If you happen to be in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square this August 15, you might want to take trip there at around 6:30 PM. That’s because BMW will be hosting a free concert right around that time, featuring the London Symphony Orchestra under the baguette of Sir Simon Rattle and 14-year old violin prodigy, Leia Zhu.
This will be the 10th anniversary of the partnership between BMW and the London Symphony Orchestra which will be extended for another three years, according to both parties involved. This way, world leading music will be offered to everyone in the heart of London. Furthermore, starting this year, the concert will also be streamed online, on YouTube, for a truly global audience.
“This year will be extra special. 2020’s concert was a casualty of the pandemic and we have shifted our date to August in the hope that social distancing guidelines will have eased some more so we can gather together as an orchestra and with a crowd and have a great musical summer party. I am delighted that the musicians from the LSO East London Academy are joining us on stage, along with the soaring talent that is Leia Zhu. These young people are the future and it is awe-inspiring to see their talent develop, and share their gifts with the crowd in Trafalgar Square and on YouTube. I am truly grateful to BMW and Sadiq Khan as Mayor for London for making this possible,” said Sir Simon Rattle about the upcoming event.
No less than 20 young musicians from the LSO East London Academy will be playing, while Leia Zhu will be the guest soloist, performing Saint-Saëns’ great violin showpiece “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso”. The program features music on a theme of dance and ballet with Dvořák’s “Slavonic Dances”, and Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” in addition to the first live performance of Ayanna Witter-Johnson’s “DreamCity”.
