I joined Sinfonia Viva in January 2022, when all the talk was about contingency plans in case a new variant of the Covid-19 virus appeared, and forward planning with any level of confidence was almost impossible.

Fast-forward 18 months, and I am absolutely delighted to be able to look ahead, with full confidence, to our first concert series in Derby since 2019. We have taken our inspiration for the music included within these concerts from Derby, and the incredible buildings, heritage, art and industry of the City. Tickets are on sale now.

Sinfonia Viva’s musicians will be joined by a host of world class artists for these concerts, as well as featuring a world premiere performance. We will be building new relationships with other celebrated Derby organisations, including the award-winning Museum of Making and Derby Cathedral Choir, and perhaps most importantly, we will be reforging our relationship with you, our audiences from across the region.

The Musuem of the Moon

Our performances at Derby Cathedral begin with a solar system inspired concert, performed under Luke Jerram’s incredible art installation The Museum of the Moon. The Cathedral is a stunning space, and I can’t think of a better way to rediscover familiar musical favourites, like Holst’s Planets, and be uplifted by the beauty of Strauss’ Four Last Songs performed by Nadine Benjamin, than under a scale replica of the moon.

November will see the first performance in a new Friday afternoon series at the Museum of Making. To celebrate, we have commissioned Maddy Aldis-Evans, who is also Sinfonia Viva’s oboist, to write a new work. Maddy took her inspiration from the historic Loom within the Museum’s collection, and this world premiere will offer a musical depiction of weaving cloth. The programme also includes a performance of Pictures at an Exhibition arranged for Wind Quintet. This piece provides listeners with an auditory tour of an art gallery, with musical interpretations of paintings featuring Gnomes, buildings, and even some cattle!

Maddy Aldis-Evans in the Museum of Making

In October half term we will be partnering with the Museum of Making again, and will bring our inclusive family show Wait… What?! back to Derby. A specially written show which answers some of the many questions asked by curious children, is enhanced by a range of interactive elements throughout the performance.

We return to the Museum in January, this time taking inspiration from the incredible, world renowned, collection of paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby held in Derby Museum & Art Gallery. Joesph Wright was working at the height of the Enlightenment, as was his contemporary Mozart. Each man had a significant impact on their artform, inspiring and influencing future generations of artists and musicians to this very day. We will celebrate the wind players of Sinfonia Viva in a performance of Mozart’s Gran Partita, a joyful way to shake off those January blues.

Finally, we return to the Cathedral in March for a programme of some of the most beautiful and uplifting music ever written, including Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater – written around the same time that the Cathedral was built. We will share the stage with Derby Cathedral Choir for this performance, celebrating the incredible talent of these young singers from across the City.

We have a couple more performances taking place in Derby during the winter months – more on them soon – ensuring that Sinfonia Viva is well and truly back, not only as Derby’s orchestra, but as the Orchestra of the East Midlands.

From the familiar to the brand new, this is a concert series with something for everyone, and I very much hope you will join Sinfonia Viva on our voyage of musical discovery over the coming months, and I look forward to meeting you at one of our performances soon.

Book now for our Derby season.

Lucy Galliard, Chief Executive