Following a sell-out Christmas concert in 2025, the London Incidental Orchestra (LIO) returns with Christmas Crackers!, a relaxed festive concert for the whole family. Expect live orchestral music, storytelling and plenty of Christmas cheer, all performed by a 50-piece orchestra in a historic church setting.
The programme is a selection box of music: well-loved Christmas carols, sparkling Viennese waltzes and classical favourites, with a few surprises along the way. Audience participation is part of the fun, including a carol sing-along and the chance to win a spot on the podium through the Audience Conductor Raffle.
- Conductor Alex Conway guides the audience through the stories and hidden meanings behind each piece, and demonstrates key moments before the orchestra plays them in full.
- During the interval, you can meet the musicians and see the instruments up close, which young concertgoers in particular tend to enjoy.
- Pieces include Nigel Hess's A Christmas Overture, Beethoven's Overture from The Creatures of Prometheus, Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Waltz and Trepak, Grieg's Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King, and J. Strauss I's Radetzky March.
Dress in your favourite Christmas jumper and enjoy a mulled wine from the bar. Proceeds from the Audience Conductor Raffle support Mind UK, and a donation from the evening will also go to the charity.
Venue: St Gabriel's Church, Warwick Square, Pimlico, London, SW1V 2AD. Sunday 13 December 2026, 2.30-4pm, doors open 2pm, with a 15-minute interval. Tickets: adults £14, under 16s £5, booking fee applies.
