Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Contact
Please contact Elli Appleby for further information.

Elli Appleby
Special Projects Manager
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Email: Eleanor Appleby
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7608 8839
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7608 8801

BIOGRAPHY

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra’s performances have taken it into a variety of settings from traditional concert halls, stadiums and cathedrals to more unusual venues including train stations, racecourses, botanical gardens and castles. Its most frequently requested programmes include Classical Favourites, Magic of the Movies, Opera Gala and the ever-popular Last Night of the Proms. It has a history of working with international celebrity artists ranging from Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel and Kiri Te Kanawa to Burt Bacharach, George Benson, Michel Legrand, Henry Mancini, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.

Highlights of recent years have included London concerts with José Carreras, Diana Krall, Liza Minnelli, Randy Newman, the OperaBabes, Nicola Benedetti and reggae star John Holt, plus UK tours with Andrea Bocelli, Lesley Garrett, Chloë Hanslip and Russell Watson. Other special performances have included thirty-two shows with Sir Cliff Richard at the Royal Albert Hall, a season at Opera Holland Park, appearing at Tina Turner’s Sixtieth Birthday Concert, performances of Aida at Earls Court with the late Luciano Pavarotti and UK tours of Bugs Bunny on Broadway, The Music of ELO and Symphonic Queen.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra’s concerts in 2008 include a Valentine’s Opera Gala at Colston Hall in Bristol with Bristol Choral Society, a St George’s Day Concert and the Cathcart Spring Prom at the Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Choral Society, a performance of the RPCO’s best-selling Here Come The Classics programme at Milton Keynes Theatre and a string of summer ‘Picnic Prom’ appearances including Hampton Court Palace, Rochester Castle, RHS Wisley Gardens, Audley End, Kenwood House and at the Peterborough Festival.

The 2007 season featured a number of corporate events and high profile performances including the Cathcart Spring Prom and the British Insurance Awards (both at London’s Royal Albert Hall) plus numerous outdoor picnic ‘Proms’ performances around the UK throughout the summer months. The Orchestra appears annually on BBC Television’s Children in Need broadcast, and last year supporting acts as varied as Annie Lennox and Westlife. The year culminated in a series of concerts together with Lemar and Katherine Jenkins in front of audiences including HM The Queen to launch the newly renovated St Pancras International Station, and the Orchestra also appeared on a BBC2 television documentary about the project.

In 2006, the RPCO's concerts included live performances of its top-selling Here Come the Classics™ recordings, gala performances with Bryn Terfel, Chloë Hanslip and Nicola Benedetti and a gala concert at the Barbican Hall with Renée Fleming. In 2005, the Orchestra took part in a BBC televised concert in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the Sixtieth Anniversary of VE Day, performing with artists including Sir Cliff Richard, Will Young, Katie Melua, Daniel Bedingfield, Heather Small and Katherine Jenkins and that year’s busy schedule also included performances with Tony Christie and Paul Anka.

In the summer of 2004, the Orchestra performed to an audience of 70,000 at the Olympic Torch Concert in The Mall, televised live on BBC1, with Rod Stewart, Will Young and Ozzy Osbourne and gave further outdoor gala concerts with Tony Hadley, Russell Watson, Dionne Warwick, David Cassidy and Michael Ball. Other highlights included performing at Windsor Castle for HM The Queen and President Jacques Chirac to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale and a gala fundraising concert at the Royal Albert Hall with artists including Barbara Hendricks, Jocelyn Brown, Mick Hucknall and Chrissie Hynde.

The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra’s many recordings include Mancini Rocks the Pops, Premier Pops, Pop Go the Beatles, Andrew Lloyd Webber Classic Songs and Elmer Bernstein by Elmer Bernstein. The Orchestra has featured on two best-selling recordings with Lesley Garrett, including the hugely successful Soprano in Red.

The Orchestra has a flourishing international schedule which has included visits to Greece, Barbados, the Far East, Italy, Monaco, Rome, Spain, Russia, Estonia and Turkey. Touring highlights have included a performance with Paquito D’Rivera in Brazil and trips to Scandinavia for a concert tour of Les Misérables. The Orchestra has toured the USA with Andrea Bocelli, and also as part of an extensive gala Royal Christmas tour in 2002 (with additional performances in Canada) with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Charlotte Church. A second Royal Christmas tour of North America in December 2005 featured Andrea Bocelli and Denyce Graves and performed to sell-out audiences.