From six Chinese women poets across more than a thousand years of Chinese history to contemporary questions of identity, ancestry and social change, the programme connects different voices, traditions and artistic forms.
Pablo Muñoz
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) has announced an autumn 2026 season featuring collaborations across choral music theatre, contemporary jazz, spoken word and visual storytelling at LSO St Luke’s and the Barbican.
The programme brings together three artists and collectives: multidisciplinary collective Tangram, composer, singer, songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, and saxophonist, composer and rapper Soweto Kinch.
The season opens at LSO St Luke’s on August 30 and 31 with Tangram x SANSARA: Chronicle. Created by multidisciplinary collective Tangram in collaboration with vocal ensemble SANSARA and poet and translator Yilin Wang, the choral music theatre work follows its premiere at the Aldeburgh Festival. Inspired by the writings of six Chinese women poets across more than a thousand years of history, the production blends newly commissioned choral music with movement, text and visual theatre. The performances are among the first major projects of Tangram’s residency as LSO St Luke’s Associate Artists. Each performance culminates in the barefoot choir creating a unique charcoal artwork live on stage, tracing themes of war, exile, love, loss and resilience.
On September 16, composer, singer, songwriter and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson launches her Associate Artist residency at LSO St Luke’s with “New roots: First light”. Drawing inspiration from her forthcoming album New Roots, the evening brings together live music, spoken word, dance and conversation to explore identity, ancestry, healing and renewal. Continuing a creative relationship with the LSO spanning more than 15 years, the performance features poet Inua Ellams, dancer Remi Ferdinand, presenter Ashley Joseph and members of Witter-Johnson’s band.
The autumn series culminates at the Barbican on November 19 as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival, bringing together saxophonist, composer and rapper Soweto Kinch and the London Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by André de Ridder, Trilogy unites the three large-scale works Kinch has created with the Orchestra since 2019: “The black peril”, “White Juju” and “Soundtrack to the apocalypse”. The performance explores themes of history, identity and social change through jazz, hip hop, spoken word and orchestral music.
Stephanie Hutchinson, Head of LSO Discovery, said that the concerts capture the spirit of what the LSO aims to achieve: inviting audiences to “experience orchestral music in fresh and unexpected ways”.
For more information, visit LSO and Baxter PR websites.
(Photos supplied by Baxter PR )
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