The LSSO gives its young players the opportunity to work with some of the finest international soloists in concerto repertoire. Sometimes these soloists may be brilliant young performers and occasionally they are even members of the LSSO.
Other soloists may also be distinguished veterans of the concert platform. In 2002, for example, the legendary Hungarian pianist, György Sándor, chose to celebrate his 90th birthday with the orchestra in a memorable performance of Bartók's Third Piano Concerto, a work whose premiere he had given almost fifty years earlier.
More recently the orchestra has worked with pianists Maria João Pires, Aleksandar Madzar, Julien Libeer, Louis Schwizgebel and Tom Poster; violinists Alina Ibragimova, Matthew Trusler, Elina Vahala, Krysia Ososotowicz and Alexander Markov; as well as cellists Louise Hopkins and Mats Lidström. The repertoire has ranged from Mozart and Handel to Britten and Shostakovich.
The LSSO has also worked with many of the world's top singers including, in recent years, Joan Rodgers, Alwyn Mellor and Janice Watson. Jamie Barton, the Cardiff Singer of the World in 2013, made her UK professional debut with the orchestra.
The orchestra has a long tradition of presenting new and contemporary work. In 2014, the great Venezuelan trumpeter Pacho Flores chose the LSSO to give the UK premiere of Efrain Oscher's Trumpet Concerto.