Aurora Orchestra

Established in 2005 by Robin Ticciati, Nicholas Collon, and musicians drawn from the National Youth Orchestra, this British chamber ensemble took up residence at Kings Place in London four years later and assumed full resident status there in 2013. Its activities also extend to the London Symphony Orchestra’s St. Luke Old Street venue, where it presented the mixed-media “New Moves” series, characterized as “orchestral theatre.” The orchestra made its BBC Proms debut in 2011; subsequent appearances featured performances of well-known symphonies played entirely from memory—Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (2014), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 in F major, “Pastoral” (2015), Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C major, “Jupiter,” K. 551 (2016), and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat major, “Eroica” (2017). Soloists who have joined the players include Angelika Kirchschlager, Gerald Finley, Ian Bostridge, Rosemary Joshua, Kate Royal, Maxim Rysanov, Anthony Marwood, and co-founder Robin Ticciati. Additional responsibilities encompass residencies at the Royal Academy of Music and the Aldeburgh Festival, while 2011 brought national-portfolio funding from Arts Council England. The ensemble was later appointed associate orchestra at Southbank Centre, scheduling three productions for the 2018-2019 season, and its discography appears on Decca, Warner Classics, NMC, and Collegium Records.