Stoneleigh opens its spring concert with Kauyumari by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Inspired by the sacred blue deer of Huichol culture, Kauyumari was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to celebrate its return to the stage following the pandemic.

Almost 100 years earlier, Gershwin wrote his landmark Rhapsody in Blue, a fusion of symphonic music and jazz for piano and orchestra, which remains as fresh today as ever. Stoneleigh is delighted to welcome Spanish pianist Juanjo Blázquez as soloist.

Pictures at an Exhibition was originally composed for solo piano and has been orchestrated by many, most notably Ravel. A vivid description of a visit the composer made to an exhibition, it is an orchestral tour de force and perhaps Mussorgsky’s most outstanding achievement.

Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra is one of the UK’s leading youth orchestras. Founded in 1944, it runs two full-sized symphony orchestras with over 170 members from southwest London and Surrey.