Concerts

Throughout 2024-25, Manchester Camerata has continued to demonstrate the power of music to inspire, innovate, and make human connections. This has been a year defined by artistic ambition, creative collaboration, and a deep commitment to nurturing talent and innovation in our programme.

As a commitment to serving our local community, we launched The Monastery Series, a successful new programme of lunchtime concerts at our Gorton home. These concerts not only celebrate individual artistry, but also strengthen the connection between our organisation and the local community. From welcoming local schools to offering £3 tickets for Gorton residents, we are reinforcing our belief that world-class performance belongs in every setting, and is accessible to everyone.

In 2024-25, we recorded three new Mozart, Made in Manchester albums for the Chandos Record Label, marking the finale of our project to record all Mozart’s Piano Concertos with eminent pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet. This huge body of work celebrates the chemistry between Music Director Gábor Takács-Nagy, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and our musicians. To date, the series has received 5-star reviews from Gramophone, BBC Music Mag, The Telegraph, and more, has been made Classic FM’s record of the week on more than one occasion, and has also been streamed over 3 million times. This cements Camerata’s reputation as one of the most dynamic orchestras working in classical recording today.

In 2024-25, our performances continued to receive national acclaim. In May, our concept-driven Disruptors concert received a five-star review from The Observer, being named one of their best classical concerts of the year. Songs of the Bulbul, our collaborationwith Artistic Partner, Rushil Ranjan and Dance Company, Aakash Odedra, premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival, achieving five-star reviews, and was named the ‘best show at the festival’ by The List. We debuted the world premieres of five new works, including the improvisational work, Missing Pieces, by our violinist Gemma Bass, Requiem for the Dispossessed by multi-disciplinary Visual Artist Imran Perretta, Songs of the Bulbul and Māyā by Rushil Ranjan, and The Night Overtook Us by violinist, fiddle player, collaborator and composer, Donald Grant. Collectively, these new works demonstrate Camerata’s role as a champion of new and diverse voices.

This year, we pushed the boundaries of our productions and audience experience further than ever before with our show for all ages, Space: The Sound of the Stars. This immersive experience blended live performance, storytelling, tuned wine glasses, and large-scale projected visuals suspended above the audience and players, to transform the Great Nave at The Monastery into a giant planetarium. Internationally, Camerata performed two sold-out live Top Gun in-concert screenings in Bahrain, showcasing the orchestra’s global appeal and versatility across genres.

In January, Camerata was proud to receive an Association of British Orchestras Award for its pioneering Camerata 360° Ruth Sutton Fellowship programme, an important recognition of our commitment to talent development for the next generation of musicians. The programme continues to create paid, holistic opportunities for emerging professionals, creating the next generation of curious thinkers, now performing regularly with Camerata and across the wider sector.

When the Pet Shop Boys were awarded the Pop Pioneer award at this year’s MTV European Music Awards, they decided to partner with Manchester Camerata. Together, we performed an orchestral arrangement of their classic, West End Girls, live at the awards show, as well as re-recording this hit single for release. We also performed together on the BBC TV show Strictly Come Dancing for their iconic Blackpool episode. These landmark TV broadcasts amassed a combined viewership of millions internationally, placing us on the same platform as some of the biggest names in the music industry.

This year saw more trips to our nation’s capital with a performance of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons at Kings Place, narrated by Stephen Fry. This was part of a sold-out tour, marking the release of our recording with Daniel Pioro for Apple Music’s Platoon record label.

We also made a return visit to Wigmore Hall, showcasing the music of Camerata collaborator Daniel Kidane, who invited us to perform his works, including a piece that we commissioned during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Further expanding the orchestra’s talent and skills, we held multiple workshops in collaboration with Dance Company, Company Chameleon, as well as sessions on improvisation in raag with Rushil Ranjan, and the performance of an improvisational work, Missing Pieces, by Camerata member Gemma Bass. These projects have each expanded the orchestra’s skills and reinforced the fearlessness our players are known for.

Looking Forward

The coming year will focus on deepening partnerships, exploring bold new repertoire, and extending our international profile. This focus on originality, talent and innovations ensures our artistic excellence continues to grow stronger with every performance.