String Fling: WATCH ONLINE NOW

Throughout this pandemic Firebird has strived to find a safe and viable path to ensure that our orchestral concerts can continue to be staged. At last, on Thursday 22 October we were able to present our first live concert since February – and we have made this wonderful video of the event which we want to share with you…

Our players have had the most difficult year imaginable so it is essential that we can provide a platform for them to perform. It is also vitally important for the Orchestra’s supporters and anyone else who gets so much out of hearing us play together. At the start of the concert, Artistic Director and CEO Marc Corbett-Weaver spoke of the importance of music in difficult times: 

‘Music has been with us throughout human existence – music is there when we celebrate, it’s there when we entertain and it’s there when we commiserate. Music has the power to take us on a journey and change our mood. It can comfort those who are nervous or afraid, lonely, isolated, vulnerable or bereaved. Which is why I think tonight’s concert is so important for us all by helping music stay alive.’

By the end of the summer, plans were adapted as necessary to meet the latest guidance and legislation. As autumn approached, a series of national announcements meant we had to revisit our plans again. The London musical world is not only small but also very international. Many of our regular players are scattered across the globe, currently unable to return to the UK. Conductors and soloists have been unable to join us because of changing quarantine restrictions. Consequently, the programme for this concert has changed at least four times.