Ryedale Festival has announced a new three-year partnership with Sinfonia of London and the conductor John Wilson, marking a significant commitment to bringing orchestral music of the highest quality to audiences across North Yorkshire and the wider region.
The partnership sees Sinfonia of London become a regular presence within the festival’s artistic programme over the next three years, allowing audiences to encounter the orchestra through a sequence of exciting projects.
At the heart of this partnership is a shared belief in artistic ambition, creative programming, long-term audience building and the importance of bringing great music to audiences across the north of England.
The partnership will begin in summer 2026 with a major orchestral concert presented as part of the Ryedale Festival at York Barbican on 12 July 2026. Tickets are available now from the Ryedale Festival website or directly from York Barbican.
Entitled ‘An English Summer’, the programme celebrates British orchestral music in all its variety and colour, from Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending to William Walton’s famous Spitfire Prelude and Fugue, as well as a glorious parade of British light music classics by composers including Eric Coates and Haydn Wood. The programme reflects a tradition of lyricism and inspired programming that sits at the heart of Sinfonia of London’s work and speaks directly to Ryedale Festival’s audiences.
John Wilson is in demand at the highest level across the globe, having conducted many of the world’s finest orchestras over the past 30 years. In 2018 he relaunched Sinfonia of London, which has been described as ‘the most exciting thing currently happening on the British orchestral scene’ among an impressive string of accolades. They are now highly sought-after across the UK, regularly returning to sell-out audiences at the BBC Proms and London’s Barbican Centre, among many others.
John Wilson said:
When I relaunched the Sinfonia of London in 2018 it was with the simple aim of bringing together outstanding players for projects we could really believe in, in the studio and on stage. Ryedale Festival has exactly that sense of purpose – ambitious programming, a genuine relationship with its audience and a commitment to taking great music beyond the obvious places. I’m delighted we’ll be returning over the next three years, starting with an ‘English Summer’ that celebrates the colour, character and sheer craftsmanship of British orchestral music.
Christopher Glynn, Artistic Director of Ryedale Festival, said:
John Wilson’s Sinfonia of London is one of the most exciting orchestras you can hear anywhere in the world. What’s more, the quality of the playing is matched by inspired and adventurous programming. I’m thrilled that this partnership will bring such wonderful music-making to Yorkshire over the next three years.
A spokesperson for York Barbican said:
We are delighted to be hosting the opening concert of this new partnership in 2026. York Barbican is committed to welcoming world-class artists while serving audiences across the region, and this concert is an exciting opportunity to be part of a longer-term artistic vision.
Every year, the Ryedale Festival welcomes outstanding performers from all over the world to perform a wide-ranging and distinctive programme in spectacular venues in and around Ryedale, North Yorkshire – an area full of history and natural beauty.
Founded in 1981, the festival enjoys a large, loyal and enthusiastic audience, the warm support of the local community and a reputation as one of Europe’s leading classical music festivals. It has seen sustained growth in ticket sales for over a decade and is regularly broadcast on BBC Radio 3, bringing its work to a national audience.
Events range far and wide across North Yorkshire, with performances given in over forty beautiful and historic venues. They include Castle Howard, York Minster, Hovingham Hall, Duncombe Park, Sledmere House, Birdsall House, Ampleforth Abbey, Selby Abbey, Ripon Cathedral, York University and Malton’s Milton Rooms, as well as in churches, arts centres and theatres in towns and villages across the region.
The festival centres on classical music, but also embraces jazz, folk, poetry, talks, masterclasses, family events, opera and an extensive programme of community projects.
The festival has twice been a finalist at the Royal Philharmonic Society Awards where it was praised for ‘an extraordinary breadth of programming’ and the way it ‘always wraps its arms around the local community’.
The Ryedale Festival programme for Summer 2026 will be announced on Friday 27 March.
About Sinfonia of London
Sinfonia of London is an award-winning orchestra, led by its Artistic Director, conductor John Wilson
Often described as a ‘super-orchestra’ (ArtsDesk), it brings together outstanding musicians from the UK and abroad, creating exceptional musical experiences for audiences either through live events or via an ever-growing catalogue of recordings.
Launched in 2018, Sinfonia of London revived the legendary studio orchestra of the same name, founded in 1955. It made its live debut in 2021 at the BBC Proms and has appeared there on an annual basis since. It has subsequently appeared throughout the UK, including at London’s Barbican Centre and at the Aldeburgh Festival. In 2024 it was named as an Artistic Partner of the Glasshouse, Gateshead and it made its international debut at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, frequently cited as one of the world’s greatest concert halls, in November 2025.
The orchestra has quickly built a celebrated range of over 30 recordings on the Chandos label, covering a wide range of music from the likes of Korngold, Respighi, Ravel, Strauss, Rachmaninoff, Britten,Walton, Bliss, and Rodgers & Hammerstein, with the orchestra’s most recent releases being Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady and Walton’s Cello Concerto and Symphony No.1.
Find out more about the orchestra and forthcoming concerts and recordings at sinfoniaoflondon.com
Concert listings:
12 July, 4pm / York Barbican
AN ENGLISH SUMMER
John Wilson conductor
Sinfonia of London
Charlie Lovell-Jones violin
Arthur Sullivan Overture – The Yeoman of the Guard
Delius The Walk to the Paradise Garden
Richard Rodney Bennett Summer Music
Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending
Walton Spitfire Prelude and Fugue
Eric Coates Calling All Workers
Elgar Chanson de Matin & Chanson de Nuit
Haydn Wood Suite – London Landmarks
Robert Farnon Lake of the Woods
Vivian Ellis Coronation Scot
Eric Coates Cinderella
Website: www.ryedalefestival.com
