Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is to be officially recognised for their association with Lowestoft this Friday, 17 April 2015 with a special civic award presentation at the town’s Marina Theatre.

Mayor of Lowestoft, Stephen Ardley accompanied by Deputy Mayor Malcolm Cherry will present the Orchestra with a special Coat Of Arms in recognition of their decade of association with the town and ongoing commitment to providing music of the highest calibre at the Orchestras opening concert in its 2015 season.

The orchestra has been resident at the Marina Theatre since 2005 in a unique partnership which has seen regular concerts featuring World class conductors, soloists and musicians appearing here on the east coast. Last July the Orchestra showed its unrivalled flexibility with a special tenth anniversary concert featuring the music from James Bond films and continues to be involved in education and outreach work within the community.

Mayor Of Lowestoft, Stephen Ardley said, “I was privileged to be involved at the very start of the association with the RPO ten years ago and had the great honour in 2005 of officially welcoming them to the town. I am therefore equally thrilled to have the opportunity to officially honour them for their service and ongoing commitment to Lowestoft as they embark an historic eleventh year.”

As Lowestoft lost its Borough status in the 1970s, becoming part of the wider Waveney District, it was not possible to bestow the Freedom of the Borough on the Orchestra, an honour previously granted to Lowestoft born composer Benjamin Britten in the 1950s, therefore the Charter Trustees, a committee set up to administer civic and ceremonial events in the former Borough, decided to present a special replica of the town’s Coat Of Arms, an honour most recently presented to recognise the achievements of Lowestoft born Olympic medallist, boxer Anthony Ogogo.

Founded in 1946 by Sir Thomas Beecham, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) has enjoyed huge success worldwide, giving first-class performances of a wide range of musical repertoire with artists of the highest calibre. Under the inspired leadership of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Charles Dutoit, the Orchestra continues to flourish, maintaining and building on a demanding schedule of performances, tours, community and education work and recordings.

Managing Director of the Royal Philharmonic orchestra, Ian Maclay said, “The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will be honoured to accept ‘The Lowestoft Coat of Arms’ in recognition of the Orchestra’s commitment to bringing the highest quality music making to Lowestoft and the surrounding area. The RPO will be celebrating its 70th Birthday next year and this is a good time to reinforce the Orchestra’s continuing commitment to Lowestoft for the many years to come.”

Chief Executive of the Marina Theatre Trust, Martin Halliday said, “We are extremely proud of our relationship with the RPO and their commitment to Lowestoft which has allowed our audiences to enjoy World class performances never before seen here on the east coast. It is wonderful that after a hugely successful ten years of association this unique achievement and the Orchestras ongoing commitment to the area is being officially recognised.”

The official ceremony to present the Coat of Arms to the RPO will take place at 7.30 this Friday 17 April, prior to the start of the first concert in the orchestra’s 2015 concert series. Conducted by Grzegorz Nowak the concert entitled Classical Favourites includes Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 and Brahms Symphony No. 2 and features international soloist Alexandra Dariescu. To book seats for the concert, please call the box office on 01502 533200 or check the venue at  www.marinatheatre.co.uk

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra