2024/25 Season Opening

About LSO Pathways

LSO Pathways is a two-year programme of support and activity designed for emerging orchestral musicians, who face barriers which may have hindered their progress and development. Each participant is matched with a mentor from the LSO, who carefully nurtures their personal and professional development over the two years.

LSO Pathways is kindly supported by The Thistle Trust.

About Guildhall School/Orchestral Artistry

Orchestral Artistry is a professional specialism within the Guildhall School’s Artist Masters programme for exceptional instrumentalists seeking a career in orchestral playing. Delivered in close association with the London Symphony Orchestra’s family of musicians – orchestral members, conductors and guest soloists – the programme is highly distinctive and ground-breaking in scope, focusing on orchestral training and repertoire, education and outreach, and early career support.

Karen Ní Bhroin

conductor

With a career that spans both sides of the Atlantic and consistently draws attention, Karen Ní Bhroin has established herself as one of Ireland’s foremost young conductors. This season, Karen continues her work in the opera field assisting English National Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love. On the concert podium, she conducts the Royal Albert Hall’s Christmas concert with the BBC Concert Orchestra presented by Sandi Toksvig, and continues to build her relationship with the London Symphony Orchestra taking part in the opening night of the 2024/25 Season, along with a number of education projects. She is an award recipient of the prestigious Taki Alsop Fellowship for 2024, following two years of mentorship under the esteemed Marin Alsop.

Last season, Karen made her debut with the London Symphony Orchestra and returned to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and Manchester Camerata. At home, she was the Music Director for a production of Breathwork with Irish National Opera, conducted the Irish Chamber Orchestra with soprano Ailish Tynan and joined the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at the National Concert Hall, Dublin. Over the summer, she appeared at Bregenz Festival, conducting the World Premiere of Éna Brennan’s Hold Your Breath directed by David Pountney.

About LSO Pathways

LSO Pathways is a two-year programme of support and activity designed for emerging orchestral musicians, who face barriers which may have hindered their progress and development. Each participant is matched with a mentor from the LSO, who carefully nurtures their personal and professional development over the two years.

LSO Pathways is kindly supported by The Thistle Trust.

LSO Create’s London Carnival has three ‘parents’. As its name suggests, it owes a lot to Hector Berlioz’s Roman Carnival. This is in terms of the contrasts in energy as well as its structure, with calm and exuberance taking turns and even superimposing on top of one another.

However, while we may love Rome, our lives are focused in London, and the city itself has given rise to the content of the piece. London’s unique cultural mix is reflected in both melody and ambience.

Finally, the piece has been brought together by the members of LSO Create who have explored these themes over the past week to bring their own musical interpretation to life.

Programme note by Mark Withers

Performers

Alex
Angel
Beth
Conor
Dami
Dave
Dolores
Emma
Jackie
Jane
Jessica
Joe
Karen
Kwaga
Marcello
Mark
Miray
Paul
Paula
Peter
Sahra
Shaahid
Tom

Mark Withers

Animateur

Mark performs and creates music working alongside musicians from all walks of life. He designs and leads creative outreach projects as well as training programmes for artists, working regularly with Accentus, La Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth, the Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale, Insula Orchestra and the Paris Conservatoire. Mark has helped to establish new programmes with groups including the Hallé Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orquesta Nacional de España and currently directs ongoing programmes with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Festival d’Aix. As a performer, he has performed on modern and period instruments with groups such as Orchestre des Champs Elysées, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Orquestra de Cadaqués, where Mark was a member from 1988 to 2001.

Mark has a special interest in music and vulnerable communities. For over 25 years he has led the LSO’s programme for children in hospital schools and directed LSO Create. Mark is an advisor to the charity Jessie’s Fund, providing music for disabled and life-limited children throughout the UK.

About LSO String Experience

The LSO String Experience scheme enables young string players at the start of their professional careers to gain work experience by playing in rehearsals and concerts with the LSO. Since 1992, the scheme has been building the next generation of professional orchestral musicians. Approximately 20 current members of the LSO are previous participants of the String Experience scheme.

The LSO String Experience Scheme is kindly supported by the Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust, the Idlewild Trust, The Thistle Trust and The Thriplow Charitable Trust.