THE EXOPLANETS
A cosmic story of love, loss, and the power of curiosity from CLS and award-winning theatre company curious directive, featuring music by seven visionary composers.
6–7 Sept 2025, Norwich Theatre RoyalCity of London Sinfonia’s bold new season of orchestral storytelling, celebrating the spirit of adventure, imagination, and discovery that drives both music and humanity forward.
Across a series of live events at Hackney Empire and Hackney Church, the season invites audiences to step beyond the familiar and into the extraordinary. From the deep seas of Explorers to the lunar dreams of From Dusk ’til Dawn, and the cosmic expanse of The Exoplanets, each concert is a journey through sound, story, and the unknown.
This is a season of risk and reinvention.
In the exceptional CLS style, 
performances are led from within the orchestra, placing musicians at the heart of the creative process. Classical masterpieces sit alongside new commissions, film scores, and collaborations with theatre-makers and scientists. At its core, New Frontiers expands what smaller-scale orchestral music can be: personal, cinematic, boundary-pushing.
Whether navigating uncharted planets, rediscovering Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, or tracing the music of the night sky, City of London Sinfonia invites you to hear differently, feel more deeply, and reconnect with wonder.
This is not just a concert series. It’s an invitation to explore.
EXPLORERS
A thrilling musical journey through high seas, wild landscapes, and imagined worlds, encompassing the sweeping drama of cinema and composition.
17 Sept 2025, Hackney Empire
TRAILBLAZERS
What happens when you remove the conductor? Connection. Risk. Electricity. A bold, live experience celebrating musical pioneers who broke the mould.
22 Oct 2025, Hackney Empire
FROM DUSK ′TIL DAWN
A live, living encounter with timeworn stone and contemporary stillness, filling the iconic Hackney Church with music that travels through sound, sleep, and starlight.
6 Nov 2025, Hackney Church
THE EXOPLANETS
Our groundbreaking multi-author orchestral suite in concert, hosted by Robin Ince and astrophysicist Dr Jen Gupta.
13 March 2026, Hackney Empire
Plan your evening with our guide to eating out in Hackney!
See what’s good‘CLS is diving into exploring unknown regions in music, geography, politics, society, and humanity over the next five years, all under the banner of our new purpose “Music and…”.
‘This purpose will see us explore, investigate, listen, challenge, and learn from different points of view, different people, different experiences, cultures, and bring thrilling new works and reimagined old works to existing and new audiences. In 2030, we’ll be celebrating our 60th year and we want to do so as a chamber orchestra with an authentic voice which brings integrity, agency, and joy to everyone we work with and work for.
‘This exciting new season at Hackney Empire marks a moment of a new relationship exploring all that this can bring in a new venue steeped in extraordinary performance and an architectural history. We really want to lean into the excitement that this performance venue allows us to explore. In association with Hackney Empire, this season looks at people and science that have pushed the boundaries of exploration and music, stepping into unknown lands and into new frontiers.’
—Rowan Rutter, CEO of City of London Sinfonia
CLS’s New Frontiers season is made possible thanks to the generous support of
The Garfield Weston Foundation
The Foyle Foundation
Resonate, a PRS Foundation initiative
in partnership with Association of British Orchestras and BBC Radio 3