Founded by Harry Blech in 1949 as the UK’s first chamber orchestra, the London Mozart Players has achieved international renown for its outstanding live performances and CD recordings of the core Classical repertoire. Music Directors have included Gérard Korsten, Andrew Parrott, Matthias Bamert and Jane Glover, who grew and developed the orchestras strong classical tradition. They enjoy connections with Hilary Davan Wetton as Associate Conductor, and Howard Shelley as Conductor Laureate, and continues to work closely with many of the world’s finest conductors and soloists, including Tasmin Little and Anthony Marwood. In 2015 the London Mozart Players appointed cellist Laura van der Heijden as its first Young Artist in Residence.
In addition they also play an active part in contemporary music, giving many world premières and commissioning new works, in recent years by composers including Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Tarik O’Regan, Sally Beamish, Cecilia McDowall, Lynne Plowman, Fraser Trainer and Jonathan Dove. In March 2011 the London Mozart Players appointed Roxanna Panufnik as Associate Composer.
The London Mozart Players have been committed to providing a platform for sharing the creative arts with schools and communities for over 25 years. London Mozart Players Voyager is an education and community hub which allows music to inspire, educate and enrich communities through an extensive programme of work across the UK. They have a vast programme of work in the community, from visiting day care centres and care homes to providing community concerts for elderly and disabled people. They are associated with Royal Holloway University of London, Wellington College, the Portsmouth Grammar School and the Whitgift Foundation Schools in Croydon. Other ongoing ventures include visiting care homes and concert demonstrations in primary and secondary schools.
Touring is a major part of the orchestra’s schedule, with regular appearances at festivals and concert series throughout the UK and abroad. Overseas, they have visited China, Spain, Belgium, France and Germany. Recording has played a major part in the orchestra’s life for many years. A long relationship with Chandos includes many recordings of works by Haydn and Mozart and an acclaimed Contemporaries of Mozart series numbers over 20 CDs. New Naxos release Flowers of the Field in collaboration with City of London Choir, Roderick Williams and Hilary Davan Wetton reached No.1 in the Classical Album Charts.
The London Mozart Players enjoys the patronage of HRH The Earl of Wessex. In June 2014 they began a new and exciting phase in its history, becoming the first chamber orchestra in the UK to be managed both operationally and artistically by the players.