Songwriter, composer and recording artist Laura Mvula will return to her home city this October to perform with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as part of the Classically Black festival.

The one-of-a-kind concert, which takes place at Symphony Hall on Friday 10 October 2025, marks Laura’s first solo collaboration with the CBSO. Conducted by Matthew Lynch, the performance will bring her signature blend of rich harmonies and soul stirring vocals home, performing several of her songs - including Green Garden, Father Father and Sing to the Moon – alongside the full-force of the orchestra.

The concert is part of Black Lives in Music’s celebrated classical music festival, Classically Black. Now in its second year, the festival celebrates the depth and brilliance of Black composers and musicians - past, present, and future - reimagining classical music through the powerful lens of culture, experience and creativity.

Although this is Laura’s first solo concert with the CBSO, she has a long history with the organisation. First as a member of the CBSO Youth Orchestra, before later working as a receptionist after graduating from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. It was during this time she began to write her own songs.

Laura released her debut album, Sing to the Moon, in 2013, earning her two MOBO awards and a Mercury Prize nomination. Since then, Laura has released two more albums The Dreaming Room and Pink Noise, both Mercury Prize nominated, won two Ivor Novello Awards for Best Album, composed music for the Royal Shakespeare Company and a Netflix Series, and recently released a single as part of the 2024 John Lewis Christmas campaign.

In the last year, Laura has been a Special Guest on tour with Lenny Kravitz and performed at Glastonbury with Coldplay. Classically Black with Laura Mvula & the CBSO is Laura’s first hometown performance since the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in 2022.

The event will also reflect a wider family connection – as a teenager Laura performed with the vocal acapella group Black Voices, founded by her aunt Carol Pemberton. The group has performed alongside the CBSO several times – including a performance of Dvorak’s 9th Symphony and African American Spirituals earlier this year.

Tickets for Classically Black with Laura Mvula & the CBSO are on sale now. To book your tickets visit: cbso.co.uk