About Us

There are few more thrilling things in British music than Britten Sinfonia on top form.
Ivan Hewett, The Daily Telegraph

Britten Sinfonia is one of the world’s most celebrated and pioneering ensembles. It is praised for the quality of its performances and an intelligent approach to concert programming that is centred around the development of its players. Unusually it does not have a principal conductor or director but chooses to collaborate with a range of the finest international guest artists from across the musical spectrum as suited to each particular project. Founded in 1992, it is inspired by the ethos of Benjamin Britten through world class performances of the highest quality, illuminating and distinctive programmes where the old meets the new, and projects in the local community as well as in the world’s finest halls.

Britten Sinfonia has residencies in Cambridge (where it is also the University’s Orchestra-in -Association), Norwich, and from the 2011-12 season will be Chamber Orchestra in Residence in Brighton. The orchestra has a major concert series at London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall and appears regularly at the Barbican Centre and major UK festivals including the BBC Proms. The orchestra’s international profile is blossoming with regular touring in Europe and South America. Britten Sinfonia is the BBC Radio 3’s broadcast partner and records regularly for Harmonia Mundi and Hyperion.

For the 2011-12 season guest collaborators include Thomas Adés, Sarah Connolly, Sir Mark Elder, Simon Keenlyside, Henning Kraggerud, Pekka Kuusisto and there will be premieres from composers such as Luke Bedford, Elspeth Brooke, Jonathan Dove, Nico Muhly and Owen Pallett. During the season the orchestra’s new professional choir, Britten Sinfonia Voices, will also be launched to create a vocal ensemble which will reflect the range, diversity and quality of the orchestra. Following UK performances, many of these collaborations will tour internationally to countries including the Argentina, Brazil, the Uruguay, USA, the Baltic and major European cities with performances in some of the world’s finest concert halls including New York’s Lincoln Center, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Central to its artistic programmes are a wide range of creative learning projects run by the orchestra. These range from pre and post-concert talks/performances, through to schools projects, coaching, master-classes and professional development opportunities for businesses. The 2011-2012 season also sees the launch of Britten Sinfonia Academy, which will identify and nurture young musicians and composers from across the East of England. Led by Britten Sinfonia musicians and guest artists, the Academy will specialise in the features that make Britten Sinfonia unique, including exploring new music and crossing genres, composition and improvisation, and performing without a conductor. Our Academy will help to develop the next generation of musicians and is central to our vision for the future.

The orchestra has received many awards including two prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Awards in 2007 and 2009 (Ensemble and Chamber Music respectively). Britten Sinfonia recordings have been Grammy nominated and received a Gramophone Award. In 2008 the orchestra and its International Partner, Cambridge University Press, won the Arts & Business International Award for its tour to South America.