London Chamber Orchestra

The London Chamber Orchestra (LCO) is a British chamber orchestra based in London. LCO performs at various concert halls across London and has previously toured Asia, the UK, Europe and the United States.

History
London Chamber Orchestra is UK's 'longest established' or 'longest standing' chamber orchestra, The name London Chamber Orchestra was first used in 1921 by the English conductor, organist, pianist and composer Anthony Bernard in December 1921. He conducted the first LCO performance, in the salon of No. 4 St James's Square on 11 May 1921 although the in-depth history of the orchestra shows the same players performing together as early as 1920 but not under the LCO sobriquet. Anthony Bernard continued to manage the LCO through the second world war suffering devastating setback when his home was bombed and almost all of his manuscripts and scores were burnt He died on 6 April 1963 aged 72. The title of LCO passed to his wife Mary Bernard on his death. By 1985 Mary Bernard agreed to Perry Montague-Mason’s appointment of Christopher Warren Green as manager. Christopher Warren-Green is the principal conductor of the LCO in 2023.

Queen Camilla became LCO's patron in 2010 while she was Duchess of Cornwall. The London Chamber Orchestra performed at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011. The special programme of music was conducted by Christopher Warren-Green. Music played at the royal wedding was recorded and released digitally by Decca Records on 5 May 2011.

In February 2024, The Observer reported that the LCO had failed to pay their players over a five-month period. The orchestra attributed this to the freezing of their account due to a problem by Barclays bank, that "seriously affected the finances of charities, cultural and religious groups".

Performances and education work
The LCO has given more than 100 UK premieres, including works by Malcolm Arnold, Manuel de Falla, Gabriel Fauré, Leoš Janáček, Maurice Ravel, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Igor Stravinsky, and, most recently, Graham Fitkin and James Francis Brown. In 2006 the LCO premiered Sir Peter Maxwell Davies's The Golden Rule, written to mark Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday.

The orchestra also runs an education and outreach programme called Music Junction.

Direction
The London Chamber Orchestra's principal conductor, Christopher Warren-Green, has held the position of music director since 1988. The president of the orchestra is Vladimir Ashkenazy and Rosemary Warren-Green is education and outreach artistic director.

Discography

 * Mozart: Symphony No. 29 and concertos
 * Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
 * String Serenades: Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Dvořák, Vaughan Williams, Josef Suk
 * Minimalist: Philip Glass, John Adams, Steve Reich, Dave Heath
 * The Harder They Fall (original score) (with Jeymes Samuel)

The LCO has been recorded by Virgin Records and BMG and has been broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and ITV.