Now celebrating its 13th Anniversary Season, the London Firebird Orchestra was founded in 2012 with Dame Judi Dench as Patron and Marc Corbett-Weaver as Artistic Director. The orchestra supports extraordinary talented musicians of the younger generation who have either recently graduated or are still studying at one of the major London conservatoires, by enabling them to perform in orchestral concerts and outreach projects.
The orchestra performs regularly at its main home venue St George’s Hanover Square. Every two years it performs at Kings Place and SJE Arts Oxford and it also has a residency at Middlesex University. Firebird for Schools – the orchestra’s tailor-made concert for schoolchildren – takes place annually. Firebird has also performed on several occasions at the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hal, Cadogan Hall, St Paul’s Covent Garden and the Bath Pump Room. Performances have been received fantastic reviews in The Times, The Evening Standard, Classical Music Magazine, Musical Opinion Magazine, Seen & Heard International and BBC Radio London.
“The orchestra was well balanced, with a splendidly rousing and energetic final section, complete with a vivid sense of Beethovenian victory.’
Musical Opinion Magazine
The orchestra has collaborated with many internationally-renowned soloists including Jamal Aliyev, Thomas Gould, George Harliono, Aleksei Kiseliov, Jennifer Pike, Yury Revich, Leonard Schreiber and Raphael Wallfisch. Most concerts are conducted by George Jackson or Michael Thrift, with whom Firebird has a longstanding relationship. The orchestra also organises an annual composition competition for young composers, with a financial award and live performance for the composer of the winning work. Angela Slater is among the recent prize-winners.
“The most exquisite sound imaginable!”
Dame Judi Dench
Over the years, Firebird players have moved on – securing places in leading orchestras across the UK and beyond, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, the Philharmonia, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Orchestra of Opera North, among many others.