One of the UK’s best-loved orchestras, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is known for championing the role of culture in people’s lives. Based at Lighthouse, Poole, the Orchestra is resident in Bristol, Exeter, Portsmouth, Southampton, and Yeovil, and performs in towns and villages across the region. A leading arts charity, it is the largest cultural provider in the South West of England, serving one of the biggest and most diverse regions in the UK.
The Daily Telegraph described Mark Wigglesworth’s opening performance as Chief Conductor in 2024 as “a fine, fierce debut”. Celebrated globally for his outstanding musicianship, extraordinary interpretations, and breadth of repertoire, Wigglesworth’s first season has magnified the BSO’s reputation for the highest quality music-making. The Orchestra boasts an enviable list of named conductors, including Principal Guest Conductor Chloé Van Soeterstède, Marin Alsop, David Hill MBE, Kirill Karabits, and Andrew Litton.
In 2025/26, the BSO welcomes baritone Roderick Williams OBE as Artist-in-Residence: Williams performs five times across the season, including Zemlinsky’s Lyric Symphony, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, and a 24-song cycle, An English Winterreise. The Orchestra also introduces Dani Howard as its Celebrated Composer, a series that shines a spotlight on new British music. It shares seven performances of Howard’s music, including the UK premiere of her Saxophone Concerto with Jess Gillam. Further highlights of the season include debut performances from organist Anna Lapwood, cellist Hugo Svedberg, guitarist Plínio Fernandes, viola player Timothy Ridout, among more. The Orchestra’s celebrated Digital Concert series continues into its sixth year, with 19 live performances broadcast globally from Poole.
The Orchestra is celebrated for its pioneering community-based BSO Participate work, spanning partnerships with health and care providers to inclusive events in schools and with music education hubs. In the 2025/26 season, highlights include the expansion of its creative health programme with Dorset County Hospital and Arts in Hospital into further Dorset HealthCare sites, and an extension of its support for Community and Wellbeing Orchestras supporting a range of needs across the region from Bodmin, Boscombe and Bristol to Chard and Wincanton.
Following international attention for igniting change, BSO Resound — the world’s first professional disabled-led ensemble at the core of a major orchestra, and winner of the 2019 Royal Philharmonic Society’s Impact Award — continues to challenge perceptions. The group unites with Calleva Assistant Conductor Enyi Okpara and members of the National Open Youth Orchestra to share its live music in schools in 2025/26.
