THE UK’s leading chamber orchestra returns to Sage Gateshead for the new classical concert season starting next month.

Internationally renowned artists, including pianist John Lewis, violinist Julian Rachlin and baritone Sir Thomas Allen all join the Royal Northern Sinfonia for the September to December season.

The opening concert on September 20, by the acclaimed virtuoso Lars Vogt will be his first as the newly appointed music director designate for the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

The programme features Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, the first in the year-long Beethoven Symphony Cycle, as well as Brahms’s Violin Concerto performed by Alissa Margulis.

This autumn also sees the orchestra deliver a Best of Bach Festival, exploring his cantatas, orchestral suites and concertos, curated by and featuring Laurence Cummings while leader Bradley Creswick and Kyra Humphreys will perform violin concertos.

The Sage celebrates its tenth birthday in December, with Conductor Laureate Thomas Zehetmair returning to conduct the Royal Northern Sinfonia in a romantic programme of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 6.

November sees the world premiere of a specially commissioned string quartet by Bang on a Can artist David Lang in a birthday Late Mix concert. St Petersburg Philharmonic returns to join the celebrations performing some of Russia’s finest exports.

Christmas will bring Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton for the Rejoice! concert of favourite hymns, while the Sinfonia will accompany a showing of The Snowman film and Zehetmair conducts Handel’s Messiah.

The gala series of popular works arranged for full orchestra includes Tolga Kashif’s celebrated arrangement of rock band Queen’s back catalogue in February followed by Best of British Musicals in March featuring hits from Les Miserables to Cats.

New this season is a Sunday matinee series with conductor, presenter and entertainer John Wilson as part of Sage Gateshead’s popular Classic FM programming.

Exploring the lighter side of classical repertoire, he will cover Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky before crossing to America in January, with John Adams’ The Chairman Dances, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F major and Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. The series ends with Sir Thomas Allen singing traditional ditties and English operetta arias.

For full details, pick up a classical season brochure or go online at sagegateshead.com.