Described as “phenomenal” (The Times) and “devastatingly beautiful” (Gramophone Magazine), award-winning choir Tenebrae is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision. Under the direction of Nigel Short, Tenebrae performs at major festivals and venues across the globe, including the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Rheingau Musik Festival and Sydney Festival. The choir has earned international acclaim for its interpretations of choral works from the Renaissance through to contemporary masterpieces, and it regularly commissions new music. It has enjoyed collaborations with some of the UK’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra, the Academy of Ancient Music and Britten Sinfonia. Tenebrae has won two BBC Music Magazine Awards and an Edison Classical Music Award, an Opus Klassik Award, and earned a Grammy nomination for its album ‘Music of the Spheres’. The ensemble also undertakes regular session work, most recently contributing the vocals for the soundtrack to blockbuster sci-fi movie Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Alongside its performance and recording schedule, Tenebrae runs a thriving Learning & Connection programme, through which it works with hundreds of children, young people and amateur singers each year.

Driven by the belief that orchestral music is for everyone, Aurora Orchestra has established itself as an innovative and boundary-breaking ensemble, creating musical experiences beyond the ordinary.
Under its Principal Conductor Nicholas Collon, Aurora Orchestra has grown since its first concert in 2005 into an established name on the UK and international orchestral scene. Aurora is the pioneer for memorised orchestral performance: it is the first orchestra worldwide to break down physical barriers to music by removing sheet music and stands for large-scale works. Beginning with Mozart’s ‘Jupiter’ Symphony in 2014, Aurora has since performed many orchestral works in this way, including Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Stravinsky’s The Firebird and The Rite of Spring, as well as commissions by Max Richter and Héloïse Werner.
Over recent years, these memorised performances have developed into cross-genre dramatic and musical explorations that reach deeper under the skin of the music, devised by Aurora’s Creative Director Jane Mitchell. Aurora has collaborated with an exceptional range of artists across different artistic disciplines.
Aurora inspires audiences of all ages and backgrounds to develop a passion for orchestral music. Through Aurora Classroom, its award-winning Creative Learning programme, Aurora regularly offers workshops and storytelling concerts for families, schools and young people, including children with special educational needs and disabilities. Aurora Classroom also encompasses a free pioneering online learning platform for schools, which includes teacher training and a wide range of resources to help teachers deliver music activities in the classroom, including bespoke activities for SEND settings.
In the 2024/5 season Aurora Orchestra celebrated its 20th anniversary, with a new season of concerts as Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre and Resident Ensemble at Kings Place, as well as debuts in Berlin Konzerthaus and Alteoper Frankfurt. As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Aurora has launched the Life-Changing Music Campaign, which aims to raise £500,000 to secure its next 10 years.