Image: Julian Guidera
Aurora Orchestra performs Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony from memory in a range of formats to audiences across the UK - presenting immersive experiences, a warehouse performance, schools and care home shows, and community pop-ups
Aurora invites audiences out of the stalls and onto the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall stage to experience the Symphony from inside the orchestra
The orchestra’s first warehouse experience outside of London – at The Prospect Building in Bristol
Pop-up performances at thearc Shopping Centre in Bury St Edmunds and the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford
Immersive dinner experience at the Alexandra Palace Theatre
Versions for family audiences, care homes and schools
UK tour includes performances in Wiltshire, Bury St Edmunds, Saffron Walden, Oxford, and at Harrogate International Festivals and Cheltenham Music Festival
Aurora Orchestra will travel the length and breadth of England this June, presenting memorised performances of Mozart’s mighty Jupiter Symphony and offering audiences the opportunity to get up close and under the skin of one of the composer’s most loved works.
Utilising the flexibility and freedom of its signature memorised concert format, Aurora will adapt its performances for different settings - from warehouses and concert halls to community pop ups and care homes. Building on its belief that classical music is for everyone, each performance will be tailored to offer audiences the chance to get closer than ever before to the musicians and the music itself.
Nicholas Collon, Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Aurora Orchestra, says: “I'm delighted to be taking Aurora around the country, playing to many new audiences, and finding new ways to share the music that we so love. These concerts will allow the orchestra to present Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, music that is so fresh and ebullient, in different ways according to each specific audience. From those declamatory opening chords to the brilliance of the finale’s fugal writing, Jupiter is the summation of Mozart’s symphonic output – it is a work that the orchestra adores performing by heart and is thrilled to be sharing to so many different audiences.”
Jane Mitchell, Artistic Director of Aurora Orchestra, says: “Once you have a group of 40 musicians with music in their heads there are so many possibilities for how you can then share this music with different people. It has always struck me that Aurora’s memorised projects create incredibly flexible musicians and this tour of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony is all about taking the potential that holds and seeing what we can do. As we prepare for this project we will work with our musicians to look at how we can respond to different audiences, and experiment with how we talk to audiences, how we invite audiences to become part of the music and how we use different spaces. In some settings we will also have memorised newly commissioned arrangements from Iain Farrington which enable us to introduce players and instruments and unlock elements of how an orchestra works together. This will be a totally new way of thinking about touring a Symphony and we are really excited to see what we discover.”
Jupiter by Heart – UK tour
Aurora and its Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon will present Mozart’s Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’ as part of a joyful programme that will tour to locations across the UK including Wiltshire (16 June), Bury St Edmunds (18 June), and Saffron Walden (21 June). Aurora Orchestra is this week also announced as an Associate Ensemble at Saffron Hall.
Aurora will make its debut performance in Oxford (19 June) as part of its new partnership with the Schwarzman Centre, as well as visiting Cheltenham Festival (3 July) and Harrogate International Festivals (24 June) for the first time, marking the orchestra’s first memorised performance in the North of England.
In a programme that journeys from intimate nostalgia to blazing celebration, Benjamin Grosvenor joins the orchestra to perform Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bury St Edmunds, Oxford, Saffron Walden, and Cheltenham. Tom Poster performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 alongside Aurora in Harrogate and the programme in all venues opens with Jessie Montgomery’s jubilant Strum.
Immersive Performances
Aurora presents two immersive experiences as part of its exploration of the Jupiter Symphony, as the orchestra continues to push the boundary of creative concert experiences.
Continuing its residency at London’s Southbank Centre, Aurora will invite audiences up onto and around the Royal Festival Hall stage, to be seated at the very heart of the orchestra, in and around the players, for an up-close experience of Mozart’s final Symphony in three intimate, memorised performances (28 June). The concert will be presented by Nicholas Collon, with musical extracts from the Symphony highlighted ahead of each movement. The first iteration (2pm) will be a specific Family Edit , for children aged 6+.
Audiences will be offered the chance to enjoy an unforgettable dinner in the iconic surroundings of the Alexandra Palace Theatre, accompanied by an immersive performance of the Jupiter Symphony (13 June). Tickets include a chance to meet the musicians, followed by a dinner with immersive orchestral performances woven throughout the evening.
Warehouse Performance
In its first collaboration with promoters through the noise, Aurora brings a warehouse performance of the Symphony to The Prospect Building in Bristol (15 June). Following projects at Printworks in 2021 and 2023, and Drumsheds in 2024, the event marks the orchestra’s first warehouse performance outside of London, reimagining the possibilities of orchestral performance and inviting audiences to explore the different dimensions of symphonic sound in a unique venue and gig-like environment.
Community Performances
Throughout the UK tour, Aurora will continue to inspire communities to connect with the world of classical music. Delivered in partnership with Bristol Beacon and Bristol Care Homes, Aurora will deliver a joyful, interactive free concert designed especially for Bristol’s Care Home community at Bristol Beacon (16 June). These performances will weave in newly-commissioned arrangements by Iain Farrington of well-known pieces including Over the Rainbow and Mozart’s Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (Twelve Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Mama") breaking down the sections and colours of the orchestra and enabling audience participation.
There will be immersive school performances of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony for secondary school pupils in Haringey (30 June) and Essex (2 July), with engaging and creative introductions from the orchestra and participative activities that showcase the joy of music to young audiences. Aurora will also perform a Family Edit of its immersive performance of Mozart’s Symphony at the Southbank Centre (28 June).
Free community pop up performances will take place ahead of the respective full performances, one in the arc Shopping Centre in Bury St Edmunds (18 June), and a performance in the atrium of the Schwarzman Centre in Oxford (19 June), giving passers-by the chance to experience world-class music-making for free.
Images of Aurora Orchestra available here
For further information please contact:
Rebecca Driver Media Relations
Maddie Castell | 07807 831113| grace@rdmr.co.uk
Rhiannon Turton | 07946 130 905 | rhiannon@rdmr.co.uk
Listings
Mozart’s Jupiter by Heart
Tuesday 16 June, 7:00pm, Wiltshire Music Centre*
Thursday 18 June, 7:00pm, The Apex, Bury St Edmunds
Friday 19 June, 7:00pm, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Oxford
Sunday 21 June, 3:30pm, Saffron Hall, Essex
Wednesday 24 June, 7.30pm, Harrogate Royal Hall, Harrogate International Festivals*
Friday 3 July, 7:00pm, Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham Festival
Programme:
Jessie MontgomeryStrum
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1
MozartSymphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’ (from memory)*
Benjamin Grosvenor, piano*
Nicholas Collon, conductor
Aurora Orchestra
Tom Poster, piano*
* For the performance at Harrogate International Festivals only, Tom Poster appears as soloist performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12. The performance at Wiltshire Music Centre does not include a piano concerto.
Collaboration with through the noise
Monday 15 June, Doors 7pm, The Prospect Building, Bristol
Programme:
Mozart Symphony No. 41 ‘Jupiter’ (from memory)
Nicholas Collon, conductor
Aurora Orchestra
Care Homes Concert
Tuesday 16 June, 2pm, Bristol Beacon
Programme:
Mozart Symphony No. 41 ‘Jupiter’ (immersive)
Pop-Up Performances
Thursday 18 June, arc Shopping Centre, The Apex, Bury St Edmunds
Friday 19 June, The Atrium, Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Oxford
Mozart’s Jupiter by Heart: Family Edit
Sunday 28 June, 2:00pm, Southbank Centre, London
Programme:
Mozart Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’ (immersive)
Nicholas Collon, conductor
Aurora Orchestra
Mozart’s Jupiter by Heart
Sunday 28 June, 4:00pm & 6:30pm Southbank Centre, London
Programme:
Mozart Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’ (immersive)
Nicholas Collon, conductor
Aurora Orchestra
Schools’ Performances
30 June, Haringey, London
2 July, Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden
Programme:
Mozart Symphony No.41 ‘Jupiter’ (immersive)