New year, new you? Come and work on the South Coast, we have a few vacancies available: Principal Double Bass (No.3) – deadline 12 January BSO Participate Projects Coordinator – deadline 12 January Calleva Assistant Conductor Competition – deadline 2 February bsolive.com/jobs/

Thank you for being part of 2025 with us, as we’ve shared 108 concert hall performances across the South West, plus many more in health, wellbeing, and education settings. There have been so many highlights, from the first open-air symphonic concerts in Portsmouth Guildhall Square to our...

We’re wishing you a very Merry Christmas from all of us here at the BSO! ❄️🎶 Here’s a special musical gift, an extract from our recent performance of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel 🎁 If you like what you hear, the full concert is still available to view here: bsolive.com/events/a-fin...

Did you catch us on BBC South Today at the end of last week? Our amazing brass players closed the programme with God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (arr. Kevin Morgan) to set us all in the festive spirit!

The BSO Calleva Conducting Competition is now open 🪄 Next generation conductors are being offered the opportunity to catapult their professional conducting career with this bursary-supported training position. The position provides a broad mix of performance opportunities and mentoring...

Do you have a passion for community music-making? Are you brilliantly organised and looking for a new role? We’re advertising for a Projects Coordinator to support our BSO Participate team in its creative health and communities work throughout the South West.

There are so many stories to explore within an orchestra, from the brilliant musicians sharing awe-inspiring live music and composers writing for them, to the science of music-making and how it supports us in concert halls, hospitals, schools, communities and more...

Is there anything more festive than a group of brass musicians playing Christmas tunes? Exactly. We’ve been busy spreading cheer in Boscombe’s Sovereign Centre… and we’ve enjoyed some lovely conversations along the way. There’s nothing like a brass medley in a shopping centre. We love it!

Christmas can feel incredibly magical with its twinkling lights and roaring log fires. However, it’s not the reality for everyone. For those who are in hospital, the festive period can feel very different...

3551 tickets in just 6 hours! That’s how many seats were snapped up for Key Stage 2 pupils and their teachers in and around Poole, Dorset, for next year’s ‘Explore the Orchestra’ symphonic schools’ concerts.

Do you know a young musician, aged 11-25 years old, who might enjoy exploring their skills in a new way? Our friends at National Open Youth Orchestra welcomes players and their families to attend open rehearsals – at locations across the UK - over the coming months.

There are just a few days left to apply to become Sub-Principal First Violin, sitting No.5 post 🎻

As we approach December, we’re reflecting on how the festive period presents a special time for players in our Community and Wellbeing Orchestras – and community-led choir, BSO Voices – to come together and share music 🪇⭐

As we approach December, we’re reflecting on how the festive period presents a special time for players in our Community and Wellbeing Orchestras – and community-led choir, BSO Voices – to come together and share music 🪇⭐

“The heat of enthusiasm that emanated from the BSO’s first drawn note of the Fantasia and Fugue took me from what was a cold, rainy night” says University of Portsmouth journalism student Tom on our recent performance at Chichester Cathedral

Primary teachers based in or near Exeter, listen up – there are only a few tickets left for our ‘Explore the Orchestra’ concerts at @@exeter.ac.uk Great Hall on Fri 30 January! The event is FREE, but booking is required – so get your tickets now! bsolive.com/events/eto-f...

Can awe-inspiring experiences help us to combat the distractions of modern life? In the latest issue of @pierjournal.bsky.social we touch on how this relates to concert-going, from the feeling that comes from experiencing live music nestled among hundreds (or thousands) of other people...

Did you know, our ‘Symphony from Scratch’ event is an inclusive music-making weekend in which the BSO’s musicians unite with local amateur players and brilliant young disabled and non-disabled musicians, including those from the National Open Youth Orchestra?

Was your teen in the audience at Yeovil’s Westlands Centre last Wednesday, when BSO Associate Musician Patrick Bailey introduced another of our #GCSEMusic concerts? We really enjoyed taking these performances on the road across the South West over the last few weeks.

Are you coming to hear cellist Hugo Svedberg this week at the @exeter.ac.uk ? Still just in his teens, Hugo has delighted audiences across Europe with his performances and competition success in recent years (including the last BBC Young Musician competition). We can’t wait to perform...

Has your teenager been part of the audience in our recent ‘Set Works Live’ concerts? We visited pupils in Southampton, Gloucester, Plymouth, and Cullompton, last week – and we’re off to south Somerset (to Yeovil, Langport and Stoke-sub-Hamdon) over the coming days.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ “…this performance was infused with [Gillam’s] irresistible energy and expressive warmth” says @@thetimes.com in a 4-star review for last Thursday’s @bristolbeacon.bsky.social performance with Jess Gillam. Dani Howard’s Saxophone Concerto was described as “irresistible” paying homage to...

We were thrilled to welcome not just one – but three – BBC Radio 3 presenters (and brilliant lead producer, Ellie) to Lighthouse, Poole, this week! Tom Service introduced our Digital Concert viewers to the live broadcast (avail for 30 days at bsolive.com), Martin Handley was...

Did you know it's National Saxophone Day today? 🎷 Aptly, this evening at @@bristolbeacon.bsky.social Jess Gillam will be playing Dani Howard's new Saxophone Concerto! Alongside a programme of Wagner and Berlioz.

Our Chief Executive, Dougie Scarfe OBE, had a breezy start yesterday as he joined the brilliant BBC Radio Solent Breakfast team – quite literally, walking three-legged with presenter Steve Harris – from Bournemouth to Boscombe, chatting live on-air to Alun Newman and Chris Jarvis...

“Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) welcomes today’s publication of the Government’s Curriculum Review, which promises to unlock not only the potential of the next generation of musicians and creatives, but of each and every child growing up in the UK.

What a brilliant morning it’s been at Poole High School, where star saxophonist Jess Gillam has shared her music-making with hundreds of young musicians. Everyone was impressed with the thoughtful questions asked by pupils from local primary and secondary schools...

“…the richness and intensity of the strings in particular will stay with me for a long time” said Seen and Heard International on last week’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony with conductor Thierry Fischer: seenandheard-international.com/2025/11/fine...

Saxophonist Jess Gillam joins us and our Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth to give the UK PREMIERE of Dani Howard’s Saxophone Concerto this week 💯🎷 – at Lighthouse, Poole (Wed) and Bristol Beacon (Thurs).

“One of the most extraordinary gifts that you can give to the BSO.” 🙏 Hear Chief Executive Dougie Scarfe talk about the incredible impact of gifts in Wills and how you can play a part in the Orchestra’s future. bsolive.com/gifts-in-wills #LegacyAwarenessMonth

On Saturday, we join @lottie2.bsky.social and two fantastic soloists – soprano Sophie Bevan and baritone Gareth Brynmor John – for a concert that captures the spirt of the sea with a captivating mix of orchestral sound, depth and poetic beauty...

Did you catch us on @@classicfm.com last week? We had a blast at Classic FM Live… here are a few photo highlights if you’ve not already seen! [📸: Matt Crossick/Classic FM] www.classicfm.com/events/class...

📢After a wonderful evening spent with the people of West Sussex last week, we’re excited to announce that we have just gone on sale with another concert at Chichester Cathedral!

We are thrilled to be joined by Thierry Fischer this Wednesday for Lewis Plays Mozart at Lighthouse, Poole! This unmissable concert features soloist Paul Lewis who will be performing Mozart’s twenty-fifth piano concerto.🎹 We cannot wait to see you all in the concert hall… bsolive.com/events/lewis...

🥁 Calling all #Portsmouth schools… we’ll be coming to a hall near you very soon! (the historic Portsmouth Guildhall no less). Our musicians would love to inspire you and your Key Stage 2 pupils with the power of live symphonic music – for FREE - this January 💯

Do you thrive on building relationships, creating partnerships, and making an impact? 🎻 We’re recruiting a Senior Development Officer to drive corporate support across the South West. If you think this could be you, we’d love to hear from you! 📅 Apply by 27 Oct ➡️ bsolive.com/jobs/senior-...

“Utter perfection” is how Bournemouth Echo described last Saturday night’s concert celebrating the music of ELO, at Lighthouse Poole. Were you there too? www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/2555435...

We’re off to help our friends at @classicfm.com to celebrate the 25th edition of Classic FM Live! 🥳🫨 Playing in none other than the @royalalberthall.bsky.social yalalberthall.bsky.social, the brilliant Bournemouth Symphony Chorus joins us, as well as some very starry names! ✨

We have a HUGE week of brilliant symphonic music ahead! 🎆 We’re kicking off in style tonight with ‘@classicfm.com Live at 25’ to a packed audience at the @royalalberthall.bsky.social before we reunite with Gergely Madaras [pictured] and Kristīne Balanas at Chichester Cathedral...

🎻We’ve been travelling all around the South West this week bringing GCSE set works to life for older pupils… and what a great time we’ve had! We’ve travelled from Bournemouth to Winchester, Poole, Cornwall and Swindon ✨

Just announced! Summer Concerts return to Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square next July – with Super Early Bird (£20) tickets now on sale. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience TWO nights of live symphonic music (17-18 July) right in the heart of the city: bsolive.com/press-releas...

If you missed last night’s incredible concert, don’t worry. We’ll be filling Chichester Cathedral with shimmering ‘Colour and Light’ next Wednesday, when we share music by JS Bach, Sibelius, Suk and Respighi to celebrate 950 years of this breathtaking Cathedral… bsolive.com/events/colou...

Brighten up your Wednesday evening with tonight’s programme ‘Colour and Light’ – featuring works by JS Bach, Sibelius, Suk, and Respighi - at Lighthouse, Poole. We’re joined by conductor Gergely Madaras and soloist Kristine Balanas and we can’t wait to see you. bsolive.com/events/colou...

Our friends at Black Lives in Music present Classically Black at Kings Place this Saturday. A one-day celebration of Black and global majority talent in classical music. 🎟️Tickets out now 🔗 www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/bla... #ClassicallyBlack2025 #BlackLivesInMusic

We’ll be making music in communities across the county all week and sharing two very special symphonic performances, this week. Join us at Lighthouse, Poole (Wed) for ‘Colour and Light’ with conductor Gergely Madaras and violinist Kristīne Balanas...

“This was an outstanding and memorable beginning” said Tom Wickson of our Poole season opening concert at Lighthouse, Poole last week 🎶💯 Read Tom’s review to hear all about the concert featuring a new piece from Dani Howard, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.1 with Sir Stephen Hough...

Are you at a loose end this Friday afternoon? 🍰 Join us, as we bring another of our ever-popular Cake Concerts to Woodlands Village Hall near Verwood. //Enjoy a relaxed and friendly atmosphere as the BSO’s Teatime Trio perform well-known classics, accompanied by a nice cup of tea!

We’re beyond excited to welcome our new Artist-in-Residence, the renowned baritone Roderick Williams, to Lighthouse, Poole and @exeter.ac.uk this week. Together, we’ll perform Zemlinsky’s epic Lyric Symphony ✨

Catch @bournemouthecho.bsky.social ’s review on last Wednesday’s concert – “an absolute barnstormer” – which was performed to a full house at Lighthouse, Poole with Chief Conductor Mark Wigglesworth and pianist Sir Stephen Hough.

It’s been fantastic to launch our Celebrated Composers programme with Dani Howard’s The Butterfly Effect – supported by Resonate, a PRS Foundation initiative in partnership with Association of British Orchestras and BBC Radio 3.