The Parabola Foundation supports the Aurora Orchestra in Kings Place, London.
The Aurora Orchestra were delighted to feature as part of Kings Place’s “Sound Unwrapped”, a year-long celebration of sound artists and exploration of spatial dimensions in live performance.
Aurora opened its 2023 season with ‘Supersonic’, a kaleidoscopic programme centered on the sights and sounds of Paris. In June 2023, Kings Place Resident Artist Laura van der Heijden joined the Aurora Orchestra for CPE Bach’s fiery Concerto in A minor, as part of a programme exploring two hundred years of sonic innovation. In September Aurora were joined by Anna Meredith for a rare performance of Anno, Meredith’s 21st-century reimagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons for strings, harpsichord and electronics. For the final concert of the year, an intimate performance of Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s “In the Light of Air” presented in the round with theatrical lighting.
In addition to activity directly supported by Parabola’s financial support, Aurora Orchestra also delivered a variety of work for young people and families at Kings Place across the year. In June ‘Mozart in the Garden’ was delivered, a storytelling show which explored nature and the natural world with the music of Mozart, arranged for harp, cello and flute. The show featured a new story by children’s poet Kate Wakeling and incorporated several interactive moments, including singing, movement, using body percussion and children’s percussion instruments.
Nine performances for families in Hall Two, and ten performances for children from local Camden primary schools were delivered, reaching more than 400 children in total.
In November and December, the year was finished with performances of ‘Beethoven and the Dinosaurs’ - a very popular Far, Far Away show which combines the music of Beethoven arranged for piano, flute and cello with an interactive story exploring all different kinds of dinosaurs. As before, we delivered performances both for families and schools.
