Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and Midlands Arts Centre are joining forces on Sunday 20 September for Cycle the Score - a unique contemporary classical music concert enjoyed by bicycle.

Starting and finishing at Midlands Arts Centre in Cannon Hill Park, this event invites an audience of 111 people to travel by bicycle together in groups on a guided route along the River Rea, stopping at a series of green spaces for live performances by BCMG musicians. The short pop-up concerts include works by Karlheinz Stockhausen, Harrison Birtwistle, John Cage, David Hindley, Jasper de Bock, John Woolrich, Carola Bauckholt and Theo Loevendie.

Participants will take in the Victorian splendour of Highbury Hall in Moseley, a Grade II listed building commissioned as the Birmingham home of Joseph Chamberlain in 1987. The Hall will be open as part of Birmingham Heritage Week, with a display of antique bikes and a bike repair shop on the lawn.

From there it’s off for a pint at the Birmingham Brewing Company in Stirchley, before heading back to Cannon Hill Park.

The event culminates back at MAC with a joyful and participatory finale: A Breeze by Mauricio Kagel. All 111 cyclists will ring their bells, sound horns, sing and whistle, becoming part of the musical performance. Ticketholders will be invited to rehearse this piece at MAC on Sunday 6 September.

Cycle the Score is part of MAC’s Great Big Green Weekender, a family-friendly event that celebrates creativity, sustainable travel and Birmingham’s green spaces. Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or a casual rider, this is a chance to experience music in a completely different way.

Participants will need their own bike to take part in the event. The route is predominately on flat cycle paths, with one road section to access Highbury Hall. Audiences will have a choice of taking a short 9km route or the longer 12 km route.

Book via macbirmingham.co.uk