The Britten Sinfonia describes itself as an ensemble "inspired by the ethos of Benjamin Britten through world-class performances, illuminating and distinctive programmes where old meets new, and a deep commitment to bringing outstanding music to both the world's finest concert halls and the local community." Several 2021 releases featured the orchestra, among them Grayston Ives’ Requiem and the seldom-heard Donizetti opera Il Paria.
Established in 1992 and headquartered in Cambridge, England, the group counted choral conductor Nicholas Cleobury among its founders. It functions without a principal conductor; David Butcher held the combined posts of chief executive and artistic director from the outset until 2020, after which Meurig Bowen assumed those responsibilities. Composed of freelance players engaged on a project-specific basis, the Sinfonia presents roughly seventy concerts annually, traveling between venues and undertaking brief residencies that pair it with local musicians and arts organizations.
Its artistic partners have encompassed composers such as Thomas Adès, Roderick Williams, and James MacMillan; vocalists including Ian Bostridge, Iestyn Davies, and the ensemble Polyphony; conductor Masaaki Suzuki; and cross-genre figures Brad Mehldau and Rufus Wainwright. An Associate Ensemble at London’s Barbican, the orchestra has also maintained residencies in Norwich and Cambridge—where it serves as Ensemble-in-Residence at the University—along with additional locations. A regular chamber-music series takes place at Wigmore Hall, and the Sinfonia has performed at the Aldeburgh Festival and the BBC Proms. International engagements have carried it across North and South America, continental Europe, and Asia, including a May 2016 visit to China with concerts in Shanghai, Beijing, and Wuhan.
As a registered charity and nonprofit entity, the Sinfonia maintains a Creative Learning Department that runs the Britten Sinfonia Academy, enabling young musicians to rehearse and perform alongside orchestra members, and the Britten Sinfonia Academy Composer Hub, which supports emerging composers. The OPUS composition competition, open to unpublished creators of any age, began in 2013 and was restructured in 2021 into two separate contests, Opus 1 and Magnum Opus. That same year the orchestra appeared on an Opera Rara recording of Donizetti’s Il Paria led by Sir Mark Elder, as well as Signum Classics releases of Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 7–9; Gerald Barry: The Eternal Recurrence, directed by Thomas Adès; and Grayston Ives: Requiem, performed with the Jesus College Choir, Cambridge, under Richard Pinel.
