Philharmonia Orchestra - Our Members

What We Offer

The Philharmonia’s distinctive education programme sits at the core of the organisation’s activity,
reflecting the Orchestra’s artistic integrity, identity and quality.

The department’s work falls into four distinct strands – Schools and Young People, Communities and Family, Insights and the Emerging Artists programme, reaching tens of thousands of people every year. It is an essential component of each of the Orchestra’s residencies, complementing the core London programme and our Residencies through a diverse range of projects, working with young people and adults from all spectrums of society in a multitude of settings including schools, higher education, community organisations and music education hubs.

The Philharmonia’s Education Department aims to inspire and engage as broad an audience as possible via an imaginative portfolio of participatory and educational projects, adding another dimension to the Orchestra’s work, and playing a central role in the broader life of the Orchestra.

Projects in Leicester include:
- Orchestra Unwrapped, a concert series for children aged 7-11, which offers thousands of children from many cultural backgrounds and education circumstances a dynamic opportunity to hear a world-class orchestra on their doorstep, accompanied by the learning resources to fully understand it. The Philharmonia produces two Orchestra Unwrapped concerts a year at De Montfort Hall, Leicester.
- Symphonize, a creative partnership between the Orchestra and Soft Touch Arts, working with vulnerable teenagers in Leicester. This urban-classical fusion project brings together two expert organisations in their field to deliver intensive, skills-enhancing creative activities and performances.
- Orchestral Experience, part of the Orchestra’s broader Emerging Artists programme. This includes progression and development opportunities for young instrumentalists in a variety of contexts, supporting the work of the music education hub, schools and both universities in Leicester.
- The Virtual Orchestra, an immersive experience inviting new audiences to explore a symphony orchestra from the inside. A ten-room installation and virtual reality experiences sit alongside school, family, and community workshops, a fringe programme of locally curated creative responses to the project, and deep-level audience development work to diversify our reach within our Residencies.