WELCOME TO THE ESO 2022/23 SEASON

I’m so excited about our line-up of concerts for the 22/23 season. The recent – and very much welcome – renewed interest in the work of women composers has inspired us at ESO to begin to showcase some of this fabulous, and unfathomably, neglected music. Throughout the season we will be exploring and enjoying the music of Amy Beach, Dorothy Howell, Grace Williams, and Ethel Smyth. One of the great joys of music is the seemingly endless amount of repertoire, and listening to something new, with a completely open mind, can be a truly remarkable experience – I very much hope you will enjoy it! Further highlights for me are Mahler’s beautiful and charming Symphony no. 4, featuring Essex-born top soprano Charlotte Bowden, and the wonderfully eclectic mix of British composers celebrating the music of these islands in June 2023. I’m also happy to invite a slightly more ‘unusual’ solo instrument to perform with us in the form of the bassoon – all too often hidden amongst the rest of the orchestra – played for us by Laurence Perkins. 

Finally, we are delighted to be offering FREE pre-concert talks for each of our concerts, where specially invited guests will reveal the lives and works of our featured women composers.

I very much look forward to welcoming you to our concerts in the coming season.

Robert Hodge, ESO Music Director

The 22/23 season is supported by the Essex County Council Arts and Culture Fund and the Ambache Charitable Foundation.  Full details are available here.

Click on the concert heading below for full programme details.

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