Kenneth Woods embarks on his fifth season as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the English Symphony Orchestra (ESO), building on a fruitful conductor-orchestra partnership that continues to go from strength to strength. The 2017-18 season reflects Woods’ wide-ranging talents, including Classical and Romantic perennials, popular evergreens, commissions and world-premieres, and multi-media presentations.

With decades-old roots established throughout the Midlands, Woods and the ESO continue to cultivate their associations throughout Elgar Country and the surrounding region with an increased number of performances in over a half dozen venues. Further afield, Woods and the ESO return to two cherished London venues and debut in Bristol. Outside of the traditional concert hall, the ESO continues its valuable work with young musicians through its Orchestra Courses, and performances for the elderly in care homes and hospices.

Worcester Live’s Orchestra-in-Residence
The 2017-18 season marks the ESO’s second as Orchestra-in-Residence of Worcester Live, the city’s leading live events presenter. Four performances in Worcester’s premiere venues Huntingdon Hall and the Swan Theatre range from family-friendly events to world-premieres and unique theatrical stagings.

The Worcester Live series gets under way on 26 August 2017 with an afternoon of musical storytelling in Huntingdon Hall. Woods welcomes Worcester-based actor Ben Humphrey who narrates musical settings of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Ugly Duckling by Kenneth Woods and the Brothers Grimm’s Bremen Town Musicians by Kile Smith alongside Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf.

Returning to Huntingdon Hall on 15 October 2017, Woods and the ESO recall their roots and the repertoire that has earned them worldwide esteem. The all-English programme includes Elgar’s Serenade for Strings and a special arrangement of his Salut d’Amour by Donald Fraser. The ESO’s former Principal Guest Conductor, Yehudi Menuhin, commissioned the arrangement and conducted it on tours with the ESO throughout the 1990’s. Also on the programme are Tippett’s Little Music for Strings, excerpts from Walton’s film score for Henry V, and the world-premiere performance of Concerto for Trumpet, Timpani and Strings by the ESO’s John McCabe Composer-Residence Philip Sawyers, with trumpet soloist Simon Desbruslais.

On 10 February 2018, soprano April Fredrick, the ESO’s Artist-in-Affiliation, joins Woods and the orchestra in Huntingdon Hall for an evocative programme that explores themes of childhood and nature through the music of some of the greatest 19th century Viennese composers. Fredrick performs songs by Schubert and Humperdinck, and the ESO makes its first foray into Mahler’s symphonic output with his Symphony No. 4 in the chamber version by Erwin Stein.

The ESO’s final Worcester Live event of the season takes place on 4 May 2018 at the Swan Theatre and features two classic theatrical presentations: a new production of Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale with actors from the Worcester Repertory Company, and a rare staging of Copland’s complete ballet Appalachian Spring, first choreographed by Martha Graham, with dancers of Academy Theatre Arts.

More Music in Malvern
Woods and the ESO cement their connection with Elgar’s beloved Malvern – whose Hills and surrounding countryside inspired so much of the composer’s music – with the launch of a new series at the Malvern Priory and appearances at the Malvern Summer Proms and Malvern Theatres.

On 27 August 2017, Woods and the ESO headline the Malvern Summer Prom, a spectacular late summer evening set against the backdrop of the Malvern Hills. Including a firework finale with music to match by Bernstein, Copland, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Rogers and Hammerstein, and John Williams, plus audience favourites Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem, the Malvern Summer Prom is supported by Morgan Cars.

A new series at the Malvern Priory launches on 11 October 2017 with Woods conducting the ESO in a programme of classical masterpieces: Haydn’s visionary and provocative “Farewell” Symphony, Mozart’s final symphony, “Jupiter”, and Schumann’s Cello Concerto featuring soloist Raphael Wallfisch.

On 4 November 2017, the ESO’s new leader Zoë Beyers directs and solos in a programme of string orchestra favourites by Britten, Elgar, Kreisler, Mozart and Schubert. In addition to the Malvern Priory, the programme will be performed on 29 September 2017 at the Regal Theatre in Minehead, Somerset.

For the third and final season appearance at the Malvern Priory, on 17 March 2018, Woods and the ESO welcome the Academia Musica Choir for a performance of Haydn’s powerful Mass in the Time of War, which shares the programme with another evocation of the Napoleonic wars, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”, and the world premiere of Philip Sawyers’ colourful The Valley of the Vision, inspired by the bold paintings of Samuel Palmer.

Woods and the ESO return to the Malvern Theatres on 15 February 2018 performing three Romantic masterworks: Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture, Schumann’s Symphony No. 3, “Rhenish”, and Brahms’s Violin Concerto with soloist Chloë Hanslip.

Sunday Afternoons in Shirehall, Hereford
Woods’ and the ESO’s popular series at the Shirehall in Hereford has resulted in a return to the venue for a third season of Sunday afternoon concerts. Humour and jest infuse the first concert of the season, on 1 October 2017, which includes Haydn’s comical Symphony No. 60, “The Distracted Gentleman”, Milhaud’s surreal Le boeuf sur le toit (“The Ox on the Roof”) and Mozart’s jovial Symphony No. 39.

On 25 February 2018, violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky joins Woods and the ESO for the world premiere of Philip Sawyers’ Violin Concerto. The programme also includes Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2.

On 6 May 2018, the ESO joins forces with Hereford Sixth Form College and Hereford Music Service for a celebration of youth and community. Woods conducts the Academia Musica Orchestra and Choir, whose musicians receive advanced training at Hereford Sixth Form College, in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major. The ESO’s Assistant Conductor Michael Young directs the Hereford Youth Orchestra in Weber’s Overture to Die Freischütz. And Woods conducts the ESO and their young colleagues in Beethoven’s life-affirming Leonore Overture No. 3.

Return to Cheltenham
Following a successful debut in Cheltenham Town Hall in 2016, Woods and the ESO return to the Gloucestershire venue for two concerts this season. On 21 November 2017, the programme features Elgar’s Violin Concerto with frequent collaborator Alexander Sitkovetsky, and the premiere performance of Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26, in a new orchestration by Kenneth Woods, being recorded for release in 2018.

On 21 May 2018, cellist Maja Bogdanovich makes her debut with Woods and the ESO performing Saint-Saëns’ virtuosic Cello Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s rarely performed Pezzo capriccioso. The programme opens with Webern’s Oberon Overture, and closes with Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, “Spring,” comprising part of a cycle of Schumann’s four symphonies that the ESO is undertaking in 2018 under the baton of Woods, whose recorded cycle for AVIE Records has been hailed as one of the finest.

Performances in Bristol and London
Woods and the ESO share their musical flair and imaginative programming with London audiences in return appearances to two of the capital’s venerated venues. On 4 March 2018, the orchestra performs at LSO St. Luke’s – the site of the acclaimed world-premiere of Deborah Pritchard’s Wall of Water – for a unique multi-media staging of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14, featuring soprano April Fredrick and baritone Matthew Sharp with images by photographer Alexey Titarenko and videography by Helga Landauer. The programme also includes excerpts from Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a, and Kaija Saariaho’s Terra Memoria, which was given its UK premiere by Woods and the ESO at LSO St. Luke’s in 2014.

On 18 April 2018, Woods and the ESO reunite with clarinettist Emma Johnson at St. John’s Smith Square for an all-American programme including Copland’s Clarinet Concerto, Ives’ Symphony No. 3, “Camp Meeting”, Piston’s Sinfonietta, and a new work jointly commissioned by the ESO and St. John’s Smith Square by Oregon-born Jesse Jones, winner of the 2006 Charles Ives Prize.

In May 2018, Woods and the ESO debut at St. George’s, Bristol, premiering David Matthews’ Symphony No. 9, the second work in Woods’ and the ESO’s 21st Century Symphony Project. Also on the programme is Donald Fraser’s acclaimed orchestral arrangement of Elgar’s Piano Quintet, and a featured performance by emerging cellist and winner of the 2017 BBC Young Musician of the Year, Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

ESO Youth: Orchestra Courses for Young Musicians
ESO Youth has been running children’s orchestra courses for over 20 years, attracting young musicians from throughout the UK. Based out of Worcester’s Elgar School of Music and led by ESO musicians violinist Noriko Tsuzaki and horn player James Topp, the courses instil orchestral discipline matched by improvisation and adventure with the primary aim of helping children develop musicianship as well as confidence and sociability. The varied activities on each course include full and sectional orchestral rehearsals, singing, group improvisation and master classes. Each course concludes with a short informal concert. Beginners and Intermediate Orchestra Courses take place during Autumn 2017, Spring 2018 and Summer 2018 Half Terms, with further events being added throughout the season. A highlight of the forthcoming year is Morgan Cars’ “Run for the Hills”, an event on 27 August 2017 at Malvern Three Counties Showground where the Intermediate Orchestra will perform a specially-commissioned piece by ESO John McCabe Composer-in-Residence Philip Sawyers.

Concerts in Care Homes & Hospices
The ESO has been bringing music into care homes and hospices for over a decade. The idea was initiated by ESO cellist Corinne Frost who, with her colleagues, understood the benefits that musical stimulation would provide to people who do not otherwise have access to live performances. As well as having the ability to trigger memories, research has shown that the performance of live music enhances the quality of life of elderly people and those with dementia, and reduces agitation, stress and pain. Evidence also demonstrates improved communication, greater levels of understanding between patients and their caregivers, and the reduction in the need for medication to alleviate distress. Such research validates the ESO musicians’ anecdotal evidence as well as feedback received from beneficiaries. Years of experience in this field have made the ESO musicians adept at choosing appropriate music and interaction with their audiences. ESO’s Concerts in Care Homes & Hospices is managed by Mary Stevens.

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For further information, image or interview requests please contact Melanne Mueller, MusicCo International, +44 7788 662 461 or +1 917 907 2785, melanne@musiccointernational.com

For further information about the English Symphony Orchestra, please visit www.eso.co.uk

For further information about Kenneth Woods, please visit www.kennethwoods.net

For ticket information, please see chronological listing below

2017-2018 SEASON PROGRAM DETAILS

Saturday, 26 August 2017 – 3:30 pm
Huntingdon Hall, 24 Chapel Walk, Worcester WR1 3LD
John Williams (b. 1932) Hedwig’s Flight (Theme from Harry Potter)
Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953) Peter and the Wolf
Kenneth Woods (b. 1968) The Ugly Duckling
Kile Smith (b. 1966) Bremen Town Musicians
Randy Newman (b. 1943) You’ve Got a Friend in Me (Theme from Toy Story)
Ben Humphrey narrator / singer
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
In association with Worcester Live; tickets £16.50 (under 16s £8, family of four £39); book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

Sunday, 27 August 2017 – 7:30 pm
Malvern Summer Prom Three Counties Showground, Malvern WR13 6NW
Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990) Overture to Candide 

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) Summertime from Porgy & Bess

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Saturday Night Waltz from Billy the Kid
Bernstein Mambo from West Side Story
Mikhail Glinka (1804 – 1857) Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Lensky’s Aria from Eugene Onegin

Tchaikovsky Romeo and Juliet – duet for soprano, tenor and orchestra
Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture 

Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (“Land of Hope and Glory”)
Hubert Parry (1848 – 1918) arr. Elgar Jerusalem
Sofia Larsson soprano
Peter Aisher tenor
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Sponsored by Morgan Cars; tickets £13 - £58, weekend packages available; book online 

Friday, 29 September 2017 – 7:30 pm
Regal Theatre, The Avenue, Minehead, Somerset TA24 5UQ
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Divertimento in D Major, K136

Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) Rondo in A Major for violin and strings, D438
Fritz Kreisler (1875 – 1962) Liebesfreud, Liebesleid and Schön Rosmarin
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) Serenade for Strings

Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976) Simple Symphony
Zoë Beyers director and violin soloist
English String Orchestra
Tickets £18 (students £2); book online or by phone via the Regal Theatre 01643 706430

Sunday, 1 October 2017 – 3:30 pm
Shirehall, St. Peter’s Square, Hereford HR1 2HX
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) Symphony No. 60 in C Major, “Il Distratto” (“The Distracted Gentleman”)

Darius Milhaud (1894 – 1972) Le boeuf sur le toit (“The Ox on the Roof”) for violin and orchestra

Astor Piazzolla (1921 – 1992) Three Tangos

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major
Zoë Beyers violin
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets £5 - £24; book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

Wednesday, 11 October 2017 – 7:30 pm
Great Malvern Priory, Church Street, Malvern WR14 2AY Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) Symphony No. 45 in F-sharp minor, “Farewell”
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) Cello Concerto in A minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Symphony No. 41 in C Major, “Jupiter”
Raphael Wallfisch cello

Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets £22.40 (over 60s £19.04, ESO Friends £16.80, under 18s £8.96); book online or by phone via Malvern Theatres 01684 892277

Sunday, 15 October 2017 – 3:30 pm
Huntingdon Hall, 24 Chapel Walk, Worcester WR1 3LD William Walton (1902 – 1983) Two pieces from Henry V

Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934), arr. Donald Fraser (b. 1947) Salut d’Amour

Philip Sawyers (b. 1951) Concerto for Trumpet, Timpani and Strings (world premiere) 

Elgar Serenade for Strings

Michael Tippett (1905 – 1998) Little Music for Strings
Simon Desbruslais trumpet
Kenneth Woods conductor
English String Orchestra
In association with Worcester Live; tickets £19 (concessions £16.50, under 16s £8, family ticket £35); book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

Saturday, 4 November 2017 – 7:30 pm
Great Malvern Priory, Church Street, Malvern WR14 2AY Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) Divertimento in D Major, K136

Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) Rondo in A Major for violin and strings, D438
Fritz Kreisler (1875 – 1962) Liebesfreud, Liebesleid and Schön Rosmarin
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) Serenade for Strings

Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976) Simple Symphony
Zoë Beyers director and violin soloist
English String Orchestra
Tickets £22.40 (over 60s £19.04, ESO Friends £16.80, under 18s £8.96); book online or by phone via Malvern Theatres 01684 892277

Tuesday, 21 November 2017 – 7:30 pm
Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, Cheltenham GL50 1QA
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934) Violin Concerto

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) arr. Kenneth Woods (b. 1968) Piano Quartet in A Major (world premiere)
Alexander Sitkovetsky violin

Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets £13.50 - £33.50; book online or by phone via Cheltenham Town Hall 0844 576 2210

Saturday, 10 February 2018 – 7:30 pm
Huntingdon Hall, 24 Chapel Walk, Worcester WR1 3LD Johann Strauss II (1825 – 1899) arr. Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951) Emperor Waltz

Engelbert Humperdinck (1854 – 1921) Der kleine Sandmann from Hansel and Gretel
Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828) Die forelle

Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911) Das irdische Leben

Schubert Tod und das Mädchen

Mahler arr. Erwin Stein (1885 – 1958) Symphony No. 4 in G Major (chamber version)
April Fredrick soprano
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
In association with Worcester Live; tickets £19 (concessions £16.50, under 16s £8, family ticket £35); book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

Thursday, 15 February 2018 – 7:30 pm
Malvern Theatres, Grange Road, Malvern WR14 3HB
Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847) Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”)
Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) Violin Concerto
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, “Rhenish” 

Chloë Hanslip violin
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra

Tickets £15 - £30; book online or by phone via Malvern Theatres 01684 892277

Sunday, 25 February 2018 – 3:30 pm
Shirehall, St. Peter’s Square, Hereford HR1 2HX
Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847) Hebrides Overture (“Fingal’s Cave”)
Philip Sawyers (b. 1951) Violin Concerto (world premiere)
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) Symphony No. 2 in C Major
Alexander Sitkovetsky violin

Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets £5 - £24; book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

Sunday, 4 March 2018 – 7:30 pm
LSO St. Luke’s, 161 Old Street, London EC1V 9NG
Kaija Saariaho ( b. 1952) Terra Memoria
Dmitri 
Shostakovich (1906 – 1975) Symphony No. 14 (multimedia staging)
Shostakovich Chamber Symphony, Op. 110a (selections)
April Fredrick soprano

Matthew Sharp baritone
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets on sale 1 January 2018

Saturday, 17 March 2018 – 7:30 pm
Great Malvern Priory, Church Street, Malvern WR14 2AY
Philip Sawyers (b. 1951) The Valley of Vision (world premiere)
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) Missa in tempore belli (“Mass in Time of War”)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”
Academia Musica Choir

Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets £22.40 (over 60s £19.04, ESO Friends £16.80, under 18s £8.96); book online or by phone via Malvern Theatres 01684 892277

Thursday, 19 April 2018 – 7:30 pm
St. John’s Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HA
Charles Ives (1874 – 1954) Symphony No. 3, “The Camp Meeting”

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Clarinet Concerto 

Jesse Jones (b. 1978) New work, jointly commissioned by ESO and SJSS
Walter Piston (1894 – 1976) Sinfonietta 

Emma Johnson clarinet
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Book by phone via St. John’s Smith Square 020 7222 1061

Friday, 4 May 2018 – 7:30 pm
Swan Theatre, The Moors, Worcester WR1 3ED
Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) The Soldier’s Tale (staged with actors from Worcester Repertory Company)

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Appalachian Spring (complete ballet with dancers from Academy Theatre Arts)
In association with Worcester Live; tickets £19 (concessions £16.50, under 16s £8, family ticket £35); book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

Sunday, 6 May 2018 – 3:30 pm
Shirehall, St. Peter’s Square, Hereford HR1 2HX
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) Mass in C Major *
Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826) Overture to Die Freischütz **
Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 3 *
Academia Musica Orchestra and Choir

Herefordshire Youth Orchestra
Kenneth Woods conductor *
Michael Young conductor **
Tickets £5 - £24; book online or by phone via Worcester Live 01905 611427

May 2018
St. George’s Bristol, Great George Street, Bristol BS1 5RR
Edward Elgar (1857 – 1934), arr. Donald Fraser (b. 1947) Piano Quintet (version for symphony orchestra)
David Matthews (b. 1943) Symphony No. 9 
(world premiere)
with Sheku Kaneh-Mason cello
Full details and repertoire to be announced autumn 2017
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets available in autumn 2017 from the St. George’s Bristol box office 0845 40 24 001

Thursday, 21 June 2018 – 7:30 pm
Cheltenham Town Hall, Imperial Square, Cheltenham GL50 1QA
Carl Maria von Weber (1786 – 1826) Overture to Oberon
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 – 1921) Cello Concerto No. 1
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) Pezzo capriccioso 

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) Symphony No. 1, “Spring”
Maja Bogdanovic cello
Kenneth Woods conductor
English Symphony Orchestra
Tickets £13.50 - £33.50; book online or by phone via Cheltenham Town Hall 0844 576 2210

NOTES TO EDITORS
Hailed by Gramophone as a "symphonic conductor of stature" and by The Guardian as a "charismatic conductor," conductor, rock guitarist, author and cellist Kenneth Woods has worked with many orchestras of international distinction including the National Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Budapest Festival Orchestra and State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared on the stages of some of the world’s leading music festivals such as Aspen and Lucerne. His work on the concert platform and in the recording studio has led to numerous broadcasts on BBC Radio 3, National Public Radio, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In 2013, he was appointed as the English Symphony Orchestra’s third principal conductor and artistic director, succeeding William Boughton and Vernon Handley. In 2015, he became the second Artistic Director of Colorado MahlerFest, one of only two institutions in North America (the other being the New York Philharmonic) to receive the Gold Medal of the International Gustav Mahler Society.

Kenneth Woods was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of the Stratford-upon-Avon based Orchestra of the Swan in 2010. He and the orchestra recorded the first complete cycle of the symphonies of Austrian composer Hans Gál, paired with those of Robert Schumann for AVIE Records. This series has been among the most widely praised classical recording projects in recent years, highlighted in National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, Performance Today, BBC Radio 3, the Sunday New York Times, the Sunday Telegraph, Washington Post, and was an Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and won the prestigious Diapason d’or in France. Among his other recordings are Spring Sounds, Spring Seas (MSR), a MusicWeb ‘Record of the Year’; orchestral music of Philip Sawyers, another MusicWeb ‘Record of the Year’, (Nimbus); music of Brahms and Schoenberg (Somm); new works for violin, cello and narrator, and string trios by Schnittke, Penderecki, Kurtág and Weinberg (AVIE); and contemporary trumpet concerti by John McCabe, Robert Saxton and Deborah Pritchard with trumpeter Simon Desbruslais (Signum). His debut recording with the English String Orchestra, Deborah Pritchard’s Wall of Water, was shortlisted for Gramophone Critic’s Choice of 2015. In 2016, he released volume one in a new series exploring the orchestral music of Ernst Krenek for Toccata, chosen by the Sunday Times as one of the Best Recordings of 2016; and two major releases for Avie: the world-premiere recording of Hans Gál’s Piano Concerto, a Gramophone Critic’s Choice, and the new orchestral version of the Elgar Piano Quintet arranged by Donald Fraser. In 2017, Woods and the ESO released their first operatic recording, the world premiere of John Joubert’s opera Jane Eyre, recorded live in October 2016, a performance hailed as “Premiere of the Year” in Classical Music Magazine, the “highlight of an incredible year of music in Birmingham” by the Birmingham Post, and Recording of the Month by MusicWeb. Among his major initiatives at the ESO is the 21st Century Symphony Project, a multi-year endeavour to commission, premiere and record nine symphonies by nine different composers, beginning with the premiere of Philip Sawyers’ Symphony No. 3 in February 2017.

As a cello soloist and chamber musician, Woods’ collaborators have included members of the Toronto, Chicago and Cincinnati symphonies, the Minnesota, Gewandhaus and Concertgebouw orchestras and the La Salle, Pro Arte, Tokyo and Audubon quartets. He is currently cellist of the string trio Ensemble Epomeo, with whom he performs regularly in the UK, Europe and the USA.

A widely read writer and frequent broadcaster, Woods’ blog, A View from the Podium, is one of the 25 most popular classical blogs in the world. He has spoken on Mahler on NPR’s All Things Considered and BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.

The Worcestershire-based English Symphony Orchestra, the “International Orchestra of Elgar Country”, is an ensemble that has become synonymous with artistic excellence, innovative and visionary programming, distinctive commissioning, ground-breaking recording, a welcoming and immersive concert experience, transformative youth programmes and service to the community.

With the appointment of Kenneth Woods as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director in 2013, the orchestra has become a major force in British musical life. Recent highlights include the world premiere performance and recording of John Joubert’s opera Jane Eyre (SOMM Recordings), the chart-topping recording of Donald Fraser’s orchestration of the Elgar Piano Quintet (AVIE Records) and the first survey of the complete Piano Concertos by Ernst Krenek (Toccata Classics).

Founded by conductor William Boughton in 1978, the ESO has a long and distinguished history of collaboration with legendary figures of British music making. Vernon “Tod” Handley became the orchestra’s second Principal Conductor in 2007, and led the orchestra until his death. Over the years, the ESO has worked with a distinguished list of instrumentalists, composers and conductors, including Nigel Kennedy, Stephen Isserlis, Daniel Hope, Michael Tippett, Nicholas Maw and Yehudi Menuhin, who was appointed the ESO’s Principal Guest Conductor in 1991, and led the orchestra on a number of international tours.

British music has always been a central part of the orchestra’s mission. Appropriately for an orchestra based in Elgar’s hometown, the ESO has
 made many acclaimed recordings of that composer’s music, and that of other major 20th century British composers including Vaughan Williams, Britten, Butterworth and Bridge. The ESO discography highlights a commitment to the music of our time; in addition to the notable recordings which grew out of the orchestra’s affiliation with Sir Michael Tippett, are recordings of music by John Metcalfe, John Joubert, and Michael and Lennox Berkeley. John McCabe served as the orchestra’s Composer-in-Association from 2013 until his death in 2015. Following McCabe’s passing, the ESO appointed Philip Sawyers as “John McCabe Composer-in-Association.” Other recent recording projects include newly-commissioned works for trumpet, piano and strings with Simon Desbruslais and Clare Hammond (Signum), Hans Gál’s Concertino for Cello and Orchestra with Matthew Sharp (AVIE Records), and the Third Symphony of Philip Sawyers (Nimbus), the first work premiered as part of the orchestra’s 21st Century Symphony Project, an undertaking which entails commissioning, premiering and recording new symphonies by leading composers.

Highlights of recent seasons include triumphant debuts in LSO St. Luke’s and St John’s Smith Square in London, and the Elgar Concert Hall in Birmingham. The orchestra has also appeared at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, King’s Place in London and Cheltenham Town Hall.

From its beginnings as the English String Orchestra, the ESO soon earned an international reputation for performances of English music, made over fifty recordings and began touring regularly in Europe. Over time, the orchestra’s repertoire expanded to include the full breadth of orchestral music, and the ESO grew to become the English Symphony Orchestra. Ever since then, “ESO” has served as an acronym with a dual meaning.