Ipswich Symphony Orchestra

Home Update - October 2026

Rehearsals are well underway for our stunning Autumn Concert on Saturday 28 November, when we are delighted to bring award-winning pianist, Khanh Nhi Luong to Ipswich to perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 4 for you. This concerto is a masterpiece, innovative in its crafting of quiet beauty - with the lyrical persistence of the piano transforming the character of the orchestra - and the finale is one of the most joyous movements of any concerto. Our splendid soloist has been praised as “a rising star of exceptional sensitivity and imagination”, recognised for her vivid artistry and commanding stage presence.

Our programme opens with Borodin's symphonic poem, In the Steppes of Central Asia, evoking a caravan of nomads and mercants crossing the vast landscape. We finish with Rachmaninov's second symphony. The music emerges from a single 'motto theme' that evolves throughout the work. Brooding and shadowed in the first movement, it becomes frantic and defiant in the second. The third movement is, perhaps, the most famous theme of all Rachmaninov's orchestral works, with a beautiful warmth and lyricism of movement. (Ironically, the composer thought it was too sentimental!). Uncertainty resolves into confidence - and darkness into light - in the bright, fast, and triumphant finale.

Book in advance to secure your chosen seats, available in the balcony and the stalls.

Tickets are available from the online box office and from our Members:
Quick Link to Box Office and on the door.

Remember to visit our Concert Dates & Programmes Page to see the exciting programmes we will be performing in the future - and save the dates!

Please explore our website to see what we do, and join us on our social networks too (simply click on the icons)

Ipswich's Own Orchestra for 124-Years

Registered Charity No 276724

Ipswich Symphony Orchestra has performed concerts in Ipswich since 1902 and is one of the oldest amateur orchestras in the UK. During more than a century of high quality music making, the Orchestra has built up an enviable reputation for performing adventurous and challenging programmes.

Previous conductors include Sir Colin Davis and Rumon Gamba. Our present conductor, Adam Gatehouse, has worked with the Orchestra since 2000, during which time the repertoire has been expanded and developed to encompass some of the greatest works of the symphonic repertoire - including symphonies by Mahler, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, as well as music by Beethoven, Strauss, Debussy and Leonard Bernstein.

In recent years the Orchestra has worked with some major world-renowned soloists including Benjamin Baker, Martin James Bartlett, Nicola Benedetti, Imogen Cooper, Alexandra Dariescu, Savitri Grier, Benjamin Grosvenor, Laura van der Heijden, Emma Johnson, Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Pavel Kolesnikov, Dame Felicity Lott, Steven Osborne, Jennifer Pike, Julian Lloyd Webber and the Orchestra’s Patron, Noriko Ogawa, bringing some of the very best international talent to Ipswich audiences every season.

Working within our community is important to the Ipswich Symphony Orchestra. Our Summer concert has been a significant component of Ipswich Summer Events for many years. In March each year we present an afternoon Family Concert which, by careful choice of popular music, aims to engage and inspire a new, young audience to take part in live musical performance.

All our concerts are performed in the Ipswich Corn Exchange. Tickets are available from the Ipswich Arts and Entertainments Booking Office and orchestra members. Further information is available on the Tickets page.