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The London Sinfonietta is Britain's flagship for the creation, understanding and enjoyment of the music of today; and aims to promote new musical experiences in exciting and challenging ways. It has a commissioning programme that reflects the stylistic diversity and richness of music being composed, both nationally and internationally, and supports the development of young composers as well as the achievements of more established figures. It runs an innovative and wide-ranging education programme, encouraging new audiences' involvement in the artistic experience through creation, participation and interaction with composers and performers. Founded in 1968 by David Atherton and Nicholas Snowman, the London Sinfonietta's Artistic Director from 1972 to 1989 was the late Michael Vyner. He was succeeded by the pianist Paul Crossley (1988 - 1994), and since September 1994 the Principal Conductor has been the young German Markus Stenz. The London Sinfonietta performs an enormously diverse repertoire, ranging from small to very large forces. Of some 250 world premiere performances, 124 have been specially commissioned, very often for the core group of 16 principal players. The ensemble enjoys fruitful associations with mansy of the world's most established living composers, including Adams, Berio, Birtwistle, Boulez, Carter, Gorecki, Henze, Kurtag, Maxwell Davies, Ligeti, Schnittke, Stockhausen and Xenakis. It has also formed close working relationships with the composer/conductors Oliver Knussen and George Benjamin and continues to champion the music of younger generations, in particular such British composers as Simon Holt, Mark-Anthony Turnage and most recently Thomas Ades and Julian Anderson. The London Sinfonietta has mounted several large-scale festivals celebrating the music of some of this century's musical giants: Schoenberg & Gerhard, Weill, Webern (with Schubert), Britten & Tippett Ravel & Varese, and a three year Stravinsky Festival. Other series have been devoted to the music of the last 30 years, and in 1991 the London Sinfonietta became co-founder with Simon Rattle and the CBSO of Towards the Millennium, an annual celebration of the arts from each decade of the 20th century. The London Sinfonietta presents regular concerts in London, primarily at the South Bank Centre, where it is an Associate and with whom it frequently collaborates. It travels widely' in Great Britain and abroad, and is a regular visitor to major international festivals including Wien Modern, the Munich Biennale, Musica Strasbourg and the Holland, Huddersfield and Aldeburgh festivals. The London Sinfonietta has made over 100 recordings, and has won awards for its discs of works by Benjamin, Birtwistle, Britten, Carter; Kern (Showboat), Knussen, Stravinsky, Takemitsu, Tippett and Weill. It’s CD of Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 has sold almost I million copies world-wide, and has won a growing number of prestigious international awards since its release. In addition to its concert work, the London Sinfonietta has collaborated on many opera and music-theatre projects, most notably with David Freeman's Opera Factory, and with Glyndebourne Touring Opera on the world premieres of operas by Oliver Knussen and Nigel Osborne. In December I991 the London Sinfonietta was conducted by John Adams in the French premiere of the Adams/Sellars opera Nixon In China. In May 1996 it collaborated with the Richard Alston Dance Company on a programme of music by Harrisson Birtwistle in London and Aldeburgh, and it joined forces for a second successive year with Almeida Opera in 1997, in Munich and London, to give the premiere perform The Juniper Tree by young British composer Roderick Watkins. In April this year it will be giving two staged performances of a new production of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Greek, as the highlight of a South Bank festival celebrating his music. In 1983 the Sinfonietta initiated a pioneering education programme to encourage active involvement in creative music-making among as wide a public as possible. London Sinfonietta players work with leading composers and artists to mount projects thematically linked to London Sinfonietta Concerts in many section of the community, involving schoolchildren and teachers, students, senior citizens, people with disabilities, amateur music ensembles, youth groups, women's groups and prisoners. The London Sinfonietta’s education work has close ties with the National Curriculum, offering students and teachers additional resources to fulfil the recent creative composition requirements. London Sinfonietta Response and Explorations events complement the education programme, placing concerts in a more welcoming context, with films,

workshops and discussions adding to the enjoyment and appreciation of the music being presented. To-date, Response projects have been held in London, Durham, Humberside, Berlin, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Norway. and Finland. The education programme was the first winner of the Sainsbury's Award for Arts Education and has recently returned from a major project in Japan. The ensemble is increasingly in demand from overseas to provide training in creative workshop and composition techniques for professional musicians and music educationalists. The London Sinfonietta gratefully acknowledges the support of the Arts Council of England, the BBC, the British Council, and the Performing Rights Society.