City of London Sinfonia

City of London Sinfonia (CLS) is an English chamber orchestra based in London. CLS performs regularly across the city of London in venues from East London clubs to traditional Central London concert halls. CLS is Orchestra-in-Residence at the critically acclaimed Opera Holland Park (since 2004) and holds a residency at St Paul's Cathedral. The Orchestra has developed close links with joint venture partners in Mexico and Japan, having toured to Mexico in May 2015 and to Japan in March 2017. It is a registered charity under English law.[1]

For similarly named orchestras, see London Sinfonietta and Sinfonia of London.

CLS performs chamber orchestra and ensemble repertoire from the Baroque period to the present day, and has a programming focus on the human voice.

Now under the direction of Creative Director and Leader Alexandra Wood, City of London Sinfonia collaborates with artists including Tony Adigun, Jessica Cottis, Soumik Datta, Brett Dean, Sian Edwards, Sam Lee and Roderick Williams.

History

Richard Hickox founded City of London Sinfonia in 1971 and remained its music director and artistic director until his death in November 2008.[2] Past principal guest conductors have included Marin Alsop[3] and Douglas Boyd. In November 2009, CLS announced the appointment of Stephen Layton as its second Artistic Director, effective with the 2010-2011 season. Simultaneously, CLS announced the appointment of Michael Collins also as Principal Conductor, effective in September 2010. In 2016, violinist Alexandra Wood was named Creative Director.

City of London Sinfonia has won various awards, such as the Royal Philharmonic Society's Large Ensemble Award, the "Best Opera Recording" Grammy for its recording of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes, and the Arts, Business and Sustainability Award from the national organisation Arts & Business, in recognition of the achievements of its partnership with principal sponsor MMC.

CLS has recorded chamber orchestra and opera repertoire for a number of labels, including Chandos[4][5] and Hyperion,[6] and has worked on a number of choral albums with John Rutter and the Cambridge Singers for Collegium Records.

Artistic directors

References
  1. Charity Commission. CITY OF LONDON SINFONIA LIMITED, registered charity no. 286818.
  2. Richard Morrison (25 November 2008). "Richard Hickox, doyen of British conductors, dies aged 60". The Times. Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  3. Charlotte Higgins (2001-06-11). "Just call me maestra". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  4. Andrew Clements (2008-02-25). "Britten: Death in Venice, Langridge/ Opie/ Chance/ BBC Singers/ City of London Sinfonia/ Hickox". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  5. Andrew Clements (2008-06-06). "Britten: Owen Wingrave, Coleman-Wright/ Opie/ Gilchrist/ Connell/ Watson/ City of London Sinfonia/ Hickox". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
  6. Edward Greenfield (2004-08-13). "Simpson: Symphony no 11; Variations on a theme by Carl Nielsen, City of London Sinfonia/ Taylor". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
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