ARMONICO CONSORT: ST MATTHEW PASSION

Founded 25 years ago by organist and conductor Christopher Monks, and using authentic period instruments, Warwick-based baroque consort Armonico this month turn their talents to the task of performing St Matthew Passion. 
A favourite at Easter, Bach’s dramatic telling of the Passion of Christ continues to be among classical music’s most profound experiences. Christopher Monks takes the reins for both performances.

Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, Thursday 26 March

---

BBC PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Residing at the Corporation’s Manchester home of Media City, the BBC Philharmonic visits the Potteries late this month in the company of soloist Senja Rummukainen, who will be performing Dvorak’s ever-popular Cello Concerto. The programme also features Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un faune and Mozart’s Prague symphony. 
Lucie LeGuay (pictured) is the conductor. 

Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Friday 27 March

---

BIRMINGHAM GAY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Bringing together musicians from across the Midlands, the well-established Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra here takes its audience on ‘a sweeping journey from Beethoven’s Ruins Of Athens Overture to Sibelius’ glorious Symphony No2’. Sandwiched in-between these much-admired works is a performance of Ney Rosauro’s Marimba Concerto No1. 
The composition will be performed by soloist Andrew Woolcock, a former BBC Young Musician of the Year winner.

St Paul’s Church, Birmingham, Saturday 28 March  

---

TAN DUN & THE LONDON PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a concert which no self-respecting classical music enthusiast would want to miss.

The London Philharmonic are here performing to the baton of Tan Dun (pictured), whose CV includes the Academy Award-winning soundtrack to Ang Lee’s year-2000 martial-arts film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon... 

And the concert programme makes this late-afternoon event an even more mouthwatering prospect. Alongside Beethoven’s visionary Ninth Symphony, the orchestra will also perform Tan Dun’s brand-new choral concerto, Nine. A tribute to Beethoven, the work combines ancient poetry from China and Europe, creating an ‘ode to peace’ which has been described as ‘worthy of Beethoven’s Ode To Joy’ (the fourth and final movement of the Ninth Symphony).

The London Philharmonic Choir and London Chinese Philharmonic Choir also make telling contributions to the concert, as do four talented soloists: Elizabeth Watts (soprano), Hongni Wu (mezzo-soprano), John Findon (tenor) and Dingle Yandell (bass).      

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sun 29 March

---

EX CATHEDRA: GOOD FRIDAY ST JOHN PASSION

Bach’s St John Passion continues to be one of classical music’s most profound experiences. Although more modest in its conception than the composer’s St Matthew Passion, the work contains some of the most beautiful and lyrical moments of Bach’s entire output.
Ex Cathedra’s Good Friday performance frames the Passion with chorale preludes, motets, readings and communal hymns...

Later in the month (Saturday the 25th), the ensemble head for Wolverhampton’s St Peter's Collegiate Church to perform The Garden Of Love, a concert featuring a programme of ‘evocative imagery and shimmering harmony’. 

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Friday 3 April

---

RODERICK WILLIAMS & IAIN BURNSIDE

Internationally acclaimed baritone Roderick Williams teams up with pianist Iain Burnside to present a programme devised around the UK premiere of music by American composer Libby Larsen. Libby’s new work sees eight delicate haiku settings being interwoven with thematically related songs by composers including Britten, Finzi and Schubert. 

St Laurence’s Church, Ludlow, South Shropshire, Friday 10 April

---

SPANISH GALICIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

In part coming to prominence by virtue of their online videos, the Spanish Galicia Symphony Orchestra are here making their Symphony Hall debut.

Alongside foot-tapping dances and evocative folk melodies, their programme also features Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and two works by Maurice Ravel: his enchanting fairytale suite Mother Goose and the iconic Boléro... 

The orchestra are joined by the brilliant Thibaut Garcia, an award-winning French guitarist whose Spanish origins have significantly influenced his style of play. 

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Saturday 11 April 

---

SPIRES MUSIC COVENTRY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Spires Music Coventry Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus will be finding their inspiration in Shakespeare when they perform at the city’s King Henry VIII School in the middle of the month.
Taking the title Sounds And Sweet Airs, their concert features excerpts from Felix Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sergei Prokofiev’s Romeo And Juliet ballet, and George Shearing’s jazzy Songs And Sonnets From Shakespeare.

Burgess Hall, Warwick School, Sat 11 April

---

CBSO: PUCCINI IN ROME

If you fancy an exclusive insight into the music featured in this celebration of Giacomo Puccini, be sure to attend the free and unticketed pre-concert talk with Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi, whose Suites from Tosca and Madam Butterfly - two of Puccini’s most famous works - form part of the evening’s programme. 
Also featured are Ottorino Respighi’s The Sunset and Pines Of Rome.
The soloist is mezzo soprano Fleur Barron.

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wednesday 15 April

---

ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN: WARWICK LABYRINTHS

Labyrinths is one of the Orchestra Of The Swan’s (OOTS) hugely popular Swan Sessions - regular get-togethers which typically see between three and eight members of the orchestra performing in a relaxed and intimate setting. After the concert, the musicians invite the audience to join them for an informal chat and a drink. 

This latest Swan Session presents a bold and varied programme for string quartet - from the ‘hypnotic patterns’ of Philip Glass, to the ‘raw edge’ of Velvet Underground - and features new arrangements by OOTS’ artistic director, David Le Page. 

St Nicholas Church, Warwick, Thursday 16 April

---

NARRATIO QUARTET

Bringing rhetorical flair and expressive depth to Beethoven’s string quartets is all in a day’s work for the Narratio Quartet, a hugely talented ensemble who’ve been wowing classical music lovers for the better part of two decades. 

Having completed the full Beethoven cycle on multiple occasions, more recent times have seen the quartet taking a dive into different waters, adding works by Brahms, Schubert and Mendelssohn to their impressive repertoire. 

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Wednesday 22 April

---

MAXWELL QUARTET

First encountering one another while playing in youth orchestras in Scotland, the all-male Maxwell Quartet often perform classical repertoire and new music alongside folk-inspired work. 

Although most readily associated with the music of Haydn, the boys are here presenting a concert featuring pieces by three other classical composers: Beethoven (String Quartet in A major, Op18 No5), Prokofiev (String Quartet No2, Op92 in F Major ‘On Kabardinian themes’) and Dvorak (String Quartet No13 in G major, Op106). 

A selection of Scottish folk music completes the evening’s programme.  

Keele University, Staffordshire, Wednesday 22 April

---

CBSO: BRAHMS' GERMAN REQUIEM

It took Johannes Brahms three years to compose this stunning work, a large-scale piece - his longest-ever composition - for chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist. The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra here perform the work with the assistance of soprano Sophie Bevan (pictured) and baritone Gareth Brynmore John. 

The concert programme also features Purcell’s Funeral Music For Queen Mary. 

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thursday 23 April 

---

SHREWSBURY CANTATA CHOIR

Shrewsbury Cantata Choir are gearing up for their 40th-anniversary celebrations next year with four concerts across the rest of 2026.

The first of these sees the choir teaming up with Shrewsbury Sinfonia to present a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, a setting of a medieval Latin poem which describes the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion. 

St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury, Saturday 25 April

---

EX CATHEDRA: THE GARDEN OF LOVE

[Our concert] celebrates Spring and the season of beauty and love with a programme of ravishing music to delight the senses; a ‘grand tour’ of earthly delights.”

So says Ex Cathedra’s founder & conductor Jeffrey Skidmore, in talking about the programme of ‘evocative imagery and shimmering harmony’ which the ensemble is performing in this two-hour-long concert. Featured works include Claude Le Jeune’s Revecy venir du Printans (from Le printemps) and a world premiere from Bobbie-Jane Gardner, who takes inspiration from Daisaku Ikeda’s concept of ‘human flowers’. 

St Peter’s Church, Wolverhampton, Saturday 25 April

---

ISATA KANNEH-MASON

“I’m striving to change the fact that there’s a big lack of diversity in classical music,” says pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason, whose studies at the Royal Academy of Music began at the tender age of 10, a couple of years after her first public performance. “Music should be for everyone, and my aim is to bring music to all kinds of people. I think it’s important to have a variety of role models in the classical music world.”

Festival Theatre, Malvern, Sunday 26 April

---

FRANCESCA MASSEY ORGAN RECITAL

Birmingham-born Francesca Massey held several prestigious organ scholarships before becoming assistant director of music at Peterborough Cathedral, sub-organist at Durham Cathedral and director of music at Rochester Cathedral. With four critically acclaimed solo recordings to her name, she here displays her sublime talent by performing a programme that features works by Bach, Dupré, Whitlock, Farrington and Middelschulte. 

Birmingham Town Hall, Monday 27 April