Take 27 musicians, create a new kind of extended chamber group for all instruments, draw from a pool of the most talented young communicators — energetic musicians, socially vibrant young people — and let them do what they can do best. Let them be artist musicians, important interpreters and mentors, the influencers we need for the audiences of tomorrow.
The Bath Festival Orchestra was reformed to invigorate musical engagement and open conversations about the way current and future generations connect through it. With a nod to the past, we will perform the canon of the great works of music written for orchestra using the latest digital technologies.
Our musicians are a living legacy of 500 years of passionate, expressive European and world musical incubation. Their presence provides a new, live forum for the classical arts and creative pursuit in our challenging age.
We need only think of Bach’s progression after Monteverdi, indeed Brahms’ relations with Wagner, or Mozart’s challenge to the world of Salieri. All eras bring with them a change in perspective. So do we.
The BFO pursues change by widening our repertoire both backwards into the past, and forwards to the future. We hope you’ll experience something new in each of the moments between.
From its founding days the orchestra has had a mission to travel locally, to generate concert activity and creativity from its hubs in the South West of England and through the four nations of the UK. On stage and in the broadcast arena, it has been associated and continues to collaborate with the dynamic talent of our time.
We look forward to welcoming you.