Nonclassical Competitors

Our mission is to be the base camp for anyone in the UK who wants to make, experience, or support new music and sound to shape the modern world. For over 15 years, we have worked with thousands of music creators and hundreds of organisations to boost musical creativity, careers, cultures, and communities across the UK. Reducing barriers and championing inclusion underpins everything we do driven by our sector leading Fair Access Principles. We are proud of our record progressing equity and representation within new music in the UK. Sound and Music is supported by Arts Council England and proud to be a National Youth Music Organisation.

With its signature creative ethos, Aurora Orchestra combines world-class performance with adventurous programming and original concert experiences. Collaborating widely across art forms and musical genres, Aurora has worked with an exceptional breadth of artists ranging from Ian Bostridge to Edmund de Waal to Björk. In recent years, it has pioneered memorised performance (without the use of printed sheet music), and is thought to be the first orchestra worldwide to perform whole symphonies in this unique way. Founded in 2005 under Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon, Aurora is based in London, where it's Associate Orchestra at Southbank Centre and Resident Orchestra at Kings Place.

PCE challenges and redefines what an orchestra is by radically rethinking the concert experience through format and repertoire. Our programming aims to tell stories—exploring the role of music in its cultural and historical context. It aims at being collaborative, often integrating theater, dance, film, and art, as well as international folk music and non-Western instruments. And, we believe that music should be creatively contextualized in new spaces—for all audiences new and old.