London Symphony Orchestra Announces First Ever South American Tour

The London Symphony Orchestra, under its new Music Director, Sir Simon Rattle, will tour Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru in May 2019, the first time that the orchestra has performed in South America, it was announced today.

Commenting on the plans for the South American tour, on the eve of the Orchestra's 17th residency at Lincoln Center in New York, Sir Simon Rattle said: "Sharing the culture and experience of these outstanding musicians with audiences in South America for the first time is exciting, opening up new relationships for the future. The Orchestra already undertakes more international touring than any other major UK orchestra. I passionately believe that these opportunities for international engagement are important both for the Orchestra and for London, as one of the world's great centres for music."

The London Symphony Orchestra is expanding its international touring in the coming years. In the upcoming 2018/19 season they will present 60 concerts internationally, visiting 44 cities in 19 countries: Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the US and Vietnam.

Following the orchestra's appearances at Lincoln Center in New York this month, they will undertake a major tour to Thailand and China under conductor Gianandrea Noseda, including concerts in Bangkok, Shenzhen, Changsha, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Tianjin and Beijing.

Sir Simon Rattle will conduct on the Orchestra's October 2018 visit to Korea, with three concerts in Seoul and one in Korea's 'smart city' of Songdo.

32-year-old Elim Chan, the first female winner of the LSO's Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, will conductin October 2018 on the Orchestra's first return visit to Vietnam, after playing to crowds of tens of thousands in a unique open-air concert in Hanoi's Old Quarter last year, the first British orchestra to appear in the country.

The London Symphony Orchestra [LSO] was established in 1904 with a unique ethos built on artistic ownership and partnership. With an inimitable signature sound, the LSO's mission is to bring the greatest music to the greatest number of people. The LSO has been the only Resident Orchestra at the Barbican Centre in the City of London since it opened in 1982 and gives 70 concerts there a year, working with a family of artists led by its Music Director Sir Simon Rattle. It is a pioneer of music education, reaching 60,000 people every year at its music education centre LSO St Luke's, across East London and further afield. The LSO founded its pioneering record label LSO Live in 1999 which today strives to embrace new digital technologies, regularly streaming concerts, embracing virtual reality, or developing platforms like LSO Play, an innovative new way to experience the Orchestra online. The LSO is a highly successful creative enterprise, with 80% of all funding self-generated.

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