Amsterdam Sinfonietta

The Amsterdam Sinfonietta is a professional string orchestra consisting of 23 musicians. Candida Thompson became the orchestra's concertmaster in 1995 and artistic director in 2003. In 2004, the Amsterdam Sinfonietta released a recording of Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence. Though led by Thompson, the orchestra performs without a conductor. However, the orchestra has had a long list of guest conductors and leaders. It has collaborated with many leading classical artists, such as Kristian Bezuidenhout and Janine Jansen, as well as pop artists Karin Bloemen and Rufus Wainwright, among others. The Amsterdam Sinfonietta inaugurated a short film series in 2020 with Strings, which was followed by Misirlou and Atashgah. The orchestra was heard backing baritone Thomas Oliemans on the album Formidable! in 2021.