The Schubert Ensemble Trust(Registered Charity No. 1002244)

The Schubert Ensemble Trust is a registered charity, founded in 1988, which aims to provide a financial base for many of the activities of the Schubert Ensemble, including the commissioning and performing of new works, the touring of the commissions overseas and around the UK, educational work, subsidizing tickets for students, and the promotion of London concerts and recordings.

Trust Commissions

The Schubert Ensemble has a strong reputation among composers and promoters for its commitment to enlarging the repertoire for piano and strings. It has a lively commissioning programme, with over 35 concert works commissioned to date, and more unusually ensures that new works receive a large number of subsequent performances, helping them to become central to the group's repertoire.

The Trust underwrites not only these commissions, but also regular concerts of them at London's South Bank centre, bringing contemporary music to new audiences whilst promoting these works.

Subsidy Scheme

The Trust operates a subsidy scheme, whereby promoters who include a Trust commission in a Schubert Ensemble concert (usually in a programme of otherwise standard repertoire) are awarded a subsidy towards the cost of the concert. This incentive has led to huge demand for the performances of Schubert Ensemble commissions from Orkney to Cornwall and overseas. These have met with great enthusiasm from promoters and audiences, particularly in areas where audiences rarely have the opportunity to hear committed performances of new works alongside more mainstream repertoire.

Since the subsidy scheme started in 1993, Schubert Ensemble commissions have received several hundred performances, not only in the UK but also in the Far East, North and South America, and other European countries. This subsidy scheme is unique to the Schubert Ensemble Trust, and is seen by many as a model for the future of new music funding, as an economical but extremely effective way of encouraging its programming.

Education

All of the members of the Schubert Ensemble believe passionately in the value of working with young people, and the group has a tradition of taking chamber music into schools and colleges. Recently successful projects have been carried out at Festivals all over this country and in such countries as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Peru, Norway, Canada and the USA. The Chamber Music 2000 project has been highly successful in providing a new repertoire of pieces suitable for playing by young and amateur musicians. The pieces are all for different combinations of piano and strings, and are of varying difficulty. They offer not only much needed repertoire for musicians of all ages, but also a fascinating panorama of different styles of contemporary music. Sir Colin Davis said of the project, "It is heartening that one of our finest performing groups today is doing so much to encourage a new generation of young musicians in Britain"

For further information you can visit the website on www.chambermusic2000.com

Student Tickets for London Concerts

As part of its busy international schedule, the Schubert Ensemble of London performs regularly at London’s top venues, such as the Wigmore Hall and South Bank Centre. The Trust aims to provide a generous number of free tickets to students for each of these concerts.

Joining the Trust

If you would like to join the Trust, please download, print and complete the sign-up form and send it with your cheque, made payable to 'The Schubert Ensemble Trust' c/o Val Marriott (address in form). Trust Members receive advance concert schedules, regular newsletters, and priority booking for the annual Leighton House Concert.