This month saw the Orchestra go on a whistle-stop tour to central and southeastern Europe, stopping off in Wrocław, Budapest, Belgrade and Athens. Music Director Vasily Petrenko conducted performances with pianists Yunchan Lim and József Balog.
Last Tuesday we had an unforgettable day at Thorpe Park as our Community and Education team, RPO Resound, together with twenty RPO musicians worked with ACS International Schools to bring exciting activities to 10,000 local young people at the theme park.
I joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as Managing Director on 23 September 2024, and, one month in, I am taking a moment to reflect on what I have discovered about this amazing organisation. My initial observation is, simply, WOW! The RPO does a lot and wants to do a lot, it is nimble, flexible and keen to make anything work and aims for excellence in everything it does. A can-do and will-do attitude runs throughout the organisation, which is essential in the current challenging cultural and financial context.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's community and education programme, RPO Resound, has a new name for its Brent-based project focused on mental health and wellbeing. Formerly known as Brent Music for Mental Health, the project is now called Sound Sanctuary.
