Currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music has revealed its 2025/26 classical season – marking the start of an ambitious new era for the music centre and Royal Northern Sinfonia. Now in its third decade, The Glasshouse is building on its founding vision with bold programming, new partnerships and a deepening connection to its community.
At the heart of these plans is an extended musical family.
Dinis Sousa continues as Royal Northern Sinfonia’s artistic leader, now in an enhanced role as Music Director till 2030. Since joining in April 2021, Sousa has injected fresh energy into Royal Northern Sinfoniawith bold programming and memorable, critically acclaimed performances.
Sousa is a passionate interpreter of the chamber orchestra repertoire, with a recent 5* review of his Beethoven cycle at the Philharmonie de Paris praising his ‘thrilling’ and ‘unforgettable’ performances. He brings this same commitment to his work with young people and community groups, and in 25/26 will start a new mass participation project with Dance United Yorkshire and North East schools.
As Music Director, Sousa will cement Royal Northern Sinfonia’s reputation as one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. His concerts in 25/26 form the spine of the orchestra’s season, weaving together collaborations with great artists like Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) and Imogen Cooper (piano) with well-loved masterpieces of the classical repertoire – Mozart, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky – and contemporary greats György Kurtág and Sofia Gubaidulina. Sousa also leads a special Sage Two concert celebrating the endlessly inventive Luciano Berio, a composer whose work was shaped by classical tradition as well as folk, electronic and popular music influences – including The Beatles. Sousa closes the season in June with a very special celebration of Mozart, conducting Imogen Cooper and Paul Lewis in a programme featuring the composer’s final piano concerto and the joyful Concerto for Two Pianos – bringing together grace, warmth and virtuosity in one final flourish.
Conductor John Wilson and Sinfonia of Londonwill become an Artistic Partner from 25/26, giving regular performances in and around the classical season, and collaborating with The Glasshouse on its plans for its third decade. The music centre will become a base for Wilson, himself born and raised here in Gateshead, and his critically acclaimed new symphony orchestra. In 25/26, concerts include evocative English works for strings by Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Bliss and Delius, and a programme opening with Strauss’s Don Juan and Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto with star pianist Alexandre Kantorow, culminating in Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
Artistic Partner Maria Włoszczowska curates a season of chamber-scale brilliance. She opens with a reduced, emotionally resonant version of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, paired with Strauss’s Metamorphosen and Morgen! In November, she joins celebrated pianist Martin Helmchen with a programme featuring Mozart’s radiant Piano Concerto No. 24 and exuberant Farewell Symphony, and in May she directs Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Other highlights include Stravinsky’s darkly brilliant The Soldier’s Tale directed by Live Theatre’s Artistic Director Jack McNamara and a collaboration with guitarist Sean Shibefeaturing Cassandra Miller’s Chanter.
Nil Venditti – already a firm audience favourite – returns to The Glasshouse and Royal Northern Sinfonia for two concerts in her second season as Principal Guest Conductor, including Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and a performance of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto with Artistic Partner Maria Włoszczowska.
Visiting orchestras include: The Hallé under Kahchun Wong; London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan with cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; and Vasily Petrenko with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Tom Borrow for one of the most popular works in classical music, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra return with Mahler’s epic Symphony No. 9 under Domingo Hindoyan.
Other season highlights include welcoming imaginative interpreter of Baroque and Classical period music, Italian conductor Giovanni Antonini and welcoming back Bjarte Eike to direct Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas.
Haydn’s music runs as a thread through the season, seen through three distinctive lenses. Giovanni Antonini conducts a vibrant programme including the ‘London’ Symphony and Piano Concerto No. 11 with Kristian Bezuidenhout. Dinis Sousa leads an epic performance of The Creation in May, and Maria Włoszczowska closes her own season of chamber-scale concerts with Haydn’s witty Farewell Symphony.
The Piano Greats series features Angela Hewitt performing an all-Bach programme in February; Imogen Cooper alongside mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly; a dazzling recital by Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; and left-hand pianist Nicholas McCarthy playing Wagner, Bartók and Scriabin.
RNS Moves – Royal Northern Sinfonia’s sister inclusive ensemble – brings its ground-breaking music-making to new audiences this season, making debut appearances at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester) and King’s Place (London).
The season is a celebration of everything The Glasshouse stands for in its third decade – world-class music, full of adventure.
Reflecting on his extended tenure, Sousa said: “Royal Northern Sinfonia is a truly special orchestra, and working with them is always an inspiration. I feel our bond gets stronger and stronger with each project, and I am incredibly happy that we get to extend our time together until the start of the next decade. They are such an open and generous group of musicians who have an amazing ability to connect with everyone. This special spirit means that we can continue to build an even bigger community around classical music at The Glasshouse, and beyond. I’m really excited for the years ahead – continuing to explore, challenge, and share incredible music together.”
John Wilson, conductor and Artistic Partner, added: “I am beyond excited to announce this new partnership between The Glasshouse and my orchestra Sinfonia of London. The audiences of the North East have always been passionate about good music of every kind and I look forward to our first season of concerts which reflect various aspects of my musical life, showcasing epic symphonic masterpieces, 20th century English music and timeless classics of Hollywood and Broadway. To play all of this music in one of the great concert halls of the world – and all in my home town – is a dream come true. I look forward to seeing you all over the coming weeks and months.”
James Thomas, Executive Director of Royal Northern Sinfonia and Classical Music at The Glasshouse, added: “This season marks an exciting step forward for classical music at The Glasshouse. It brings together an extraordinary mix of artists, projects and partnerships – from Dinis’s inspiring leadership and new collaborations to the arrival of Sinfonia of London, and brilliant performances across our halls. This season brings together so many things we care about – great music, inspiring artists and projects that build deeper connections with audiences here in the North East. There’s a huge amount to look forward to.”