The first season of Orchestras Live will open with a gala concert by OSJ (Orchestra of St John?s ? pictured) at the Courtyard Theatre in Hereford on October 15. Twenty five concerts and four education projects featuring thirteen of England?s chamber orchestras will be presented during the season, in venues where live orchestral music has rarely been staged in recent years.
The series, funded by Arts Council England, managed by Eastern Orchestral Board and supported by Classic FM, aims to expand the market for chamber orchestras. It will establish a network of orchestral promoters in less well served areas of the country. Jan Ford, Marketing Manager for Orchestras Live, said ?This new network of promoters is not just about providing music for audiences ?in the know?. We?re already talking to orchestras about commissioning programmes for particular target audiences such as pre-school children and their parents, families and young people?.