The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Its first London concert was reported to have filled the hall ‘with golden tone which enveloped the listener’. Since that 1946 performance, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has upheld the legacy of its debonair founder Sir Thomas Beecham and is proud to be approaching its seventieth year of success. Now under the inspiring leadership of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Charles Dutoit, the RPO continues to bring first-class performances of a wide range of musical repertoire to worldwide audiences. The Orchestra has always prided itself on the artistic calibre of its conductors, including Rudolf Kempe, Antal Doráti, André Previn and, more recently, Daniele Gatti. Other highly regarded artists who regularly take the podium today include Principal Guest Conductor Pinchas Zukerman, Principal Associate Conductor Alexander Shelley and Permanent Associate Conductor Grzegorz Nowak. The Orchestra’s London home is Cadogan Hall, in the heart of Chelsea, in which the intimate environment is ideal for orchestral performances, with upcoming concerts featuring Alexander Shelley, Eduardo Portal, Laura van der Heijden, Natasha Paremski and Matthew Trusler. Also key to the Orchestra’s schedule is the annual concert series at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, which, in its 2016 season, boasts performances from Charles Dutoit, Pinchas Zukerman, Thomas Dausgaard, Gautier Capuçon and Chloë Hanslip. The last of the Orchestra’s major London venues is the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, where audiences can experience performances that range from large-scale choral and orchestral repertoire to themed evenings of familiar works. Further afield in the UK, the Orchestra enjoys established residencies in Croydon, Northampton, Hull, Lowestoft, Reading, Crawley, Ipswich, High Wycombe, Dartford, Scunthorpe, Cambridge and Southend-on-Sea, as part of its extensive regional touring programme. Other venues on the agenda this season include Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Cheltenham Town Hall, Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone, G Live in Guildford and the Rose Theatre in Kingston. Complementing these performances, RPO resound, the Orchestra’s vibrant community and education programme, pioneers projects that are designed to promote engagement with and access to music-making. Specially trained musicians from the Orchestra work alongside project leaders to deliver workshops in a wide variety of settings, from homeless shelters to hospices; youth clubs to prisons; libraries to aquariums. Launched in 1993, RPO resound is still one of the most celebrated programmes of its kind in the UK. The Orchestra also enjoys a busy schedule overseas, undertaking several international tours each year, with recent engagements including concerts in Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Poland and China. Recent and forthcoming highlights include performances of Berlioz’s Les Troyens in Geneva with Charles Dutoit, alongside further concerts in Lyon and Rolle with the pianist Khatia Buniatishvili; tours to Turkey and Italy with artists including Pinchas Zukerman, Sarah Chang and Denis Matsuev, and a month-long tour of the USA in January 2016 with Pinchas Zukerman and Jonathan Biss. Launched in 2015, the Orchestra’s brand new, accessible website (www.rpo.co.uk) features full details of upcoming events alongside comprehensive information about the organisation. In addition, the Orchestra’s digital portfolio includes its own online radio station (The Sound of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), the RPO Rewards loyalty ticket app and its many social media networks, including an online video channel (RPO TV on YouTube) offering a unique insight into the life of this world-leading orchestra, written, filmed and directed exclusively by the players. Alongside its thriving live performance schedule, the Orchestra records prolifically for film, television and all the major commercial record companies and owns its own record label, with an extensive catalogue of recordings.