Southampton Youth Orchestra's first concert of the 25-26 season!

Southampton Youth Orchestra gave their first concert of the 25-26 season on 30 November and what a concert it was!

The concert opened with the popular Finlandia overture by Sibelius, Under the baton of assistant conductor Charlie Mann, the orchestra gave a performance that was full of drama.

Continuing under director, Kevin Withell, this was followed by the Elgar Cello Concerto performed by BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist, Ellen Baumring-Gledhill.

Ellen gave a beautiful poetic performance which was sympathetically accompanied by the orchestra. The concert concluded with a rousing and characterful performance of Brahm's First Symphony.

An outstanding concert that a professional orchestra would have been proud of.

Many congratulations to all involved on this amazing performance!

EnsemblesHannah Buckingham1 December 2025Southampton Youth Orchestra (SYO), Concert, Southampton

BSO KS2 Explore the Orchestra: Four Elements - Free Schools Concert & CPD!

Tickets are available for the free KS2 Explore the Orchestra: Four Elements concert taking place at the Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday 22nd January 2026 by Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.

This concert includes a free Teacher CPD workshop which is taking place on Monday 10th November from 4:15 - 5:45 pm, in the Lord Mayor's Banqueting Hall, Portsmouth Guildhall.

This session will provide teachers with everything they need to prepare their class for the concert. It will include all the participatory elements, as well as valuable teaching resources and fun ideas. We strongly encourage teachers to attend this event so they can share the concert’s interactive elements with their students in advance, helping them to get the most out of the concert.

Schools can book their tickets online using this link: Explore the Orchestra in Portsmouth Guildhall 2026

Teachers can book onto the CPD workshop using this link: https://bsomarketing.com/p/50JX-J39/eto-teacher-cpd-portsmouth-sign-up

Music in SchoolsHannah Buckingham3 November 2025Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, CPD, Schools, Concert, Free, Portsmouth Guildhall

Groove Merchant, Groove Syndicate & Rising Stars perform at Turner Sims Family Fun Day!

Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hub presented the Community Stage this year at Turner Sims family day.

We celebrated local talented young people with an exciting line up of performances from performers that take part in Rising Stars open mic nights at The Stage Door as well as performances from Groove Merchant and Groove Syndicate.

Below is an Instagram reel from Turner Sims sharing fun from the day!

“It’s a wrap for Family Day at the Turner Sims Summer Festival 2025.

What an amazing day at the University of Southampton! Music-making workshops, free music outside all day, face painting, families making memories in our beautiful gardens and (of course) in the building where all the musical magic happens!”

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Family Music, Music in the CommunityHannah Buckingham2 July 2025Turner Sims, Rising Stars Open Mic, The Stage Door, Young Musicians, Concert, Hub Partners, Groove Merchant, Groove Syndicate, Music Groups, Photo Gallery

Gigs in June!

Get tickets for the gigs and concerts we have coming up next month with our wonderful young musicians taking centre stage!

🌟 The Stage Door: Rising Stars Open Mic Night

Tuesday 3 June 2025, 6 - 9pm at The Stage Door, Southampton

A monthly open mic night for young musicians in the city, each night will features a house band of local musicians with a wide variety of styles, genres and instruments who host and support young people to participate. Come and support our incredibly talented emerging local artists!

🎷 Studio Band at The Concorde!

Monday 23 June 2025, 7 - 8:30 pm at Eastleigh Concorde Club

Studio Band (fka Jazz Workshop) is a 10 piece Jazz Band playing a selection of modern & classic jazz tunes! They will be joined by special guests from Southampton University: Nomad

🎻 Southampton Youth Strings & Elgar Strings: Summer Concert

Monday 30 June 2025, 7 - 8:30 pm at Cantell School

Our youth strings groups Soutampton Youth Strings and Elgar will be performing in a joint concert at Cantell School, come and celebrate their hard work & listen to their music!

Music in the Community, Music in Schools, EnsemblesHannah Buckingham26 May 2025Concert, The Stage Door, Studio Band, Open Mic Night, Nomad, Southampton University, Southampton Youth Strings (SYS), Elgar, Eastleigh

BSO Explore The Orchestra: Four Elements (May 2025)

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will be performing and livestreaming its brand new Explore the Orchestra: Four Elements Schools' Concert on the afternoon of Wednesday 21 May 2025.

Designed for KS2 students, these thrilling and interactive concerts will be presented by award-winning composer, James Redwood.

Explore the Orchestra: Four Elements will feature music that seeks to uncover the mysteries of the four elements that make up our natural world and inspires scientific discovery.

So, prepare to open your mind as we go on a journey to explore music ranging from the traditional and familiar, to the contemporary and unknown.

This livestream concert is offered to primary schools completely FREE OF CHARGE!

It will remain available for 30 days after the event.

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra will also be delivering an online CPD, led by James, where you will be able learn the participatory elements featured in the concert in advance.

The concert running time is approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

Book now for the Concert and Digital livestream via the buttons below!

Please contact Tom Kay on tkay@bsorchestra.co.uk if you have any specific questions about the event.

For more information on what Explore the Orchestra is, please click here.