Fantasia Orchestra “Birdsong” – Smith Square Hall, Sunday 23 November

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Inside Smith Square Hall - Photo credit Alex Rimell

On Sunday evening, the Fantasia Orchestra inaugured their four-concert residency at Smith Square Hall for the 2025/26 season, with a programme inspired by birdsong. The concert was billed as a celebration of voice, nature and musical storytelling and it certainly delivered this.

Though their original soprano, Lucy Crowe OBE, was suddenly unavailable, Elizabeth Watts stepped in on just 24 hours ’notice and delivered a performance nothing short of remarkable.

A Programme Reimagined by Fantasia Orchestra, but Intact in Spirit

Because of Crowe’s withdrawal, the programme was adapted but the revised setlist retained the concert’s thematic core. The pieces ranged widely, from baroque to modern, yet each was woven together by the motif of birds, flight, and nature. The evening opened with Vivaldi’s Spring from Four Seasons: Allegro setting the atmosphere with its vivacity and featuring a special guest violinist. The programme ventured through Handel’s ‘Sweet Bird’ from L’Allegro, Mozart’s ‘Dove Sono’ from The Marriage of Figaro, Messiaen’s exotic “Lovebird of the Star,” from Harawi, and Richard Strauss’s “Spring” from Four Last Songs.

After the interval came Haydn’s Symphony No. 83, “The Hen”, Berg’s ‘The Nightingale’, Rimsky-Korsakov ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’, closing with Kosma’s wistful ‘Autumn Leaves’. (All of this was beautifully arranged by Harry Baker and James Ledger)

This birdsong through the centuries concept may have risked feeling gimmicky, but under Tom Fetherstonhaugh’s direction, the orchestra carried it off with both lightness and emotional sincerity. The transitions between styles: baroque, romantic, modern, felt natural, like listening to different bird calls echoing through a forest or landscape, each with its own character.

Elizabeth Watts: A Star Turn

Watts’s contribution was a clear highlight. Despite the very short notice, her performance was emotionally grounded, technically precise, and deeply expressive. Her voice brought warmth and nuance to Messiaen’s “Lovebird,” and in Mozart and Handel she displayed both agility and lyrical beauty. She managed the programme’s stylistic shifts with poise and offered a consistent emotional centre to the evening.

A Moment to Remember: Kavuma’s ’I am the Sea’

One of the true high points was the London premiere of ‘I am the Sea’ by Blasio Kavuma, whose presence in the audience added an extra layer of poignancy. As the orchestra navigated the ebb and flow of the sea, metaphorically evoking tides and salt, the piece felt like a conversation between nature and composer, especially when set against the salt-doll story printed in the programme: a haunting tale of a little salt doll journeying across the sea, dissolving, and ultimately asking, “Now I know what I am.” The work’s emotional depth, combined with the orchestra’s sensitivity, made for a quietly unforgettable moment.

The Orchestra & Venue in Harmony

Smith Square Hall proved to be an ideal setting. Its intimate yet resonant acoustics allowed the strings to glint, the winds to breathe, and Watts’s soprano to soar. The hall’s charm — elegant, historic, with warm resonance — made the experience all the more

special. It felt less like a grand concert hall and more like being invited into a delicate, shared world of sound.

Fantasia Orchestra, described as ‘one of the country’s most genre-defying orchestras’, are clearly one of the UK’s most vibrant young ensembles. Under the direction of conductor and founder Tom Fetherstonhaugh, the orchestra is now building on the success of the acclaimed debut at the BBC Proms with a season featuring hand-curated programmes. Each concert is shaped by Tom’s personal musical connections, friendships, and artistic vision. Their musical vision feels bold: genre-blurring, ambitious, deeply collaborative. Their 2025–26 season (which this residency begins) promises more of that spirit.

Looking Ahead: The Rest of the Residency

This concert was just the start. Their four-show residency at Smith Square Hall continues with:

• 10 April 2026: “Between the Raags” with sitar virtuoso Jasdeep Singh Degun, blending Western orchestral music with Indian classical traditions.

• 29 May 2026: “Bold Moves” with pianist Steven Osborne and trumpeter Aaron Akugbo, combining jazz, Shostakovich, Gershwin and more.

• 3 July 2026: “From Mahler to Manhattan,” a song-based concert featuring mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, with repertoire from Alma Mahler, Richard Strauss, Sondheim, Cole Porter, and more.

Fantasia Orchestra’s full season details, including tickets and project announcements, will be shared at fantasiaorchestra.com and on social media @fantasiaorchestra.

Final Thoughts

Despite the unexpected change in soloist, the concert felt like a triumph of adaptability and artistry. Elizabeth Watts rose to the occasion, the orchestra proved its agility across styles, and the theme of birdsong gave the programme an organic, musical unity. Fantasia Orchestra have made a strong statement with this debut at Smith Square Hall: they are young, daring, and talented musicians.

If someone asked whether they should come to one of the later concerts in the residency, I’d say absolutely: this is an orchestra that doesn’t just play music, but tells stories, and they do it with heart.

Review rating – 5/5 – but probably for those that like classical music or want to broaden their horizons. The programme is not too long, and the different genres make it accessible for all.