Last weekend, families paddled in the streams and climbed every mountain during our performances of Mahler and the Mountain Adventure. Led by the marvellous Jessie Maryon Davies, we reimagined the music of Gustav and Alma Mahler in an immersive hour full of singing, dancing, and storytelling.

We're halfway there! 🎉 An enormous THANK YOU from all of us here at Aurora to everyone who's donated to our Life-Changing Music Campaign this week. We're now over halfway to our target – but the campaign doesn't stop there!

Meet Sonia! As a primary school teacher using Aurora Classroom’s free digital resources, she has seen firsthand how music education can spark a lifelong love of music and creativity in children.

[1/2] Six months ago, we launched the year-long Life-Changing Music Campaign to raise £250,000 for our trailblazing programme. Today, we need just under £20,000 to reach the halfway mark. Hear from our team about what goes into our landmark productions, and why we need your help.

As part of our UK tour, we are returning to The Apex in Bury St Edmunds. We're joined by the pianist Benjamin Grosvenor to bring Beethoven’s first piano concerto piece to life, before we bring our quintessential Aurora flair with a memorised performance of Mozart’s mighty Jupiter Symphony.

We’re heading back to the Southbank Centre’s Imagine Festival on 19 & 20 February 2026. Our latest adventure for 0-5 year olds, ‘Mahler and the Mountain Adventure’ goes on general sale 10am Thursday 20 November. Find out more at www.auroraorchestra.com/event/far-fa... 📸 Monika S. Jakubowska

Chatting to Mark Taylor on the Education on Fire podcast, our Creative Director Jane Mitchell discusses the importance of breaking down barriers to classical music and fostering creativity and confidence in children and teachers alike. Listen now: www.educationonfire.com/education-on...

We're returning to Britten Pears Arts for a weekend residency in 2026! 📅 Fri 10 April, Light and Motion A programme ablaze with colour and life with music by Fauré, Ravel and John Adams, in a collaboration with Nicholas McCarthy, the BBC Singers and the Britten Pears Chamber Choir 📸 Andrew Staples

Tickets are now on sale for our two intimate and immersive performances of Mozart’s Jupiter symphony on Sunday 28 June 2026. Join us as we invite you into Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall to experience Mozart's groundbreaking symphony at the very heart of the orchestra. 📸 Mark Allan

Just announced: we take our trademark memorised performances to the next level, inviting you up onto and around the stage to experience Mozart’s Jupiter symphony at the very heart of the orchestra. Turning the concert hall on its head for two intimate concerts on the Sunday 28 June 2026.

We're overjoyed that Aurora Classroom has been shortlisted in the 'Outstanding Musical Initiative' category at the 2026 Music & Drama Education Awards! We'll find out whether we're winners in February. Check out our free music resources for schools at auroraclassroom.co.uk 🎶 📸 Stanton Media

Just announced: we're looking forward to joining the BBC Singers and one of the finest choirs of the southern hemisphere, Voices New Zealand, for a concert celebrating choral music from Australia and New Zealand with European influences. Head to the link in our bio to find out more.

There’s truly nothing like the sound of 500 children screaming ‘violin’ at the top of their lungs! 🎻 Thank you our fabulous team for making Meet the Instruments a roaring success, transforming the Southbank Centre into a music and games-filled street party. 📸 Julian Guidera

[1/5] 2026 is just around the corner 👀 Luckily that means a barrage of exciting concerts are coming your way! We have not one but three exciting announcements today... 📸 Maarit Kytöharju/Helsinki Festival

Have you got your invitation to our party at the Southbank Centre at 2pm on Sunday? We’ve just released the final row of tickets. See you there! www.auroraorchestra.com/event/meet-t...

"The remarkable thing about this live recording is how exactly this kind of musical language and this spirit.. can so infectiously and effectively inhabit a larger ensemble" (The Arts Desk) Listen to our album with Abel Selaocoe now www.warnerclassics.com/release/four... 📸 Julian Guidera

Nicholas Collon and @auroraorchestra.bsky.social pull off another dramatic performance from memory at the Proms @royalalberthall.bsky.social

Nicholas Collon and @auroraorchestra.bsky.social pull off another dramatic performance from memory at the BBC Proms ✍️ Nick Boston bachtrack.com/review-collo...

Fantastic performance of Four Spirits just finished by #AbelSelaocoe - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. He just led the @auroraorchestra.bsky.social - and audience - at the Usher Hall. Tears at this end. #edintfest

Brilliant exposition and performance of Shostakovich 5th by @auroraorchestra.bsky.social and Frantic Assembly. Hats off to actor/dancer Max Revell as the composer. BBC Proms @royalalberthall.bsky.social

@auroraorchestra.bsky.social's annual "By Heart" performance at the BBC Proms was - once again - excellent. Impressively combined are: - A theatrical exploration a symphony's composition, including its composer's life, and musical themes. - A performance of the full symphony - from memory!

I went to that #Proms up town last night, snapped me some background on #Shostakovich who danced, & took a bow after his 5th Symphony got the most scintillating rendition you're ever likely to hear/see from @auroraorchestra.bsky.social. So pop your telly on tonight #BBCFOUR & cop it all. #Brilliant

Just been to the second performance of this. I turn up again and again, giving Aurora the chance to be somehow less than amazing, and... yep, amazing AGAIN. It's becoming a habit.

Huge thanks to @auroraorchestra.bsky.social not only for their electrifying performance of Shostakovich 5 at the Proms tonight, but also for programming one of my favourite symphonies on my birthday. An astonishing feat all round.

The annual visit of @auroraorchestra.bsky.social has become a must-attend Prom for us. Stupendous Shostakovich 5. Very moving first half where they put the symphony in context, then a blazing performance of the full work It was recorded for TV. Look out for it - unmissable

Wonderful evening at #BBCProms, first with #franticassembly exploring Shostakovich’s 5th symphony and the spaces between politics and art, and then with the astonishing @auroraorchestra.bsky.social playing it from memory!

Prom was superb! I can't get over the difference it makes having all the context and detail before hearing it, although the music by itself was sublime too. @auroraorchestra.bsky.social

Just before the start of a fabulous @auroraorchestra.bsky.social performance 👏👏👏

They did not 😜

BBC4 on Sunday night!

Here we go! Listen live on BBC Radio 3 from 7pm www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

@auroraorchestra.bsky.social the most amazing evening at Saffron Hall -standing ovation for Shostakovich 5 - catch it at BBC proms - what an orchestra !

Thank you @ericawgnr.bsky.social 😌

We're hiring for a Concerts and Tours Coordinator! The appointee will assist the production team with the planning and management of Aurora’s artistic activities. Applications close at 9am Wednesday 3 September. Find out more and apply www.auroraorchestra.com/2025/08/conc... 📸 Jake Davis

Our Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon will be on BBC Radio 4 tonight to discuss our upcoming memorised performances of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. Listen in from 7.15pm www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

We’re hiring! We’re looking for a Marketing and Development Assistant to work closely across both teams, helping to build philanthropic income and expand the reach of Aurora’s artistic programme. Applications close at 9am on Monday 4 August. Find out more 👇 www.auroraorchestra.com/2025/07/mark...

Tonight sees Lawrence Power conclude his Southbank Centre residency performing Berlioz's Harold en Italie with @auroraorchestra.bsky.social‬ Full details here: buff.ly/fapqHmV

Mendelssohn’s Fourth Symphony - a joyful way to spend a Saturday afternoon! Catch us tomorrow performing from memory at the Southbank Centre. Find out more www.auroraorchestra.com/event/in-ita...

Nicola Benedetti, Nicholas Collon & Aurora Orchestra album BEETHOVEN: VIOLIN CONCERTO has been released by Decca entertainment-factor.blogspot.com/2025/06/beet... #music #newmusic #classical #classicalmusic #beethoven #nicolabenedetti #nicholascollon #auroraorchestra @auroraorchestra.bsky.social

#NewCDmc 11 April 2025 Great @NickyBenedetti & @auroraorchestra.bsky.social @deccaclassics present: marvelous #Beethoven Violin Concerto! Acclaimed CD: @GramophoneMag! @ClassicFM @rtvenoticies.bsky.social @rtveplay.bsky.social @mvdaily prestomusic.com/classical/pr...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "it is in the dramatic instrumental interludes between the scenes that the passions are fully unleashed, and conductor Jessica Cottis evokes these powerfully with the superb players of the Aurora Orchestra." (@telegraphnews.bsky.social) Read the full review www.telegraph.co.uk/opera/what-t...

To mark our 20th Anniversary, we're launching the Life-Changing Music Campaign, to transform the scale of our work, expand our schools’ programme and safeguard our existence for future generations. Support our Campaign and DOUBLE your donation at www.auroraorchestra.com/life-changin...

Keeping our musicians on their toes! A huge thanks to Maggie for conducting Saint-Saëns’ ‘Tortoises’ from Carnival of the Animals so brilliantly as part of our Join the Carnival! show for under-6s this weekend at Britten Pears Arts.

Still reflecting on last night's #Carnival at Snape Maltings @auroraorchestra.bsky.social It was certainly different; brilliantly executed & packed with surprises!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 'The chemistry was a joy to see' @getthechance.bsky.social Next stop on our Carnival tour: Britten Pears Arts/Snape Maltings on Sunday 11 May. getthechance.wales/2025/05/04/r...

Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 at the BBC Proms! Actors join us for a signature dramatised and musical explanation of the music and the mind of the man behind it before we play the full symphony by heart. 16 & 17 August. Find out more www.auroraorchestra.com/event/shosta...

We're so excited to be a part of Southbank Centre's inaugural Multitudes Festival next week with our brand-new production, Carnival. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...?

Who wants some good news? Aurora Classroom is now totally FREE 🎉 We're making our Creative Learning platform Aurora Classroom totally free. We believe that every child should have access to a music education, and this is our chance. Explore it for yourself at auroraclassroom.co.uk 📸 Stanton Media

Our Creative Director Jane Mitchell joined presenter Ella Lee on The Classical Circuit. Find out more about the evolution of our Orchestral Theatre strand, performing from memory and pushing musicians outside of their comfort zones through cross-arts collaborations. shows.acast.com/the-classica...

Aurora’s 20 today 🎉 Little did we know as we played the opening notes of our first concert at the Wathen Hall in Barnes, organised over a kitchen table, that Aurora would still be flourishing 20 years later. Here’s to the next 20! 🎶 Francesca Lombardelli and Heledd Gwynant