This season, the Orchestra presents a series of concerts featuring music from all four corners of the globe. Reaching across Europe from Russia to France, Hungary to Finland and over the Atlantic to America, BBC National Orchestra of Wales's 2011-12 season at Brangwyn Hall certainly has an international flavour.

The season starts with Christmas Celebrations, a popular festive concert for all the family, with a variety of music including excerpts from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, music by John Rutter, and the exciting Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson. There's also a chance for all the family to join in with festive carols and songs, led by conductor Grant Llewellyn.

Highlights for the remainder of the season include:

Kristjan Järvi conducts Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, and Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances (14th January 2012). Principal Guest Conductor Jac van Steen visits Swansea with a performance of Sibelius' Violin Concerto, featuring the Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai as soloist, and Elgar's The Music Makers, an autobiographical look at Elgar's life and works (11th February 2012). Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams plays Bartók's Piano Concerto No 3, under the baton of Roberto Minczuk (10th March 2012). The Orchestra present a youthful evening of music for spring, as the Orchestra's Principal Horn Tim Thorpe performs the popular Horn Concerto No 1 by Strauss – written when the composer was just eighteen (27th April). Associate Guest Conductor François-Xavier Roth conducts the vibrant orchestral colours of Debussy's Images – a distinctly French take on the sights and sounds of neighbouring Spain (26th May). The season concludes with a farewell concert from Thierry Fischer, who conducts his last concert in Swansea as Principal Conductor of the Orchestra on 23rd June. Included in this programme is Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 1, performed by Ingrid Fliter, a former BBC New Generation Artist and a renowned interpreter of Beethoven.

In addition to the season of concerts hosted by BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Thierry Fischer will also conduct the Orchestra for a programme of Debussy, Ravel, Mussorgsky and Stravinsky, as part of Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts on Thursday 13th October.

Booking Information

Tickets for the new season of Brangwyn Hall concerts are on sale at £12.50 to £15.50 from the BBC National Orchestra of Wales Audience Line on 0800 052 1812 or Swansea Grand Theatre Box Office on 01792 475715. Discounts are available for disabled patrons plus one companion, claimants, MAX card holders, students, groups of 8 or more, and over 60s. Money saving concert packages are also available and are on sale now through the Orchestra's Audience Line.

Family tickets are also available for £16.50 (for 2 adults and 1to 4 children) and £11 (for 1 adult and 1 to 2 children). The scheme is open to parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles. The ticket price includes specially written programme notes for children. Children must be aged 16 years and under.

For more information about the Orchestra, visit bbc.co.uk/now

About BBC National Orchestra of Wales

BBC National Orchestra of Wales occupies a special role as both a national and broadcasting orchestra, acclaimed not only for the quality of its performances but also for its importance within its own community. The work of BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales is supported by the Arts Council of Wales.

The Orchestra has won considerable critical and audience acclaim over recent years, under its formidable conducting team of Principal Conductor Thierry Fischer, Principal Guest Conductor Jac van Steen, Associate Guest Conductor François-Xavier Roth and Conductor Laureate Tadaaki Otaka. In September 2012 Thomas Søndergård will succeed Thierry Fischer as Principal Conductor. As well as an outstanding ability to refresh core repertoire, the Orchestra is proud of its adventurous programming and continuously demonstrates artistic excellence in new or rarely performed works. In June 2011 Mark Bowden took up the role of Resident Composer, alongside Composer in Association Simon Holt, consolidating the ensemble's commitment to performing contemporary music.

BBC National Orchestra of Wales is Orchestra-in-Residence at St David's Hall, Cardiff, and also presents a concert series at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. As well as international touring, it is in demand at major UK festivals and performs every year at the BBC Proms and biennially at the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.

Education and Community Outreach is integral to the Orchestra's musical life and the department have been challenging conventions for nearly fifteen years, extending the work of the Orchestra into schools, workplaces and communities.

The Orchestra is based at its state-of-the-art recording and rehearsal base, BBC Hoddinott Hall at Wales Millennium Centre. It enjoys close working relationships with radio and television programme-makers and records numerous soundtracks, including BBC Wales's Doctor Who, Torchwood, and the BBC's Human Planet series. The Orchestra continue to record highly regarded CDs, including the 2011 Grammy nominated Ivanhoe by Arthur Sullivan on Chandos and David Matthews' Symphonies 2 and 6, recorded on Dutton Epoch, which won Premiere Recording BBC Music Magazine Award 2011.