Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra hold five concerts each season, taking place at St John's Waterloo, St Giles Cripplegate, and Langton's Lakeside.
We are also honoured to work closely with other organisations throughout the year, including our frequent collabrotive partner, Islington Choral Society.
Our season opens on Saturday 18 October 2025 at St Giles Cripplegate, with a colourful and rhythmically charged programme. Poulenc’s witty and effervescent Les Biches sets the tone, followed by Edward Gregson’s powerful Tuba Concerto, with soloist to be announced. The mystical landscape of Sibelius’s En Saga leads us into the brilliant and fiery world of Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919 version), rounding out an evening of rich orchestral colour and expressive range.
WPO Concert 1:
Saturday 18th October 2025 7:30pm
St Giles Cripplegate
Poulenc: Les Biches
Gregson: Tuba Concerto
Soloist: Andrew Kershaw
Sibelius: En Saga
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite
On Saturday 6 December 2025, we return to St John’s Waterloo for a concert full of drama, lyricism, and English musical heritage. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s sparkling The Bamboula opens the evening, leading into Rachmaninoff’s beloved Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, showcasing a solo pianist (t.b.a.) in a dazzling display of virtuosity. The programme concludes with Ralph Vaughan Williams’s majestic and deeply spiritual Job: A Masque for Dancing, a powerful evocation of suffering, faith, and redemption.
WPO Concert 2:
Saturday 6th December 2025
7:30pm
St John’s Waterloo
Coleridge-Taylor: The Bamboula
Rachmaninoff: Paganini Rhapsody
Soloist: Agnieszka Pluta
Vaughan Williams: Job: A Masque for Dancing
The orchestra’s third concert, on Saturday 28 February 2026 at St John’s Waterloo, blends ballet, cinematic romance, and symphonic sweep. Holst’s flamboyant Ballet Music from The Perfect Fool opens the evening with otherworldly flair, followed by Erich Korngold’s lush and emotionally charged Violin Concerto, performed by the thrilling young soloist Charlie Lovell-Jones. The programme ends with George Lloyd’s monumental Symphony No. 4, an expansive and rarely heard work of remarkable depth and grandeur.
WPO Concert 3:
Saturday 28th February 2026
7:30pm
St John’s Waterloo
Holst: Ballet from The Perfect Fool
Korngold: Violin Concerto
Soloist: Charlie Lovell-Jones
George Lloyd: Symphony No. 4
Our final concert of the main season takes place on Saturday 9 May 2026 at St Giles Cripplegate, with a spring-themed programme that highlights innovation and intensity. Lili Boulanger’s shimmering miniature D’un matin de printemps offers a radiant start, followed by Bantock’s evocative Russian Scenes. The spotlight then turns to a rare performance of Ruth Gipps’s lyrical and beautifully crafted Oboe Concerto (soloist t.b.a.). The season concludes with Elgar’s Symphony No. 1, a masterwork of nobility, pathos, and English symphonic brilliance.
WPO Concert 4:
Saturday 9th May 2026
7:30pm
St St Giles Cripplegate
Lili Boulanger: D’un Matin de Printemps
Bantock: Russian Scenes
Gipps: Oboe Concerto
Soloist: Ewan Millar
Elgar: Symphony No. 1
We round off the year with a summer outdoor concert on Sunday 7 June 2026 at Langton’s Lakeside in Havering (to be confirmed). This relaxed, family-friendly event promises a joyful mix of light classics and seasonal favourites in a beautiful open-air setting. Full programme details will be announced closer to the date.
WPO Concert 5 TBC:
Sunday 7th June 2026 TBC
3:00pm
Langton’s Lakeside, Havering
Repertoire tba.
WESTMINSTER PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA 