English Symphony Orchestra

01/09/2026

Only a month to go before we open our new 'Monumental Symphonies' season at Cheltenham Town Hall on Thurs 1 October with an incredible programme of landscape-inspired music and featuring Sibelius's stunning 2nd symphony.

Tickets here: https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/english-symphony-orchestra-portraits-and-landscapes/

All ticket holders are also welcome to our new free ESO Insight pre-concert event at 6.30 where Zeb Soanes will be in conversation with Kenneth Woods, conductor and soloist Joely Koos. Some of our players will also be on hand to chat at the interval, so have your questions ready!

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22/08/2026

Our recent recording of Sibelius' 5th Symphony with Kenneth Woods, conductor is featured on American Public Media's Performance Today this week. Give it a listen!

Our exploration of the symphonies of Jean Sibelius continues in Cheltenham Town Hall on 1 October with th Second Symphony. Tickets and details here

https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/english-symphony-orchestra-portraits-and-landscapes/

21/08/2026

We have had another busy day!

Ben from the Musicians' Union visited us today to speak about what the union does for working musicians and others who work in the music industry.

Our young musicians were also fortunate enough to attend a session with the soprano soloist for the Strauss, Nadine Benjamin, on performance practice exploring different approaches to music and the understanding of what it is all about.

In the evening, we had a great rehearsal with Nadine on the Strauss.

Come & hear us tomorrow at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire at 7pm. Tickets will be available on the door from 6pm. £12.50 full, free for under 18 and carers. See you there!

21/08/2026

We are sorry but our website is currently under maintenance.

If you are planning on attending the ESO Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire this evening (7pm), you will be able to purchase your tickets at the door from 6pm.

Thank you and apologies for any inconvenience caused.

20/08/2026

Cheltenham Town Hall Thursday 1 Oct - book now!
https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/english-symphony-orchestra-portraits-and-landscapes/

There are works that depict a landscape.
There are works that tell a story.
And there are works that transform an entire homeland into music.

Vltava—known internationally as The Moldau—belongs unmistakably to this last category.

Composed in 1874 the work traces the course of the Vltava River from its springs in the Bohemian mountains to its majestic arrival in Prague. Yet the composition is far more than a musical description of nature. The river becomes a symbol of Bohemia itself, a living thread connecting landscape, history, legend, and collective memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl0-Pdo0vi8&list=RDKl0-Pdo0vi8&start_radio=1

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19/08/2026

Inspired by one of Mendelssohn's trip to the Scottish island of Staffa in 1829 and the majesty of the landscape, his overture The Hebrides, also known as Fingal's Cave, is one of the classical music's best loved works and regularly voted into the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

Come and hear it live when we perform at Cheltenham Town Hall on Thurs 1 October - we're your resident professional symphony orchestra!
https://eso.co.uk/portraits-and-landscapes/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcogD-hHEYs&list=RDzcogD-hHEYs&start_radio=1

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17/08/2026

Thursday 1 October at Cheltenham Town Hall - booking now open!
https://cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk/event/english-symphony-orchestra-portraits-and-landscapes/

Our ESO season opens with a vibrant evening of evocative music celebrating humanity’s deep spiritual connection to the natural world. Portraits of composers and creators, friends and family, alongside landscapes, mindscapes and seascapes of nature.
Conducted by Kenneth Woods, conductor and presented by Zeb Soanes
Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture
Dvorak's Silent Woods
Smetana's Vltava
Sibelius's 2nd Symphony

Save when you book multiple ESO concerts:
Any 2 shows – 5% off the ticket price
Any 3 shows – 10% off the ticket price
Any 4 shows - 15% off the ticket price
www.eso.co.uk

14/08/2026

We are so proud of our youth courses which sit at the heart of what we do. Our young musicians are truly something very special!

Well done to all the musicians today!
Even on the hottest day of the year, these musicians worked hard and played amazingly in the end of course concert.
We are so proud of you 🎵

More images from both the Beginners and the Intermediates will be up soon 🤩

12/08/2026

Our summer youth course season is in full flow!

Well done to our Beginners Orchestra!
They all worked really well and played beautifully together 🎶