Jane Mitchell
Artistic Director
As Artistic Director, Jane and has built up the orchestra’s distinctive style of programming, presentation and performance over the past two decades. Jane feels passionately about finding new ways to make orchestral music speak to more people and has been deeply involved in Aurora’s programming, production and devising of work since the orchestra began. This work has included writing and directing the memorised presentations seen at the BBC Proms, devising the orchestra’s immersive performances, and writing, commissioning and directing Aurora’s Orchestral Theatre series at London’s Southbank Centre.
Jane was also responsible for launching Aurora’s first projects for young people in schools and has been central to the creation of the orchestra’s live work for young people (Far Far Away, Symphonic Sounds immersive performances and Meet the Instruments). In 2020 Jane also created Aurora Classroom, Aurora’s free digital platform which provides teacher training alongside resources, films and recordings for children of all ages.
Aurora memory
I tend to judge my Aurora memories on either how many goose-bumps or how much laughter they induce. I’m always particularly proud when an Aurora concert induces laughter as I find this quite a rare thing in most orchestral concerts. I will always remember the moment we got the audience to do a conga whilst singing ‘Dinosaurs stomp’ to the melody of the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. That was a late-night Far Far Away concert for reference! There have been so many goose-bump moments for me but I think the choreographed entrance of the choir during Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the BBC Proms in 2024 was a very special moment.