Welcome to the website of the Blue Light Symphony Orchestra, the UK's only orchestra for all Emergency Services personnel. Our players are drawn from a wealth of talent hidden inside the UK's Police Forces, Fire Brigades and Ambulance Services, the military and other emergency services such as Mountain Rescue, Cave Rescue and the RNLI. We are a registered charity whose aims are to promote and support music-making in the emergency services to aid mental well-being and to promote the use of music therapy to treat severe mental health problems such as PTSD, chronic stress and anxiety. Help us help the emergency services community by donating now!
If you wish to support us financially, please plick this link to donate.
If you would like to volunteer to help us grow, we would love to hear from you. Please use the form on the Join Us page. We are currently looking for:
- Graphic designer
- Web developer
- Social media officer
- Librarian
Upcoming Events
Carols at Soho Firestation
In December we will once again visit Soho Firestation with a brass group to join forcers with the London Fire Brigade Choir to sing Christmas Carols and raise money for us and the Firefighters Charity. Date to follow soon.
Launch of our new Big Band - London - 11th January
We are launching a big band in January and will be getting our jazzers together for our first ever Jazz workshop in South London.
Spring Workshop 2025 - London - 2nd February 2025
On 2nd February 2025 we will spend the day exploring Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances. Thsi work requires a large orchestra and features the beautiful and dramatic sounds you expect from the romantic master, famous for his piano concertos.
Joint Emergency Services Concert - London - 17th May 2025
Join us for our first ever joint emergency services concert at St James's, Piccadilli, in the heart of London. We are joining forces with the Metropolitan Police Choir, the London Fire Brigade Choir and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir for and evening of unforgettable music.
Summer Workshop Weekend - Rite of Spring - London - 28/29 June 2025
Yes, we really are going to spend a weekend tackling this most iconic of pieces. We've done Beethiven 5, we've done The Planets and we've done Mahler 5, so Rite of Spring seems a logical next step doesn't it? If you want to be involved in this epc weekend, fill in the form on our join is page.
Workshop in Bath - 19th July
We are delighted to announce that we are having our first workshop outside London in the beautiful City of Bath. Music and further details to be announced.
Concert to Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the International Police Association - Guildford
15th November 2025
The International Police Association is a friendship organisation for members of the police, serving or retired, founded in 1950 by Arthur Troop. It has over 369,000 members in 68 countries. 2025 is the 75th anniversary and we are taking part in a concert at Guildford Cathedral to celebrate this anniversary.
About the Orchestra
We are a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1184720. Our Orchestra provides opportunities for musicians from across the emergency services to come together and play music but we are also expanding our work in the following two areas:
- Encourage more local music-making in the emergency services by providing start-up grants and advice to anyone wishing to start a local choir or instrumental group where the majority of participants are emergency services personnel.
- Work with leading Music Therapy providers to make MT available to emergency services personnel to treat PTSD, anxiety and stress.
Visit the charity page for more information and to donate.
The main orchestra meets for a day-long workshop once a term. Emergency workers often find that shift work prevents them from being able to commit to the weekly rehearsals of a traditional orchestra which means that they have stopped playing music regularly since starting their careers. This means they are unable to enjoy the scientifically proven mental health benefits of group music making. The BLSO removes this barrier by providing workshops which require no regular commitment and our success can be measured by the fact we have over 100 emergency services musicians on our mailing list. We are also working with the UK's leading Music Therapists to research and develop a Music Therapy treatment program for emergency workers suffering from stress and anxiety-related disorders. Find out more about Music Therapy and what we are doing on the Charity page.
Please go to the Join us! page if you would like to get involved.