The symphony orchestra may have its roots in the eighteenth century, but it’s having quite a moment in the twenty-first. On 30th August 2024 Platoon will release Dalia’s Mixtape - an album presenting some of the freshest sounds in contemporary music, each piece hand-picked by conductor Dalia Stasevska to broaden our understanding of what a large group of acoustic instruments can do. The ten tracks of Dalia’s Mixtape are performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and have been released individually over 6 months, each with a supporting podcast.

'The symphony orchestra is perhaps the greatest instrument ever created,’ believes Stasevska. 'Doors have been opened to a range of composers from wider and more diverse backgrounds, bringing new narratives and influences to the table.' Dalia’s Mixtape celebrates the explosion in aesthetics and approaches that is renewing the symphonic music of today. 'All these composers listen to what’s happening around us,' the conductor says. 'What unites them is their openness to experiences and influences beyond genres. They are pushing the orchestra as an instrument to describe the human experience of today.'

From the pulsating electronic fanfare that opens Anna Meredith’s Nautilus, Dalia takes the listener on a journey that showcases the renaissance of innovative orchestration we are living through. The featured works of Dalia’s Mixtape include music by genre-bending composers Caroline Shaw and SØS Gunver Ryberg, mesmerizing orchestral tapestries by Andrea Tarrodi and Noriko Koide, and a miniature masterpiece by Judith Weir. Each track opens up its own world. Taken together, the music will lead the listener on an unparalleled journey in orchestral sound. ‘Music is adventure and there are no rules that must be followed,’ says Stasevska. ‘Why stick only to what we’ve been doing for decades? It is important to explore - and see where the journey takes us.’