LSO at St. Luke's

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by Mike Whyte (subscribe)

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Published August 20th 2011

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I have to admit to loving buildings that don't particularly look out-of-the ordinary, yet hide amazing secrets within their walls. St. Luke's is that type of building - a rather typical church building from the outside, with a pretty, if not spectacular spire jutting out into the sky.

This exterior hides a rather unique concert venue, and actually acts as the rehearsal space for the London Symphony Orchestra. The venue also acts as a hive of activity for the local community, with many community groups performing and rehearsing there, along with creative sessions available for people to take part in. There is a well-stocked bar, as well as food and cake available for most of the public events that they do. This makes it a rather comfortable place to see one of the greatest orchestras in the world.

Probably the best time to see music at St. Luke's though is at their popular Radio 3 concert series, which takes place at 1pm on various Thursdays throughout the year - here you can hear the best in chamber music, and even famous international performers, such as the Brodsky Quartet, within the luxurious surroundings of St. Luke's. You can also enjoy a hot meal at very reasonable prices before and after the concert itself. Past seasons have included Bach sonatas, string quartets by Beethoven, and a Stravinsky, Debussy and Prokofiev series.

Should you like the venue as it is, despite the music, it is possible to hire it out for a range of corporate and private events - but you would be hard-pressed to create an event as spectacular as an orchestra in full flow.