About
The musical theatre experts
The award-winning London Musical Theatre Orchestra is the UK’s specialist orchestra dedicated to musical theatre. The orchestra has been hailed by audiences, critics and artists as the pinnacle of theatre musicianship, with Andrew Lloyd Webber, after a performance of his work Love Never Dies, declaring “no composer could ask for more”.
Since LMTO’s launch in June 2016, the orchestra has performed live to over 100,000 people at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, the London Palladium and Theatre Royal Drury Lane, recorded several live and studio albums and had performances broadcast to millions on BBC Radio 2. The orchestra has accompanied many of the leading artists working in musical theatre, including Audra McDonald, Michael Ball, Alfie Boe, Luke Evans, Lucie Jones, Alex Newell, Marisha Wallace, Jason Manford, Ben Forster, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Cedric Neal, Samantha Barks, Brian Conley, Layton Williams and Ramin Karimloo.
Sitz
Through our monthly ‘Sitzes’ (private playthroughs of whole shows) we cultivate community through a shared joy of musical theatre amongst professional, student and amateur singers and musicians.
Previous Projects to develop the next generation
Our previous projects include: LMTO Upbeat which was designed to transform UK secondary school students with no prior musical experience into concert performers in just eight weeks.
Our Dev Scheme offered workshops, mentoring and a kick start to the careers of young professional musicians.
With support we want to develop more projects to inspire future generations.
Something’s coming
LMTO was founded by Freddie Tapner in July 2015, when he put out a call on Facebook in the hope of creating an orchestra filled with musicians who were as passionate about musicals as him.
To his complete surprise, over 250 people replied in less than 24 hours, all interested in playing musicals with a full orchestra.
Strike up the band
A few weeks later, on Sunday 13th July 2015, musicians gathered in St Silas Church and played through the score of a musical in private, just for fun. This was the first Sitz, and the London Musical Theatre Orchestra was born.
LMTO took up the position of Orchestra-in-Residence at Bishopsgate Institute in January 2016, where the Sitzes remain to this day.
Opening night
One year and 12 Sitzes later, it was time for audiences to hear what LMTO could do.
In 2016, LMTO launched its first public season: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s State Fair at Cadogan Hall and Alan Menken’s A Christmas Carol at the Lyceum Theatre, starring Robert Lindsay.
Patrons
Anthony Drewe
Michael Feinstein
Julian Fellowes
Paul Gemignani
Andrew Lippa
Clive Woodward
George Stiles
Stephen Schwartz
Howard Goodall
Jason Robert Brown
Alan Menken
Support us
LMTO is committed to sharing the visceral thrill of musicals performed with a full-scale professional orchestra. As a registered charity, we use the revenue from our performances to support the work we do through our Sitz programme and have previously supported the Devs Scheme and Upbeat, both of which are coming to a close this year. Our ticket revenue only makes up around 55% of our annual income needs, so we rely on the generosity of individuals and Trusts and Foundations to achieve our objectives.
Sitz
Each month, over 100 musicians and singers gather at Bishopsgate Institute to sing and play though the score of a musical in private. The result is extraordinary. Fancy coming along?