Fantasia Orchestra
Smith Square Hall
Coming Soon
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Renowned for its genre-defying programming, Fantasia Orchestra makes its debut at Smith Square Hall performing a programme inspired by the beauty of birdsong, with soprano Lucy Crowe OBE
Handel and Haydn perch next to Messiaen and Gershwin, and Berg’s The Nightingale segues into Sherwin’s timeless classic A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. Soar through centuries of music with one of the country’s most exciting orchestras and finest of singers.
Antonio Vivaldi
Spring from Four Seasons: Allegro
George Frideric Handel
As When the Dove Laments Her Love
Florence Price
Little Pastorale
Trad.
She’s Like the Swallow
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dove Sono from The Marriage of Figaro
Blasio Kavuma
I am the sea
Olivier Messiaen
The Lovebird of the Star from Harawi
Richard Strauss
Spring from Four Last Songs
Joseph Haydn
Symphony No. 83 'The Hen'
Alban Berg
The Nightingale from Seven Early Songs
Manning Sherwin
A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square
George Gershwin
Little Jazz Bird
George Gershwin
Summertime
Arrangements by Harry Baker, James Ledger, and Paul Schäffer
Fantasia Orchestra has a reputation for pioneering cross-genre programming and collaborations with musical stars. Founded by conductor Tom Fetherstonhaugh, the orchestra is home to some of the best of young British classical music talent today.
In the 2025-26 season, Fantasia performs a wide range of music from Alma Mahler and Shostakovich to Joni Mitchell and Benny Goodman, and is joined by Lucy Crowe (soprano), Jess Gillam (saxophone), Jasdeep Singh Degun (sitar), Steven Osborne (piano), Aaron Akugbo (trumpet), and Niamh O’Sullivan (mezzo-soprano).
The orchestra made its BBC Proms debut in 2024, performing two concerts at the Royal Albert Hall with broadcasts on BBC television and radio. Repertoire ranged from Bartók, Brahms and Dvořák to Laura Mvula, Piazzolla and Chic, and long-time friends and collaborators Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Braimah Kanneh-Mason (violin) and Plínio Fernandes (guitar) shared the stage as soloists.
Other recent projects have featured Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussion), Ben Goldscheider (horn), Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano), Jennifer Pike (violin), and Toby Spence (tenor), at festivals including Ryedale Festival, Newbury Spring Festival, Deal Music and Arts Festival, and Proms at St Jude’s.
Broadening the reach and accessibility of music is central to Fantasia’s mission, and the orchestra enjoys a partnership with the music education charity DaCapo Music Foundation. As DaCapo’s orchestra-in-residence, Fantasia works closely with students from across London and beyond on a range of initiatives, including a new resource for the primary classroom, DaCapo Online.
