Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
One of the UK’s best-loved orchestras, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra is known for championing the role of culture in people’s lives. Based at Lighthouse, Poole, the Orchestra is resident in Bristol, Exeter, Portsmouth, Southampton and Yeovil, and performs in towns and villages across the region. A National Portfolio of Arts Council England, the BSO is a registered charity and the largest cultural provider in the South West of England, serving one of the biggest and most diverse regions in the UK.
The Orchestra’s work extends beyond the concert hall, into hospitals, community centres and more. It is celebrated for its pioneering community-based BSO Participate work, which forges partnerships with health and care providers and creates inclusive events in collaboration with schools and music education hubs. Recent highlights include the expansion of its creative health programme with Dorset County Hospital and Arts in Hospital into further Dorset HealthCare sites, and an extension of its support for Community and Wellbeing Orchestras supporting a range of needs, from Bodmin, Boscombe and Bristol to Somerset and Southampton.
In 2024/25:
- More than 137,450 attendances of 105 symphonic concerts in 20 locations across the South West.
- 77% of the BSO’s performances toured beyond its base at Lighthouse, Poole – including 59% of symphonic concerts.
- An estimated 14,698 views of the BSO’s globally broadcast Digital Concerts.
- 58,831 engagements in 396 learning and participatory experiences across 102 venues.
- 41,212 participations in 216 music education experiences in 60 locations.
- 13,517 participations in community and family events.
- More than 10,000 under-18s attended a BSO concert for free or just £1.