On March 13th 2012, for the first time in history, Imperial's only large non-symphonic ensembles - Imperial College Wind Band & Imperial College String Ensemble - joined forces to put on an incredible one-off concert showcasing the true diversity of musical talent at Imperial.

Audience review: "One of the highlights of ICSE's performance was Imperial student and ICSE Vice-Chair Dorian Kartalovski's virtuosic performance of Vivaldi's Autumn, evoking images of peasant harvest celebrations & dog hunts. Wind Band's performance of Gordon Jacob's Original Suite, and Fantasia for Euphonium and Wind Band, were especially poignant given the presence of Jacob's wife at the concert, who thoroughly enjoyed reliving her husband's compositions. A rousing finale of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings rounded off a unique concert and a fantastic evening of entertainment - at just £3 per ticket for students it was worth every penny!"

ICSE will be performing Winter, the last of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, in concert on 22nd June 2012. Email or follow us for more information and tickets.

On the weekend of January 20th - 22nd, fourteen intrepid musicians journeyed to Glastonbury, Somerset, for a weekend of relaxation, rehearsals, country walks and even a concert later broadcast on local radio! Staying in a traditional stone Farmhouse at Paddington Farm Trust the ensemble found time between an intensive rehearsal schedule to explore local attractions such as climbing Glastonbury Tor and visiting the legendary Abbey.

The concert, featuring Mendelssohn's Sinfonia No. 9 in C Major, Karl Jenkins' Palladio, and Delius' Air and Dance, was broadcast three times on Glastonbury FM between 10th - 13th February and was received extremely well, raising almost £400 for charity and bringing together a wide cross-section of local residents.

You can listen to the hour long radio programme, featuring interviews with ensemble and audience members, here.

This summer, ICSE will be heading off for an insanely cheap tour to Speldhurst, Kent for an amazing week of gorgeous music, FUNdraising, barn dancing, world renowned sausages & fantastic ale! Watch this space for details...

Previous events

On 1st December 2011 Imperial College String Ensemble performed a well received concert at Holy Trinity Church in South Kensington. The repertoire featured both classical and contemporary music, including Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Elgar's Serenade for Strings and a rare performance of the British composer John Woolrich's Blue Drowning. However, the performance of Shostakovich's incredible Kammersinfonie drew the greatest applause, with special mention being given to conductor Scott Wilson's tight control of the ensemble and the gutsy energy with which the players themselves delivered the piece.

All in all, a sign of promising things to come from this group of scientists, engineers and medical students, 50% of whom are new recruits for this academic year!

Last summer, a crack squadron of intrepid ICSElings packed their bags and travelled to Paris for 6 days of repertoire, concerts, croissants and Parisian culture; aah la joie de vivre!