PLAYING ON
A DIFFERENT KIND OF ORCHESTRA
Setting the standard for bold musical experiences.
Inspiring communities across the East of England with internationally acclaimed music making.
Building connections with other art forms and musical genres.
Creating breakthrough opportunities for the next generation of composers and performers.
Three years on
In 2023, we launched our Play On appeal - in direct response to the full withdrawal of our regular Arts Council England funding. That meant that we lost 100% of our regular public funding, resulting in a shortfall of £1.2m. Everything we had built over the last 30 years and planned for the future was at risk.
We were overwhelmed with the positive response and outpouring of support for Britten Sinfonia, as people rallied around us to help us Play On in our typically bold, typically ambitious, typically Britten Sinfonia fashion.
But there's still a problem...
At the time of Play On, we were looking at a three-year £1.2 million hole in our finances because of the withdrawal of regular Arts Council funding. But last year, the next National Portfolio funding round was postponed from April 2026 to April 2028. Overnight, the cut became a five-year, £2 million problem for us.
We have already made great strides in filling this financial hole, but we still need to raise £500,000 to keep Britten Sinfonia Playing On.
“Britten Sinfonia ought to enjoy national treasure status”
“one of our most innovative and vital ensembles”
We are so proud of what we have achieved over the last few years. How many other UK orchestras have premiered over 70 new works in the last five years? Who else has performed with an ensemble of Moog synthesizers, with Jacob Collier, with Professor Brian Cox at the Royal Opera House, or with The Sixteen Choir in the Sistine Chapel?
And what other arts organisation, in the face of potentially existential cuts, would have found a way of actually expanding its Learning & Participation programme around the East of England? This sees us delivering groundbreaking music making projects on the wards in Addenbrooke’s Hospital and Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, in primary school settings throughout the region, and with an in-depth partnership with Thetford Academy and the wider Thetford community.
Playing On will enable us to build on these successes and support us to the point when we will be eligible to rejoin the National Portfolio in 2028.
Playing On means more thrilling Recordings, New Music Commissions, groundbreaking Surround Sound Playlist concerts and impactful Learning & Participation work in the classroom, on the wards, and in secondary schools and their communities.
To find out more about what your donation will support click on the links above, or to go straight to our donation form click donate.
Thank you for your generous support.
Watch our original appeal film
The Play On film features (in order of appearance): Steve Reich (composer), Dobrinka Tabakova (composer), Alison Balsom (trumpeter), Dani Howard (composer), Mishka Rushdie Momen (pianist), Benjamin Grosvenor (pianist), Sir James MacMillan (composer), Mahan Esfahani (harpsichordist), Roderick Williams (baritone), Thomas Adès (composer and conductor), James B. Wilson (composer), Judith Weir (composer), Dame Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano, Rachel Moorhouse (primary school teacher, Peterborough), Catherine Pride (nurse, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge), James Mayhew (children's book author and illustrator), Nico Muhly (composer), Urja Desai Thakore (artistic director, Pagrav Dance Company).
“We definitely need more live classical music outside of our biggest urban centres – in smaller cities, towns and rural spaces. Fortunately we have a successful model for this, widely considered to be the UK’s finest chamber orchestra – inventive in its public approach, accessible and creative. This is, of course, Britten Sinfonia. Hearing less of – or even losing – this vital ensemble is not an option, especially in its East of England centres. Please support Britten Sinfonia's Play On appeal.”
