London’s smartest music venues are keen to woo families: the
Royal Opera House puts on Christmas shows, Sounding Out workshops and a Summer Screens season, which beams live opera and ballet from Covent Garden onto big screens in Trafalgar Square and Canary Wharf. Nearby, at the London Coliseum, the
English National Opera’s kids’ music-making sessions are pitched at ages six months and up – while the grown-ups get to sneak off and enjoy a matinee. There are Saturday afternoon classical concerts for families at
St Martin-in-the-Fields Church on Trafalgar Square, and regular Discovery Concerts for ages 7–12 from the
London Symphony Orchestra. There are also strong children’s programmes at
Wigmore Hall in the West End (mostly chamber music) and the
Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall (jazz, world and classical). Summer brings free outdoor music and theatre to
The Scoop, beside Tower Bridge.
A popular outdoor concert venue is Hampstead’s
Kenwood House. London’s grandest alfresco venue, however, must be
Somerset House, which invites pop stars to its courtyard in August. The
Underage rock festival – for 13–18-year-olds only – blasts into Hackney’s Victoria Park in August.
