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FAQs

What is Britten Sinfonia?
Britten Sinfonia is a flexible ensemble composed of the finest chamber musicians in Europe. Our players are freelance musicians who are employed on a project-by-project basis. Britten Sinfonia performs around 70 concerts per year and works with hundreds of people of all ages in the communities where the orchestra is resident.

How is it managed?
Britten Sinfonia is a limited company and a registered charity. A board of directors oversees the company which is run by a management team of 10 people, led by the Chief Executive. The offices are based in Cambridge.

How is Britten Sinfonia funded?
Britten Sinfonia is supported by a wide variety of public, corporate and private sources, through a complex mix of grants, sponsorship, and individual giving. Arts Council England provides the foundation to our work but all other contributions are vital to the development of our activity. Ticket sales income, management fees for ‘engaged’ events and merchandising are all ways we support ourselves. Current turnover is £1,100,000, which has grown by 35% over the past three years.

How can I support Britten Sinfonia?
We currently run a variety of individual giving schemes: SinfoniaFriends, SinfoniaChairs, SinfoniaCommissions and SinfoniaRecording.Click here for further information about these schemes. Companies can support our work by joining SinfoniaNet, our corporate networking scheme. We are always delighted to hear from anyone who wishes to support us. Please email Will Harriss or call 01223 300795 for an informal chat.

What happens to the £25 I spend on a concert ticket?
£3.72 goes straight to the government as VAT. We are a not-for-profit organisation so all the income we make from ticket sales, programmes and sponsorship is spent on hall hire, artists and marketing expenses. 

Why doesn’t BS have an Artistic Director?
Because of the breadth of repertoire we perform and wide range of types of projects we undertake, we prefer to work with different soloists, conductors and composers, who are specialists in particular fields. These projects are curated by the Chief Executive and an artistic team. This gives us more flexibility and freedom to develop new ideas, all centred around the quality and development of our players.

Are the players employed full-time?
No. Almost all chamber orchestras in the UK employ freelance musicians on a project-by-project basis. This allows us to be versatile with size and orchestration. You will usually see the same players at most concerts, however.

Why can’t I book online for Britten Sinfonia’s concerts at West Road?
Britten Sinfonia is a touring ensemble and we do not have our own box office. Many venues now offer the option of booking online however the Cambridge Corn Exchange Box Office do not offer on-line booking for their external clients at present. We hope this will change in the future.

What is ‘In conversation’?
‘In conversation’ talks are pre-concert events which are free to concert ticket-holders. A featured soloist, composer or member of the orchestra talks about the concert and answers questions from the audience. You don’t have to have any musical knowledge to appreciate these informative and often very entertaining events.