Figure

A new generation in
historical performance

Expanding the scope of historical performance

We are Figure, a forward-thinking historical performance ensemble, committed to reaching new and existing audiences through immersive musical experiences. 


Founded in 2021, in the wake of the pandemic, our vision has been shaped by a burning desire to bring music back to live audiences; to offer more than be consumed at home, and to break free from traditional formalities. Figure aims to improve access to Classical music by presenting more than just concerts, but experiences, as well as through offering reduced-price tickets and taking our music to a range of stimulating and welcoming venues. 


Creating experiences is central to our work as a ‘historical performance’ ensemble. We are dedicated to transporting audiences to the time of the music's creation, but our endeavour reaches far beyond recreating a historical sound. Figure works imaginatively to immerse audiences in the context, atmosphere and original passion of the music: be it fashioning a secular liturgy to accompany a sacred Requiem (Reflection & Remembrance at Union Chapel, Nov 2022), reuniting Mendelssohn with Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Opera Holland Park, June-July 2023), or just in the way that the musicians are placed in the space around the audience, with no barriers to feeling, articulacy, and power. As an ensemble of largely young, early-career musicians, we represent a new generation in historical performance, keen to revel in the fact that a historical approach can be applied to music from across the Classical repertoire, from Fauré, to Buxtehude, to Mendelssohn. We believe that through this historical, yet creative and immersive approach, any music of the past can be rendered more engaging, more accessible and more meaningful. 

  • "[Figure's] reimagination of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater has a timeless directness and simplicity"

    ★★★★ The Guardian (Tim Ashley) on OUR MOTHER at Stone Nest (March 2024)

  • "a display of real quality... [Figure] gave us that whole-hearted performance, enveloping us in glorious sound.”


    ★★★★ The Times (Rebecca Franks) on THIS IS MY BODY at the Swiss Church (March 2023)

  • "Figure’s aims of producing historically-informed and wholly-accessible classical music are achieved, whilst interlaced with thought-provoking writing. It is a secular act of worship for the arts, and one I would long to see repeated."

    The Indiependent on Reflection and Remembrance at Union Chapel (November 2022)

  • “Fantastically detailed storytelling… [and a] consistent buoyancy of playing… Figure has good ideas, good musicians and good support, so expect to see more of them.”

    The Guardian (Erica Jeal) on Handel's Serse at Opera Holland Park(June 2022)

  • “Compellingly responsive and exuding sheer enjoyment… The overall effect is to leave one speechless”

    The Reviews Hub (Jane Darcy) on Mozart's Gran Partita at Bart's Great Hall (November 2021)

  • “[The performance] raised the hairs on the back of the neck… the work took wing, with [Figure] magnificently delivering its climactic moments of terror and joy… The whole performance had thrilling immediacy.”

    Michael Church, critic for The Independent, on Bach’s St John Passion at St Bartholomew the Great (September 2021)

Frederick Waxman

Founder and Artistic Director

Frederick Waxman a conductor and keyboard player from London. He is the Artistic Director of FIGURE, which reimagines work in the spirit of its historical context. Last year as artist in residence at Stone Nest, Soho, FIGURE was acclaimed in the national press – their contemporary and baroque project SIDE BY SIDE was described by Flora Willson in The Guardian as “unequivocally impressive, its sound invigorating, its commitment absolute”; and their production OUR MOTHER, a staging of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with new commissioned music by Alex Mills and starring Dame Emma Kirkby, was praised by Tim Ashley in The Guardian for its “timeless directness and simplicity”. Last summer Frederick was Assistant Conductor to Jonathan Cohen at Glyndebourne on their production of Handel’s Saul, and he has previously assisted Dinis Sousa with BBCSO. In November 2026 he conducted the world premiere of James Larter's concerto for percussion, TOROS, with Sinfonia Smith Square.

 

Alongside classical music he plays jazz and writes music for film and theatre – an all-time highlight being Timetravellers at Teatr Lesi in Lviv, working with a cast of refugees from the conflict then confined to Donbas. 

 

Frederick read Experimental Psychology at University College, Oxford, where he was an Academic Exhibitioner and Choral Scholar, before completing further studies at GSMD.