Contemporary Orchestra (LFCO) an orchestra of excellence for the interpretation of contemporary music was founded in 2021. This newly conceived Festival orchestra for the music of our time comprises members of the international Academy network. It brings together current and former students of the Lucerne Festival Academy. Former students of the Academy were represented as the Lucerne Festival Alumni, of which an ensemble was invited to perform new works at the summer festival each year. The first alumni performance outside of Europe took place in 2016 during the NY Phil Biennial at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as part of Met Museum Presents under the direction of New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert. The Academy’s network, which has grown over 16 years, now numbers over 1300 instrumentalists, conductors and composers. It represents Lucerne Festival’s long-standing commitment to new and contemporary music. The repertoire of the new orchestra ranges from the threshold of classical modernism to works of the present day. In both large and small formations, the LFCO performs concerts at the Academy during the Summer Festival, followed by guest appearances abroad. The Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra also takes on the leading role in the new autumn weekend Lucerne Festival Forward which takes place for the first time in November 2021. The Festival Forward emphasizes new, innovative developments in the field of contemporary music. The Festival moreover actively involves the public in the planning process through its digital communication channels. The KKL Luzern serves as the Festival headquarters, but Lucerne Festival Forward will perform throughout the city, involving all age groups, and will offer unusual concert formats and integrate new technologies. The inaugural Lucerne Festival Forward will be held from 19 to 21 November 2021. References Swiss music Lucerne Festival