New online season announced at the Southbank

The Southbank Centre has announced a new online season of music, literature and comedy while the venue remains closed to the public during the pandemic.

Inside Out, which runs from September 17 – December 30.

There will be 30 orchestral concerts, including the culmination of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2020 Vision series.

Inside Out will also feature acclaimed musicians including Tasmin Little, Víkingur Ólafsson, Roderick Williams, Alina Ibragimova and Pekka Kuusisto, and writers and activists such as Alicia Garza – co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Angela Davis, Arundhati Roy and Kae Tempest.

The autumn season will be the first time these once vibrant spaces will be reopened to artists since doors closed on 17 March.

This includes welcoming home the Southbank Centre’s world-leading Resident and Associate Orchestras as they begin their 2020/21 seasons.

They come with programmes to reflect vital contemporary cultural conversations around the Black Lives Matter campaign, with 16 of the overall 57 pieces of music by composers of colour.

Seven literature events will feature: John Cleese, Angela Davis, Alicia Garza, Dawn French, Claudia Rankine, Arundhati Roy, and Kae Tempest.

Classical music highlights include: Tasmin Little’s last ever recital at a major UK venue; a special installment of the International Piano Series from Southbank Centre Artist-in-Residence, Víkingur Ólafsson; and the world premiere of James B. Wilson’s new commission, in collaboration with poet Yomi Sode, inspired by a resonant moment in the recent Black Lives Matter protests, performed by Chineke! Orchestra.

Gillian Moore, director of music and performing arts at the Southbank Centre, said: “When the Southbank Centre’s doors closed on March 17, we could never have imagined that the spaces would remain silent for so long.

“This has been a devastating time. We’ve all been yearning to get back to what we love: making music and sharing this with our audiences.

“We are delighted to welcome back our Resident & Associate Orchestras this Autumn to launch their 20/21 season, alongside some of the greatest authors, writers and thinkers of our time, exploring some of the most urgent issues of the day.

“The Royal Festival Hall needs to reverberate again and we are so grateful to all our partners who will be helping us bring it back to life allowing us to reconnect with our audiences through streaming and radio broadcasts.

“The arts show us how far we’ve come and how far we’ve got to go. Never have we needed them more.”