ABOUT
The Academy of St Mary-le-Bow is a flexible chamber orchestra based in central London. The ensemble is made up of outstanding non-professional musicians who play to a high standard but have chosen not to pursue a career in performance.
The Academy of St Mary-le-Bow performs around six major concerts a year across the city and holds a residency at the historic church of St Mary-le-Bow in the City of London. The orchestra is flexible in number, enjoying a huge variety of repertoire from well-known symphonic masterworks to more intimate concerts of Baroque and Classical repertoire and chamber music. Though the ensemble is regularly directed by its Artistic Director, Alex Fryer, it also frequently engages guest conductors and guest leaders for un-conducted performances.
The Academy of St Mary-le-Bow was formed with the aim of providing young professionals the opportunity to continue making high-quality music upon leaving universities and music colleges throughout the country. The orchestra performed its debut concert in the church of St Mary-le-Bow in August 2016, with BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist Ben Goldsheider as soloist. Since this, the orchestra has gone from strength to strength and is now in its eighth season, having performed over 30 concerts across five London boroughs, working with over 50 distinguished guest conductors, leaders, and soloists.
The orchestra is run by a dedicated committee of players.