London Symphony Orchestra the composer conducted, the rest of the programme was conducted by Coates, who overran his rehearsal time at the expense of Elgar's. Lady Elgar wrote, "that brutal selfish ill-mannered bounder ... that brute Coates went on rehearsing." In "The Observer" Newman wrote, "There have been rumours about during the week of inadequate rehearsal. Whatever the explanation, the sad fact remains that never, in all probability, has so great an orchestra made so lamentable an exhibition of itself." Coates remained as chief conductor for two seasons, and after the initial debacle is credited by Morrison with "breathing life and energy into
London Arts Orchestra LAO collaborated with actor and director Zubin Varla on 'My Time Will Come...' an exploration of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 at Christ Church Spitalfields. Seen and Heard International described the performance, saying 'if only some of our bigger national orchestras were as innovative'. In December 2014, London Arts Orchestra announced there upcoming project, A Symphony on Stage, in collaboration with Rough Fiction theatre company. London Arts Orchestra London Arts Orchestra (LAO) is a UK-based symphony orchestra devoted to cross-arts performance. It was founded in 2009 by Edward Farmer and David Williams. David stepped down from his role as a conductor