Fantasia Orchestra Information

Founded in January 2016 by Tom Fetherstonhaugh, the Fantasia Orchestra is a group of elite London-based young musicians. The orchestra is made up of musicians from conservatoires and universities across the country. At its inception, the players were drawn from London’s junior conservatoire departments, and the orchestra continues to grow from that beginning. Fantasia Orchestra presents regular concerts in London, performing an eclectic range of music. Recent highlights include Haydn’s C Major Cello concerto with BBC Young Musician winner Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Strauss’ Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings and Sibelius’ Second Symphony. Fantasia Orchestra aims to play at the highest level, with the string section recently described by the Arts Desk as ‘already a thing of wonder’. Fantasia Orchestra is a champion of new music. Keen not only to explore the western canon, the orchestra strives to explore the very best that contemporary music has to offer, commissioning new works and performing world premieres of pieces written by a wide range of composers. The 2017/18 season presented the world premiere of ‘Oslo’ for string orchestra, written by celebrated composer Raymond Yiu, as well works by Alex Ho, Ted Mair and others. The orchestra values outreach work, and the role it plays in encouraging primary school pupils to take up an instrument. Over our next season we’re excited to be working collaboratively with a number of schools across the south of England as we strive to be a cultural ambassador for classical music in the 21st century. Upcoming projects include a collaboration with the Oxford Chamber Music Festival, a season of exciting concerts in central London, and performances further afield.