remit to remove barriers to cultural experiences across age, ability and communities. The hub provides high quality, inclusive music and arts education and performance opportunities for all children, young people and adults across East Sussex, including music lessons, ensembles, orchestras and bands, workshops and summer schools.

On 26 May, London Symphony Orchestra will be joined on Brighton Dome’s Concert Hall stage by the sensational pianist Yuja Wang for a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s new Piano Concerto No.3, led by pioneering French conductor Francois-Xavier Roth. Written especially for Wang, the piece is a huge three-movement work designed to showcase the soloist’s virtuosity. Beethoven’s evergreen Pastoral Symphony will end the concert.

* Brighton Festival was established in 1967 and is the largest annual curated multi-arts festival in England. The Festival takes place from 6-28 May and stages a host of music, theatre, dance, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and community events in venues and locations across Brighton, Hove and Sussex.