A NEW ORCHESTRA FOR UPPER NORWOOD – London Mozart Players to make St John’s their base from mid-July
On July 15th 2016, The London Mozart Players will be relocating their offices to the premises of St John the Evangelist, a church based in Upper Norwood in the borough of Croydon.
With the temporary closure of the Fairfield Halls in July 2016 – where the orchestra’s offices were previously based – this office move will see the LMP become a community-located orchestra.
As well as physically relocating, St John’s and the LMP will be launching a visionary joint venture to engage surrounding communities with projects that will further enrich and develop the cultural life of Croydon.
Relocating their offices out of the concert hall, this exciting new partnership and office move will fully integrate the LMP into the heart of the Croydon community. The orchestra will create a new concert series and further develop their highly-regarded community and education programme LMP Voyager.
With a parish of over 14,000 people and a history steeped in music, St John’s is already heavily involved in exciting initiatives and projects in the Croydon borough, playing host to various arts festivals. The venue has also been used as a BBC broadcast venue and is becoming increasingly renowned for its acoustic for recordings.
An LMP spokeswoman told News From Crystal Palace: “We plan to continue our relationship with the Fairfield Halls and be an integral part of its musical life once it reopens. “In terms of physically relocating there, that is yet to be seen.
“Our plan to move St John’s and the vision we have for developing this partnership is a long term one.”
London Mozart Players executive directorJulia Desbruslais says: “By planting the orchestra in the very heart of the community it opens up the potential to develop a new audience, a concert series, educational and community projects and a real vision for the orchestra moving forward.
“While regeneration projects take place in the centre of Croydon we will be engaging in efforts that will further develop our ties with communities across the Croydon borough, tapping into new areas and securing our place at the centre of all things cultural when the Fairfield re-opens.”
Fr. John Pritchard of St John the Evangelist said:
‘Since the establishment of St John’s Church in Upper Norwood in 1887, faith and music have been of central importance and practice in SE19.
“We are a community crammed with artists and musicians; so, it is of immense delight to welcome into St John’s, the London Mozart Players.
“This joint venture, of St John’s providing a home for the LMP, and the LMP becoming a community centred and located orchestra means that for both of us, life will never be quite the same.
“Community focus, educational projects, concerts, teaching, charity – opportunities to celebrate and enhance every aspect of the life of our community through the influence of music and a social community.’
The London Mozart Players will be relocating offices on July 15th 2016. Please check the website for changes in phone lines, which will be published on the day of the move: www.lmp.org
New office address: LMP at St John’s, St John’s the Evangelist, Auckland Road, Upper Norwood, London SE19 2RX
London Mozart Players
Founded in 1949, the LMP took residency at the Fairfield Halls in 1989. The LMP is also the longest running chamber orchestra in the UK.
Since inception the LMP have developed an extensive and highly regarded education, community and audience development programme ‘LMP Voyager’
The LMP plays an active role in contemporary music, giving many world premieres and commissioning new works, in recent years by composers that include Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Cecilia McDowall & Jonathan Dove.
St John the Evangelist
The Church of St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood (part of the Church of England) is a Grade II* listed building in South East London.
The church, which is a fine example of the work of architect John Loughborough Pearson, came into being due to the vision of the first vicar, the Revd William LaTrobe Bateman and was consecrated in 1887, when it was described as “the most beautiful parish church of modern days”.
Music has always been a central part of St John’s worship and the building is regularly used as a venue for concerts and recordings. The parish has changed considerably in the last 125 years but St John’s continues to flourish as a centre for the local community.
In addition to worship, we have relationships with local schools, scout troops, YMCA as well as the Crystal Palace Transition Town, Film Festival and Overground Festival.
