Photo credit - Chrissie Decker
The Orchestra
The New Bristol Sinfonia is one of the leading amateur symphony orchestras in the UK. Founded in 1997 by Jonathan James, we typically put on 3-4 concerts a year in various large venues in and around Bristol. We have recently fostered an association with Redmaids' High School and have performed in their gala concerts with illustrious soloists.
The orchestra is a registered charity and as such seeks primarily to educate, by playing a balanced mix of popular and lesser-known works and through audience engagement initiatives such as pre-concert talks and in-concert introductions to each piece. Its commitment to the city is shown by featuring local artists' work in the publicity, by commissioning works from composers with links to the region, and by running successful education projects with local schools and colleges.
The orchestra has played with such internationally renowned artists as Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Natalie Clein (cello), Madeline Mitchell (violin), Rafal Zambrzycki Payne (violin), Guy Johnston (cello), Yuanfan Yang (piano) and Mandy Burvill (clarinet).
Our focus is on large-scale symphonic repertoire from the 19th century onwards, including recently-composed works and we have premiered a number of works, such as Shumei, Shumei by Geoff Poole. We are always open to new challenges.
The orchestra celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2007 with a gala concert at the Colston Hall, performing Mahler Symphony No 2, and its 20th anniversary in 2017 with a repeat programme of the orchestra's very first concert in Clifton Cathedral.
We are very grateful for the support of our subscribers, friends and benefactors, our Patrons The Lord Mayor of Bristol and Prof. Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, and for the generosity of Stephen Pain in enabling us to continue our work.
The orchestra receives little sponsorship on audiences and the generosity of its own players to survive. If you would like further information about the orchestra, or ways in which you could support it, please contact Angharad Guttridge on 07578 236323, or use the 'Contact' page on this website.
Musical Director - Thomas Blunt
Thomas Blunt has built a versatile and wide-ranging career conducting in opera houses and concert halls world-wide. He studied at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music in London, and was the first ever British participant of the prestigious Allianz International Conductors' Academy, working with the Philharmonia and London Philharmonic Orchestras.
He was recently appointed Principal Conductor of the Coro da Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado di São Paulo, and has previously held the positions of Chorus Master at Glyndebourne, Assistant Conductor to Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and First Kapellmeister at the Staatstheater Bern, where he conducted Die Zauberflöte, La Cenerentola, Ariadne and Lohengrin.
Other opera credits include L'elisir d'amore, Falstaff, La Cenerentola, Il barbiere, and Rigoletto for the Glyndebourne Tour, Jephtha and The Magic Flute for Welsh National Opera, La Cenerentola for Opéra National du Rhin, Idomeneo for Royal Danish Opera, Don Pasquale, La Traviata and Don Giovanni for Longborough Festival Opera, and a premiere of Dave Maric's Ghosts for the Linbury Theatre/Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Concert work includes performances with Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado di São Paulo, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the St Endellion Festival. He has also worked at Opera North, Opéra de Lyon and La Monnaie, as well as assisting conductors such as Bernard Haitink with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Iván Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
Recent and future highlights include concerts with BBC NOW, Coro da OSESP, Das Lied von der Erde with Fifth Door Ensemble at Opera Holland Park, a recording of music of works for choir and orchestra by Aylton Escobar with OSESP, Die Fledermaus for IF Opera, Assistant Conductor on Faust at the Royal Opera House, and Handel's Messiah with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.