Formed in 1995, Orchestra of the Swan is a British chamber orchestra which, under the artistic direction of David Le Page, is passionate about audience inclusivity and blurring the lines between genres, through its adventurous and accessible programming.
The Swan presents over 45 concerts a year – both live and digital with a catalogue of over 20 recordings. We are passionate about new music and has premiered more than 70 new works by composers including Joe Cutler, Tansy Davies, Joe Duddell, Alexander Goehr, Roxanna Panufnik, Joseph Phibbs, Dobrinka Tabakova, Errollyn Wallen, Huw Watkins, John Woolrich and many others.
Our latest album ‘Timelapse’ creates a space where sounds of the past and present collide to form a unique musical landscape. Although the pieces were written, in some cases, centuries apart and in culturally disparate eras, it is striking how much these contrasting works inhabit such similar emotional territory. Intriguing pairings of works by Rameau and Radiohead’s Pyramid Song, Schubert, and The Smiths, Adés and Grieg, Satie and Reich, complement each other beautifully and style have become irrelevant.
Watch The Swan’s Artistic Director, David Le Page discuss the new direction for the Swan and new projects.
The Swan has been enormously successful in making a positive and effective contribution to the communities at the heart of its ‘immersive residencies’ in Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Birmingham with an ambitious programme of work in care homes, schools and rural areas growing year by year. Based at the Stratford Play House, in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Swan is proof that an orchestra really can be an indispensable and relevant part of the community with its aim to entertain, educate and engage in a way that truly makes it a living orchestra.
Orchestra of the Swan’s associate artists has included Peter Donohoe, Tasmin Little, Julian Lloyd Webber, Benjamin Grosvenor, Laura van der Heijden, Raphael Wallfisch and Tamsin Waley-Cohen.
Find out who our current associate artist is.
“Nothing defines the Orchestra of the Swan better than its commitment to new repertoire….(with) programmes (that) have a knack of making connections which are genuinely stimulating”
THE GUARDIAN
