About LCO
Who We Are
Lancing Chamber Orchestra is a community of amateur musicians in West Sussex who take their playing seriously, without taking themselves too seriously.
We're small enough that every player matters. Focused enough that rehearsals actually go somewhere. And warm enough that most people who join, stay.
We play a full orchestral season with proper repertoire and real challenge, and we do it as people who have jobs, families, and lives outside music. That's not a compromise. It's the whole point.
If you're looking for an orchestra in Sussex where you'll listen, improve, and genuinely enjoy yourself, this is it.
A little history
Lancing Chamber Orchestra has been part of the musical life of Sussex since 1948. That's a long time to keep an amateur orchestra going, and the fact that it has says something about what it means to the people in it.
Tony King, a local musician and member of the Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra, led LCO for forty years from 1965 to 2005. Ruth Summers, a professional oboist, served as Music Director from 2005 to 2023. In September of that year, Laura Kjærgaard took over, bringing with her a background in wind and brass and a clear sense of where the orchestra is heading next.
Still here. Still growing.
Laura Kjærgaard, Music Director
Danish conductor Laura Kjærgaard (b. 1996) first studied conducting at the prestigious Malko Academy for Young Conductors, working with musicians and singers from the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, where tutors included Fabio Luisi, Manfred Honeck, Juanjo Mena, Thomas Søndergård, and Michael Schønwandt. Other tutors throughout her conducting studies include Mark Heron, Bjørn Sagstad, Alberto Roque, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Dominic Grier, and Denise Ham. She is Music Director of City Wind Orchestra, Lancing Chamber Orchestra, and Worthing Community Concert Band.
She holds a BMus from the Royal Danish Academy of Music (Copenhagen) and a PGDip from the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester), both in classical saxophone. She also studied orchestral and wind ensemble conducting, performance psychology and music management. She frequently appears as a solo saxophonist and percussionist with Worthing Philharmonic Orchestra, alongside her freelance work as a concerto soloist.
For many years, Laura has been invested in local music making through serving on the boards and committees of various wind ensembles. In 2012, she co-founded the Danish Youth Wind Orchestra which she chaired for seven years. Alongside courses with the National Association for Amateur Wind Ensembles in Denmark, she covered conductors in rehearsals with first division wind ensembles. In 2021 she co-founded the Girton Conducting Course (Cambridge), of which she is is now Associate Director.
She works full time as Project Manager for the London-based classical music agency Music Inter Alia, representing world renowned conductors and instrumentalists. She previously worked for HarrisonParrott and Rayfield Allied.