Academy of St Martin in the Fields Announces 2026/27 Season With Joshua Bell

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields has revealed highlights from its 2026/27 season - a programme that brings together a major London series alongside an ambitious international touring programme and a significant further expansion of its social purpose activity.

At the centre of the season is the celebration of Joshua Bell’s 15 years as ASMF Music Director, a relationship that began when Joshua recorded his first album with ASMF and Sir Neville Marriner in 1988 and which continues to shape the orchestra's artistic identity today. This milestone is marked throughout the season, centring on a London performance at Cadogan Hall in January 2027, following a major European tour that includes performances as part of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie's 10th anniversary season.

The season brings together a distinctive roster of internationally recognised soloists and emerging artists performing at pivotal moments of their careers. Collaborators include Stella Chen, Augustin Hadelich and Anastasia Kobekina, alongside pianists including Conrad Tao, Eric Lu, Alice Sara Ott and Jan Lisiecki, with programmes to showcase both individual artistry and the collaborative player-led approach that defines ASMF’s music making. Many of these artists appear across both the London series and international touring programme, reflecting the orchestra’s sustained relationships with leading performers and its role in presenting the next generation of soloists in both intimate and high-profile settings.

ASMF presents a season that spans its London home at St Martin-in-the-Fields, major venues including the Barbican Centre and Royal Albert Hall, and an extensive international touring schedule, reinforcing its position as one of the UK’s most active and globally visible orchestras.

International touring

ASMF maintains a substantial international touring presence across Europe, Asia, and the United States with performances in leading concert halls and festivals worldwide.

Highlights include tours with Music Director Joshua Bell in Europe and Asia, alongside further international appearances with leading soloists across the season. Touring activity includes orchestral and chamber ensemble performances, reflecting the flexibility of ASMF’s player-led model.

A major highlight of the 2026/27 international touring programme is ASMF’s appearance at Klavier-Festival Ruhr in Germany, where the orchestra will serve as the festival’s first orchestra-in-residence in June 2027. The residency features performances with Conrad Tao, Arthur and Lucas Jussen, and Isata Kanneh-Mason.

ASMF and Conrad Tao also tour the United States together in February and March 2027, and May 2027 will see concerts with Augustin Hadelich and Anastasia Kobekina across Europe. In August, pianist Jan Lisiecki – whose recent collaborations with ASMF included a 19-date tour of Germany and Europe performing all five of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos as well as Beethoven’s Triple Concerto – joins the orchestra again for summer festival performances in Poland and Germany.

As one of the UK’s most active orchestras internationally, ASMF’s touring activity generates significant income from overseas presenters and philanthropists which is reinvested into enabling its UK-based work. These fees directly support the livelihoods of its musicians and staff, sustain the orchestra’s London concert series, and enable continued investment in its artistic programme and social purpose activity. ASMF is the most active UK orchestra not in receipt of public funding from Arts Council England.

London season

The London season forms the core of ASMF’s UK activity, centred on its long-standing partnership with St Martin-in-the-Fields, where the orchestra is Principal Orchestral Partner. Across the season, this series provides a consistent London base for the ASMF’s work, bringing together core repertoire, new perspectives and a series of artist collaborations, shaped through the orchestra’s player-led approach.

Programmes range from cornerstone works of the orchestral canon to contemporary repertoire, with concerts featuring artists including Conrad Tao, who performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23, alongside the world premiere of a new commission written for ASMF, reflecting his dual perspective as both composer and performer.

The London season includes performances of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto by Stella Chen, following her widely acclaimed recent recording with ASMF, alongside appearances by Eric Lu, winner of the Leeds International Piano and International Chopin Piano Competition, and Augustin Hadelich, performing Paganini’s Violin Concerto No.4 in a new chamber orchestration. Cellist Sterling Elliot, a BBC New Generation Artist, also appears as part of the orchestra’s ongoing partnership with the BBC NGA Programme and support of exceptional emerging talent. Performances with St Martin’s Voices bring large-scale choral works into the season, including Bach’s St John Passion and the annual Christmas concerts.

Beyond St Martin-in-the-Fields, the orchestra also appears in major London venues, including the Barbican Centre and Cadogan Hall, as well as the Royal Albert Hall, extending the season’s reach through large-scale projects such as Brassed Off and Pirates of the Caribbean in Concert.

Access and participation remain central to the London season. Free tickets are available at every St Martin-in-the-Fields concert for participants in ASMF’s social purpose programmes, alongside open rehearsals for schools, offering direct engagement in the rehearsal process and orchestral music-making. These initiatives sit alongside ongoing audience development work aimed at engaging younger audiences and those currently underrepresented in classical music.

Social purpose and audience development

ASMF’s social purpose programme continues to expand as a central strand of its mission, building on long-standing work with communities experiencing homelessness and with talented young musicians.

At every St Martin-in-the-Fields concert, free tickets are provided for participants from homeless shelters across the city who have connected with the orchestra through its Social Purpose activities. September sees the launch of a new orchestra for people experiencing homelessness as part of a wider set of initiatives to connect with this community in London. This programme is the central pillar in a broader programme designed to increase access to orchestral music and support participation across different communities.

Alongside this, ASMF is building audience development initiatives focused on reaching younger audiences and groups currently underrepresented in classical music, supporting long-term engagement with the orchestra’s work. This includes open rehearsals for school children for all ASMF's London's concerts.

International touring activity increasingly incorporates social purpose activities, including workshops, coaching, schools’ concerts, open rehearsals, and collaborations with local communities in the cities in which ASMF performs.

Talent development and partnerships

ASMF continues to invest in emerging talent through partnerships including Bayer’s stARTacademy, supporting the development of young musicians through performance opportunities, mentorship and international collaboration. In the 2026/2027 season, the orchestra also launches a coaching offer for state secondary schools in the UK, a new Associate Fellowship scheme for early-career violinists and continues to embed talent development opportunities in its international tours.

The 2026/27 season reflects this ongoing commitment through its programming, which brings together established soloists and artists at earlier stages of their international careers.

An independent orchestra with global reach

ASMF continues to operate as an independent organisation without regular public subsidy. This model enables the orchestra to balance international touring with UK performance activity and sustained investment in social purpose and audience development. Income generated through international activity supports its London-based programme, its workforce, and its wider artistic initiatives. Alongside this, ASMF is supported by a growing body of generous donors and sponsors, whose contributions enable the orchestra to invest further in artistic projects and programmes that would otherwise not be possible, while providing greater long-term stability and confidence. The orchestra’s five-year fundraising campaign remains ahead of target and ahead of schedule as it works towards its £5 million goal in time for its 70th anniversary in 2029.