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, Bartók, 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.
Download a pdf poster of the instruments of a symphony orchestra.
