Hi everyone,

On Tuesday 2nd dec, London Sinfonietta had the first part to their 40th Birthday Anniversay at the Queen Elizebeth Hall, Southbank. With performances by Harrison Birtwistle, Christian Mason, Lorry Grove and John Adams as well as a live DJ performance by Mira Calix after the concert and an animation installation in collaboration with Kingston University Animation students in the QEH foyer.

Will Crook of the Culture Collective also painted the 40th Birthday Logo onto the wall in the foyer at QEH, and the animation students created a wall for messages which the audience were able to write and draw their thoughts...

Amah Asomani, Street Genius has taken many beautiful photographs of the rehearsals for the concert on Tuesday. Here are just a few of the photos, showing the London Sinfonietta musicians rehearsing Cortege by Harrison Birtwistle.

The photographs by Amah of the rehearsal, together with archive photographs of the London Sinfonietta's musicians and composers over the 40 years from the ensembles opening in 1968, are being projected as part of the London Sinfonietta's 40th Birthday event on 13th dec.

Some members of the Culture Collective and Street Genius also performed with Harmonicas and percussion in a new composition by Christian Mason, In the Midst of the Sonorous Island, commisioned especially for the London Sinfonietta's 40th Birthday concert.

Here we are in the rehearsals earlier in the day, 36 musicians and non-musicians took part and performed from the audience in the piece.

More blogs to come . . .