The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony Orchestras.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London.
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide, making it one of the fastest selling albums in her country's history.
Ex Cathedra is a leading British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works.
ASV Records was a London-based record label set up by Harley Usill, founder of Argo Records, Decca producer and former Argo general manager, Kevin Daly, and producer Jack Boyce, after Argo's parent company Decca was bought by PolyGram in 1980. ASV stood for "Academy Sound and Vision". The label was bought by the Sanctuary Records Group in May 1999.
The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, commonly abbreviated as HKPO or HKPhil, is the largest symphony orchestra in Hong Kong. First established in 1947 as an amateur orchestra under the name Sino-British Orchestra (中英管弦樂團), it was renamed the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in 1957 and became a professional orchestra in 1974 under the funding of the government.
The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra is a Canadian orchestra specializing in historically-informed performance and based in Toronto. The orchestra plays period instruments appropriate to the era of music, including baroque, classical and romantic eras.
The Sixteen are a United Kingdom-based choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first billed concert in 1979. The associated orchestra was previously known as the Symphony of Harmony and Invention.
Marin Alsop is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ravinia Festival, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2008 and to the American Philosophical Society in 2020.
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930 by cellist Hans Kindler, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They were also the official orchestra of the annual National Memorial Day Concert and A Capitol Fourth celebrations. The NSO provides an education program that aims to expose its audiences to classical music. They also provide teaching resources to families and teachers. The NSO's educational programs include scholarships programs and opportunities for musically talented high school students who want to pursue a career in orchestral music.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth is the second album by English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 3 May 1974 by A&M Records. It is a live recording of the second of his two concerts at the Royal Festival Hall on 18 January 1974, the premiere of his 40-minute orchestral rock piece based on Jules Verne's 1864 science fiction novel of the same name. It tells the story of Professor Lidinbrook, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans, who follow a passage to the Earth's centre originally discovered by Arne Saknussemm, an Icelandic alchemist. Wakeman performs with the London Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Choir, and a group of hand-picked musicians for his rock band, which later became the English Rock Ensemble. Actor David Hemmings narrates the story.
Julian Mark Ovenden is an English actor and singer. He has starred on Broadway and West End stages, in television series in both the United Kingdom and United States, in films, and performed internationally as a concert and recording artist.
Sinfonia of London is a symphony orchestra based in London, England, conducted by John Wilson.
Ross Pople is a New Zealand-born British conductor. He is the principal conductor of the London Festival Orchestra. He has worked with Yehudi Menuhin, Clifford Curzon, David Oistrakh, Kentner, George Malcolm, Sir Adrian Boult, Rudolf Kempe, Benjamin Britten, Witold Lutosławski, Krzysztof Penderecki, Michael Tippett, Georg Solti, Leonard Bernstein, George Benjamin, John Casken, Edwin Roxburgh, Luciano Berio, John Tavener, Malcolm Arnold, Pierre Boulez as well as many other major orchestras, choirs and soloists.
The London Philharmonic Choir (LPC) is one of the leading independent British choirs in the United Kingdom based in London. The patron is Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy and Sir Mark Elder is president. The choir, comprising more than 200 members, holds charitable status and is governed by a committee of 6 elected directors. As a charity, its aims are to promote, improve, develop and maintain education in the appreciation of the art and science of music by the presentation of public concerts.
Simon Hewitt Jones is an English musician. He is the Director of ViolinSchool, a researcher at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
The London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), founded in 2008 by Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames, is an ensemble of young musicians whose stated aim is "to explore and promote new music to an increasingly wide audience". LCO staged its inaugural season at LSO St. Luke's and has since performed at venues and festivals both in the UK and internationally, including the Roundhouse, Latitude Festival, The Old Vic Tunnels, Snape Maltings, Southbank Centre, Barbican, Spitalfield's Music, Royal Opera House, Yota Space, and Unsound Festival. LCO has since provided its work on films including Theeb, Moonlight, Macbeth, Slow West,The Master, The Two Popes and American Animals.
Odaline de la Martinez is a Cuban-American composer and conductor, currently residing in the UK. She is the artistic director of Lontano, a London-based contemporary music ensemble which she co-founded in 1976 with New Zealander flautist Ingrid Culliford, and was the first woman to conduct at the BBC Promenade Concerts in 1984. As well as frequent appearances as a guest conductor with leading orchestras throughout Great Britain, including all the BBC orchestras, she has conducted several leading ensembles around the world, including the Ensemble 2e2m in Paris; the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; the Australian Youth Orchestra; the OFUNAM and the Camerata of the Americas in Mexico; and the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra. She is also known as a broadcaster for BBC Radio and Television and has recorded extensively for several labels.
Polo Osvaldo Ernesto Piatti is an Argentine neo-romantic composer, concert pianist and conductor based in the United Kingdom. He is one of very few high-profile international musicians concentrating exclusively on the creation, performance and promotion of melodic, universally appealing classical music. His compositions are performed all over the world for their evocative and passionate character. Considered a pioneer performer of classical piano improvisations since his youth, he toured Europe, Asia, North and South America premiering his own works as a soloist, performing with international orchestras. Piatti is a member of the Royal Society Of Musicians Of Great Britain, the Ivors Academy and the British Music Society among others.
Roy Frederick Wales BEM was a British choral, orchestral and operatic conductor, and a recipient of a British Empire Medal for Services to Choral Music in HM the Queen's 2020 New Year Honours.
