Creating Communities through Musical Experiences

Orchestra Vitae is a London-based ensemble specialising in using classical music to create connections between people and communities. Through activities such as our Concert Chum initiative our ambition is to bring classical music to as wide a range of people as possible, especially those who might find it difficult to attend concerts in person.

Orchestra Vitae plays regularly at St John’s Smith Square. The Orchestra has completed a Brahms Symphony Cycle, commissioned a new symphonic work ‘Arches’ by Dani Howard, performed contemporary works by Stephen McNeff, Stephen Montague, Jonathan Dove, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Diana Burrell, performed with soloists John Harle, Fionnuala Ward and the Françoise-Green piano duo, formed a choir and worked with hundreds of school children in our outreach events. We aim to include a work by a British contemporary composer in each of our performances.

Since its foundation in 2012, the orchestra has been hired to perform at a number of prestigious venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Windsor Castle, Guildford Cathedral, and Chiswick House and Gardens.

People

Fiona Academic 1.jpg — Fiona Gibbs, Director of Music

Fiona is passionate about using the orchestra to promote mental well-being and to combat loneliness. She is the creator of our Concert Chums initiative.

A first study violinist, Fiona gained a place at the Royal College of Music Junior Department at the age of twelve before going on to read Music at Undergraduate and Master’s level at King’s College, London. In 2011 she returned to the RCM to undertake her PhD – ‘The Royal Albert Hall: A Case Study of an Evolving Cultural Venue’. Since graduating in 2018 Fiona has worked as an academic, musician and teacher across the UK. She has given talks on her research for a number of organisations including the BBC, the Royal Albert Hall, the Foundation for International Education, Archives for London, TEDx events and Imperial College London.

Pablo Urbina (b.1988, Vitoria- Gasteiz, Spain), is a young Spanish conductor graduate from the Royal College of Music London, semifinalist of the 2017 Maestro Solti International Conducting Competition and a 2018 Nominee for the Nestlé & Salzburg Young Conductors Award. Currently the Music Director of the London City Orchestra, he was recently appointed Principal Conductor of London based Orchestra Vitae. In 2019 he was associate conductor at the Al Bustan Festival in Lebanon, and remains as Associate Conductor of the festival Suoni dal Golfo in Italy. Since 2019 Pablo is also of UK charity The Amber Trust

Pablo has conducted orchestras that include the Tunisian National Symphony, Balearic Symphony Orchestra, Navarra Symphony Orchestra, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Classica de Madeira (Portugal), National Youth Orchestra of Portugal, Malaga Symphony Orchestra, Savaria Symphony Orchestra, Grand Philharmonic Orchestra London, Navarra Chamber Opera and the Royal College of Music Student´s Film Orchestra (which he co-founded). In 2019 Pablo assisted Maestro Gianluca Marciano in an opera gala with The Hallé Orchestra. He has also worked with other acclaimed musicians such as Bernard Haitink, Leo Nucci, Jorma Panula, Leoanrd Slatkin, Vladimir Jurowski, Cecilia Bartoli, Juan Diego Flórez, John Williams and Randy Newman. 2019 saw Urbina´s debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall of London. Upcoming engagements include a new opera production with Chamber Opera of Navarra for 2020.

In 2016 he gave the premiere in Spanish of Karl Jenkins opera Eloise with Chamber Opera of Navarra, and has worked in productions of Don Giovanni and La Traviatta with Baluarte Foundation and Navarra Symphony Orchestra.. He has studied the music of composer Michael Kamen, extensively, and serves as adviser for the preservation and revitalisation of his music worldwide. Pablo is also a strong advocate for music education and outreach, and the promotion of Spanish repertoire.

Pablo Urbina grew up in Pamplona, Spain, and went onto to study as a scholar at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, with Kristy Morrell. In 2014 he finished a Master of Music at the RCM London, with Peter Stark, also as scholar.

Fiona Gibbs - Director of Music

Adrien De Laitre - Fundraising Manager & Concert Assistant