Ealing Together — Harmony in Diversity

Ealing Symphony Orchestra and Ealing Music Service collaborate in a groundbreaking event at the Royal Albert Hall

The Ealing Symphony Orchestra and Ealing Music Service have just signed a contract with the Royal Albert Hall to hire the iconic venue for a groundbreaking event which will see 1,400 schoolchildren from across the borough of Ealing perform there on 24 June 2025.

The ‘Ealing Together’ performance is a collaboration between the two organisations and will see a variety of Ealing-based youth music groups appear alongside the fifty-strong Ealing Symphony Orchestra. Ensembles involved include Ealing Youth Orchestra, Ealing Youth Jazz Orchestra, and other Cadenza ensembles run by EMS. In addition, a choir of over 1,200 schoolchildren is being recruited from local schools across the borough, with 40 schools already confirmed.

The performance will include the world premiere of Ada in Ealing by local Ealing composer (and ESO member), Laura Rossi. The work was commissioned by the ESO in 2022 to mark the orchestra’s centenary, and has a libretto by renowned children’s author, Michael Rosen. Laura describes the work: “It’s a fun piece — very melodic and colourful — with different styles incorporated within the composition, as in Michael Rosen’s text, Ada Lovelace, (who lived in Ealing) comes back and is taken on a journey across Ealing to see what’s been going on since she’s been away. The piece celebrates the rich musical and cultural history of Ealing as well as more poignant moments as Rosen delves into the history of the people of Ealing over the last 150 years”.

The concert programme also incorporates music from other locally-grown talent, Hannah Kendall and Liz Sharma as well as more familiar repertoire such as ‘O Fortuna’ from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Adiemus by Karl Jenkins.

This is the first time that EMS has organised an event at this scale for local Ealing schoolchildren and youth groups. Deputy Head of Service, Lee Marchant, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase local talent as well as foster a sense of collaboration and community within the borough of Ealing”.

Chair of ESO, Jo Boswell, said: “We wanted to plan something really special to mark the centenary of the ESO in 2022, but we were struggling to see these plans to fruition in the wake of the pandemic. This partnership with EMS enables us to realise our dream of seeing the orchestra perform at the Royal Albert Hall; but more importantly we think it will cement a much closer collaboration in the future across the different music groups in Ealing.”

Both organisations are extremely grateful to the Royal Albert Hall for their support of this event through a charity discounted let. This is one of the many ways in which the Hall, which is an independent registered charity, supports others in the charitable sector.

Tickets for the event are planned to go on sale early in the new year.

LAURA ROSSI

MICHAEL ROSEN