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Orchestras have always collaborated and experimented with musical genres and styles. Most of the great composers incorporated the popular music of their day in compositions and developed the sound of the orchestra to suit the society they were living in. The very best, of course, created the sound world of their age and generally upset a few people along the way.

When I arrived in the Â鶹ԼÅÄ as General Manager of the in March this year the biggest challenge that I set myself was to define the role of a great classical orchestra in four contexts: The modern orchestral sector; the North of the UK; within the Â鶹ԼÅÄ; and within our local community in Salford. The atmosphere of collaboration and adventurous exploration that I found at Â鶹ԼÅÄ North has allowed me to pursue this challenge with enthusiasm and the open minds and ears of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic have only encouraged me to seek new partnerships both within and outside the Â鶹ԼÅÄ.

Philharmonic Presents….Ìýhad been a conspicuously successful series of concerts in 2011 and 2012, seeing the Philharmonic collaborating with a wide range of artists and playing live across all seven of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s national radio networks. We decided to revive Philharmonic Presents…Ìý this year, as a way of exploring musical collaborations and demonstrating the versatility of the modern orchestra as well as the free thinking that characterises Â鶹ԼÅÄ North.

The team and I bounced a bewildering array of ideas, names, concepts and collaborators between us and then began to pursue the artists across the networks who would make the most challenging and creative collaborators with the Philharmonic. At the same time, I started juggling the orchestra schedule and working with colleagues to ensure that the whole Philharmonic family could be bought in to the series; the contract with our musicians allows us to do almost anything (no really...) with them within the schedule parameters, but an orchestra is only at its best when they really pull together in rehearsals, broadcasts and concerts.

One important aspect of the planning this year was to loosen up the concept a little; most of the performances will be live, but not all, allowing us to work creatively with Jarvis Cocker to develop a fully orchestralÌý with Radio 4 and to give Boy George the flexibility to develop his orchestral performance of Colour by Numbers in exactly the way he wishes. Our Radio 3 performance is also not a concert but a two-hour live In Tune broadcast incorporating music, conversation and live inserts in to Blue Peter on Â鶹ԼÅÄ One.

Working creatively is essential toÌýPhilharmonic Presents…Ìýand we do everything we can to allow that to permeate all aspects of our operation. Radio 5 live are working with our conductor and Learning Manager to engage local golf clubs in to our 5 live Symphony of Medinah show; and Clean Bandit and their orchestrator Joe Duddell spent a morning with the Philharmonic in our MediaCityUK studio in August to develop the sounds and style of their work for Radio 1. It’s been a busy time but the results will be well worth it.

Music is at the heart of the Â鶹ԼÅÄ â€“ it is in the organisation’s DNA and this series really demonstrates what the Â鶹ԼÅÄ can do when it works together in creating fantastic moments for music fans everywhere. WithÌýPhilharmonic Presents…we are able to showcase our own world-leading musicians across all the national Â鶹ԼÅÄ radio networks - and in doing so we will demonstrate the versatility of the modern orchestra and point the world’s eyes and ears to the remarkable work that goes on in Salford. And if theÌýPhilharmonic Presents….Ìýseries doesn’t prove this on its own, during the course of the series (10 Sept-17 Oct) we will also be opening both our Manchester concert series and the Victoria Hall Hanley’s orchestral series with Beethoven’s fourth and ninth symphonies and broadcasting a studio concert to celebrate the 80thÌýbirthday of Peter Maxwell Davis, one of the UK’s finest living composers who was born and grew up in Salford.

I believe that exploration and experimentation via series likeÌýPhilharmonic Presents…Ìýwill be the way that we find the sound and role of the modern orchestra. In a season that sees world premieres by British symphonists, and celebrations of Nielsen and Beethoven, plus major romantic and modern orchestral masterworks, collaborations with the most prominent popular artists of our age sit very comfortably and help us in our tireless mission to define the role of a great broadcast orchestra in the 21stÌýcentury and bring it to audiences like only the Â鶹ԼÅÄ can.

Simon Webb, General Manager, Â鶹ԼÅÄ Philharmonic

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• A press release detailing the new series of Â鶹ԼÅÄPhilharmonic Presents...including a video interview with Clean Bandit is available on the.
• Find out more about the orchestra at the website.