{"id":343379,"date":"2026-11-14T14:56:11","date_gmt":"2026-11-14T13:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geneveinfos.ch\/2026\/11\/14\/bbc-concert-orchestra-equilibre-fribourg-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-14T14:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T13:56:11","slug":"bbc-concert-orchestra-equilibre-fribourg-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geneveinfos.ch\/en\/2026\/11\/14\/bbc-concert-orchestra-equilibre-fribourg-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC Concert Orchestra at Equilibre, 27 Nov. 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBC Concert Orchestra performs at Equilibre in Fribourg on Friday 27 November 2026 at 7.30 pm. The programme pairs Vaughan Williams\u2019s overture The Wasps with British works inspired by ancient Greece.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The roots of the BBC Concert Orchestra go back to 1931, when the BBC Theatre Orchestra was founded. The present orchestra was formed in 1952 from players of the BBC Opera Orchestra. It has around 50 players and is based in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charles Mackerras, Barry Wordsworth, Keith Lockhart and Bramwell Tovey are among its past chief conductors. Since 2023, Anna-Maria Helsing has held the post. She is the first woman to be chief conductor of a BBC orchestra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The orchestra appears every year at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. It has been associate orchestra at the Southbank Centre since 2014. It is heard on BBC Radio 2 and on the soundtracks of Blue Planet, Serengeti and Wild Isles. It has also worked with P!nk and Stormzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ralph Vaughan Williams wrote his music for The Wasps in 1909. It accompanied a Cambridge University production. Aristophanes\u2019 play mocks the Athenian courts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Equilibre hall was designed by Zurich architect Jean-Pierre D\u00fcrig. The architecture competition was launched in July 2000 by the communes of Fribourg, Villars-sur-Gl\u00e2ne, Granges-Paccot, Givisiez and Corminboeuf. The main hall seats 681 and faces the Grand-Places park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who organises it<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des Concerts de Fribourg organises this fourth concert of its 2026\u20132027 season. It belongs to the D\u00e9couverte subscription, blue series. The concert is also part of the Concerts de l\u2019Avent partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to find<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

J\u00e9r\u00f4me Kuhn conducts the orchestra. Pianist Teo Gheorghiu is the soloist in Dmitri Shostakovich\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major. Soprano Claire Booth, mezzo-soprano Clare Presland and tenor Daniel Norman are also announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first half features Dobrinka Tabakova\u2019s Orpheus\u2019 Comet, Vaughan Williams\u2019s overture The Wasps and the Shostakovich concerto. After the interval, the orchestra plays David Buckley\u2019s Oracle. These works by contemporary British composers revisit ancient Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical information<\/h2>\n\n\n\n