About Us
Founded by conductor Sam Poppleton, The Zeitgeist Chamber Orchestra are a capable of moving seamlessly between styles, genres and musical eras. With an appetite for juxtaposing familiar and adventurous repertoire for between 10-20 instrumentalists they have been praised by countertenor Michael Chance CBE for the ‘virtuosity and thoughtfulness’ of their Baroque playing and James Burton said of the premier of his Convergence of the Twain 'they make a beautiful sound and the performance was thrilling'.
Their King's Place performance of their Birth of the Cool project, juxtaposing Miles Davis with Monteverdi, received 5* reviews (Bachtrack) and was described as ‘A powerful statement for 21st century innovation...Utterly engrossing...Zeitgeist played with the precision and depth of any top-tier orchestra’ and international Tenor soloist Nicholas Mulroy said their combination of Jeffy Buckley, Benjamin Britten, and John Dowland at Antenna Studios was 'First class. Connoisseurs of Dowland and Jeff Buckley alike would find so much so love, and the uninitiated would discover two new worlds of great music'.
Other recent performances have included A Christmas Truce with Epiphoni (5* Arts Desk) Bach's St John Passion at Ely Cathedral in aid of the Oxfam Syria Crisis Appeal, Mozart’s Gran Partita for Clifton International Arts Festival and collaborating with the David Hill and the Exon Singers on Handel's Dixit Dominus.
New arrangements of William Byrd, Ornette Coleman and Oasis keep ZCO's repertoire expanding as does performing contemporary works by Charlotte Bray, Marco Galvani, and Effy Efthymiou .
ZCO players can be seen performing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Gustav Mahler World Youth Orchestra, European Youth Orchestra and National Youth Jazz Orchestras as well as the Southbank Sinfonia and various chamber groups.
Their King's Place performance of their Birth of the Cool project, juxtaposing Miles Davis with Monteverdi, received 5* reviews (Bachtrack) and was described as ‘A powerful statement for 21st century innovation...Utterly engrossing...Zeitgeist played with the precision and depth of any top-tier orchestra’ and international Tenor soloist Nicholas Mulroy said their combination of Jeffy Buckley, Benjamin Britten, and John Dowland at Antenna Studios was 'First class. Connoisseurs of Dowland and Jeff Buckley alike would find so much so love, and the uninitiated would discover two new worlds of great music'.
Other recent performances have included A Christmas Truce with Epiphoni (5* Arts Desk) Bach's St John Passion at Ely Cathedral in aid of the Oxfam Syria Crisis Appeal, Mozart’s Gran Partita for Clifton International Arts Festival and collaborating with the David Hill and the Exon Singers on Handel's Dixit Dominus.
New arrangements of William Byrd, Ornette Coleman and Oasis keep ZCO's repertoire expanding as does performing contemporary works by Charlotte Bray, Marco Galvani, and Effy Efthymiou .
ZCO players can be seen performing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Gustav Mahler World Youth Orchestra, European Youth Orchestra and National Youth Jazz Orchestras as well as the Southbank Sinfonia and various chamber groups.
