National Symphony Orchestra of Great Britain 

The National Symphony Orchestra is one of the longest-established and most resourceful professional freelance orchestras active in Britain today. Formed during the turbulent years of the Second World War, the NSO’s musicians were young, creative, indomitable, and enthusiastic. They needed to be; throughout this period, the orchestra regularly traversed the country, visiting blitzed towns and cities to give morale-boosting concerts, despite the many obstacles this entailed.

That dynamic performing tradition has stood the test of time, and today, the NSO boasts a hugely impressive recorded legacy and continues its busy schedule of live concert performances. The orchestra is widely admired for its versatility and its ability to communicate, connecting with audiences, both new and old, with consistent commitment and passion. The National Symphony Orchestra has recently found renewed energy and direction under the leadership of its Managing Director, Justin Pearson, who is also its principal cellist.

Under its Principal Associate Conductor, Rimma Sushanskaya, the NSO has recently performed and recorded a complete cycle of the Beethoven Symphonies, the first ever to be undertaken by a female conductor. A unique highlight of this series was an acclaimed performance of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, given at London’s Cadogan Hall on May 7th, marking two hundred years, to the very day, since the work was premiered in Vienna under the composer’s direction. A series of concerts entitled Sounds Symphonic will be performed at Cadogan Hall in 2026.

The NSO has most recently enjoyed hugely successful tours to China, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and New York, performed film and video concerts at the Barbican Centre, and recorded the scores for several BBC TV dramas, including Wolf Hall, Father Brown and Shakespeare and Hathaway. A special annual event sees NSO musicians playing at the popular ‘Flying Prom’ held at the Shuttleworth Collection of vintage aircraft, whilst concerts for Viking Cruises at Cadogan Hall have been particularly well received.

In July 2023, NSO toured to the Riyadh Film Music Festival for a series of concerts, immediately after completing recording projects of new concertos by the Argentine composer, Polo Piatti, and a new English string music disc for Quartz Records with Rimma Sushanskaya. A live vinyl recording of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade was made in May and released on Chasing the Dragon Records. The orchestra also continues its series of classical concerts at Sinfonia Smith Square, as well as at Cheltenham Town Hall, where it memorably performed Mahler’s Symphony 4. The NSO also coordinated a video project for the Womens’ Global Orchestra with Alicia Keys, which received 5 million YouTube hits in its first week alone.

In 2022, the NSO was chosen to perform for Queen Elizabeth II in one of her final public appearances at the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations at Windsor Castle, broadcast to an audience of millions. With Principal Associate Conductor, Rimma Sushanskaya, the orchestra recorded discs of Mozart concertos and symphonies, Beethoven’s Symphony no.5 and Romances for Violin with soloist Mathilde Milwidsky, released on the Guild label, and a disc of Brahms symphonic works released on the Quartz label in May 2022.

During the challenges of the pandemic the NSO was the first UK orchestra to return to Air Lyndhurst studios, recording Debbie Wiseman’s score for the film To Olivia, also reaching no 1 in the classical charts with the composer’s album for Classic FM, Kings and Queens, with narrators Dame Helen Mirren and Damian Lewis. NSO musicians also featured in many episodes of The Crown, in Bridgerton and other Netflix productions including Maestro.

The orchestra has toured to Spain with Katherine Jenkins and Alfie Boe and was proud to play at the ceremony marking the handover to the nation of the new DNRC Rehabilitation Centre in Loughborough in the presence of King Charles III and the Prime Minister. In March 2019, the NSO performed at the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Later, in the autumn of that year, the orchestra undertook a nationwide UK tour with Tasmin Little and Philip Dukes as soloists, conducted by Rimma Sushanskaya. Performances of Beethoven symphonies and the Emperor Piano Concerto were also released on Chasing the Dragon records in 2019.

In 2018, the NSO topped the classical charts for weeks, collaborating with presenter Alan Titchmarsh and composer Debbie Wiseman in a project named The Glorious Garden. Previously, in 2017, the orchestra again occupied top spot with a recording of new music in Debbie Wiseman’s Musical Zodiac. The recent release of the film Edie starring Sheila Hancock featured the NSO on its soundtrack. The orchestra also returned to Abbey Road Studios in November 2018 with Debbie Wiseman and Stephen Fry, recording a soundtrack to Fry’s book, Mythos, another no.1 disc in the classical charts.

Shortly after its formation in the 1940s, the National Symphony Orchestra immediately became a significant recording orchestra. From the 1980s, the reputation and standing of the orchestra surged forward, successfully performing and recording for audiences in a wide range of genres: Classical, Film and TV scores, West End and Broadway Musicals, and accompanying celebrated international singers, all of which it continues to do to this day.

Though based in London, the orchestra performs throughout the United Kingdom, drawing its fine players from all around the country. The NSO prides itself on the huge audiences that regularly support its concerts. The orchestra has performed Opera Galas with artists such as Dame Kiri Ta Kanawa and Lesley Garrett.

Viennese Nights, Tchaikovsky Galas and programmes of popular classics have been performed to capacity houses at prestigious venues including The Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Centre, Royal Albert Hall and Symphony Hall, Birmingham, to name but a few. In addition, the NSO played seasons with the New York City Ballet when they visited the London Coliseum, performing under conductors Charles Barker and Jack Everly; the orchestra also toured extensively for The Moscow City Ballet for many years during their visits to the UK.

To date, the NSO has recorded more than 40 complete major classic musicals. This significant legacy means that the NSO is one of the most frequently recorded orchestras at EMI Abbey Road Studios. These musicals, marketed mainly in the USA, often sold more than 1.5 million discs each, including recordings of Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story – The Leonard Bernstein Estate remarked: “There is no finer recording of West Side Story than that which was laid down by the NSO”. The orchestra has also performed a number of spectacular televised and recorded concerts under the direction of distinguished composer/conductors from the worlds of TV and Film, such as Barrington Pheloung, the Oscar-winning composer Anne Dudley, Ron Goodwin and Debbie Wiseman – currently Classic FM’s composer-in-Residence.