Trailblazers

What happens when you remove the conductor?

Connection. Risk. Electricity.

City of London Sinfonia’s New Frontiers season continues with Trailblazers, a bold, live experience celebrating musical pioneers who broke the mould.

Led from within by violinist Alexandra Wood, the orchestra performs without a conductor, turning it into a living, breathing heartbeat. It’s not just different, it’s exhilarating.

Jean-Féry Rebel’s Les élémens explodes into sound with musical chaos and creation. Then comes Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, but nothing like the versions you’ve heard before. This is Seasons with the edges exposed: dynamic, expressive, and full of fire.

This isn’t something you can stream. It’s about the tension of the live moment: the glance between players, the shared breath, the thrill of the unknown. When there’s no one keeping time from the podium, the only way forward is together.

This is orchestral music at its most alive. Come for the risk. Stay for the revelation.