The Southbank Centre and TikTok announce the line-up of first Crescendo cohort, spotlighting the next generation of classical music content creators on TikTok

 The Southbank Centre (@southbank.centre) and TikTok today announce the first-ever Crescendo cohort: ten UK-based classical music content creators selected for the new accelerator programme, in the Centre’s 75th anniversary year, supporting emerging digital talent and bringing classical music to new, digital-first audiences.

Launched through an open call in September 2025, Crescendo supports creators who are reshaping how classical music is shared, discovered and understood online – reaching new audiences through storytelling, education and experimentation.

With nearly one million posts under #ClassicalMusic on TikTok and the hashtag growing by more than 60% in 2025, Crescendo responds to a growing appetite for accessible classical music content beyond the concert hall environment.

The cohort of content creators was selected by a panel including violinist and creator Esther Abrami, cellist and politician Baroness Thangam Debbonaire, the Southbank Centre’s Head of Classical Music, Toks Dada, and TikTok’s UK Artist Partnerships Lead, Lisa Skeppner.

The six-month talent development phase of the programme begins today at Classical Mixtape: A Live Takeover (5 Feb), a Southbank Centre-wide event featuring over 200 musicians from its six Resident Orchestras. Curated for the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary with under-30s audiences in mind, Classical Mixtape is presented as a series of live looping performances across multiple stages, allowing audiences to “mix” their own live classical mixtape by roaming between the stages. The first-of-its-kind event marks the cohort’s first opportunity to create content around the Southbank Centre’s classical music programme and the work of its Resident Orchestras.