Challenging perceptions of a classical traditional

December 2013

Sinfonia d’Amici is a young, highly innovative and some might say ‘irreverent’ classical orchestra.

As a ‘Symphony of Friends’, the group share a total passion for the power and beauty of classical music, but believe that over time the art form has become more elitist and exclusive – discouraging many people from accessing and enjoying it. The group is keen to see a return to the more open attitudes that prevailed in Mozart’s day, when classical performance was an interactive and raucous affair.

Sinfonia posters

To achieve this, the orchestra create innovative performances built around a range of challenging questions: Why should audiences wait for the accepted appropriate moment to show their appreciation? Why aren’t children more engaged with Opera? Why is there such distance between the audience and performer? Why shouldn’t the audience participate in the performance?

The questions and performance style start to break down existing perceptions, rules and stereotypes – challenging the status quo and unlocking the potential for a more broadly accessible and exciting art form.

We were approached to create a new visual identity for the Orchestra. We proposed that the identity – like the performances – should completely challenge the status quo and accepted lexicon. The new visual identity presents a distinctive, irreverant approach to communication – centred around the orchestra’s challenging approach and reflecting the spirited nature of the young Orchestra.