The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) has announced its 2025/26 season, presenting a compelling programme of concerts connected to the city’s vibrant cultural identity - and featuring Laura Mvula, Star Wars, Mahler and more. What’s On spoke to the Orchestra’s CEO, Emma Stenning, and to Catherine Arlidge, Director of Artistic Planning, to find out what treats are in store - whether you’re a long-term supporter of the CBSO or an orchestral-music novice…

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is looking forward to a new season of classical greats, presented alongside beloved music from stage and screen.

The season, which kicks off on Wednesday 17 September with Elgar’s Dream Of Gerontius, will feature an appearance from Birmingham-born superstar Laura Mvula, orchestral epics, and of course, concerts conducted by CBSO Music Director Kazuki Yamada, who begins a full Mahler Symphony Cycle in January.

While the new season is already generating excitement from the CBSO’s long-term supporters, CEO Emma Stenning reveals that it has also caused a buzz within the orchestra itself.

“There was a wonderful moment when we introduced the programme to the orchestra,” she explains. “When we talked about Kazuki’s Strauss programme, they started cheering! It’s the kind of music that the orchestra longs to play.

“We’ll see more projects with The Orchestral Qawwali Project (Friday 12 June), who sell out wherever they go. Our latest project with them has just sold out at the Barbican in London - that concert will play here in Birmingham and then transfer to London.

“We’re also working on a partnership with Classically Black, which is a project of Black lives in music. We’re delighted to be bringing Laura Mvula back to the stage on Friday 10 October. Laura is, of course, Birmingham born and bred. She once worked front-of-house at the CBSO Centre - she composed some of her early music on the piano in our rehearsal room, I think - and is now a superstar.”

The season also features other well-known faces, as Catherine Arlidge, the CBSO’s Director of Artistic Planning, explains.

“Mark Kermode is coming to talk about a book he’s written, which is a history of movie music, on Saturday 7 February. And it’s Carlo Rizzi’s first time with us. He was the music director of Welsh National Opera, and he’s playing two concerts with us (Wednesday 15 & Friday 17 April). And one of our all-time favourites, Benjamin Grosvenor (pictured), is back on Wednesday 6 May!”

When it comes to the orchestral programming, the season’s finale features a piece of music that is deeply connected with the CBSO, as Catherine explains: “The closing concert of the season - Kazuki Conducts Harmonium, on Saturday 4 July 2026 - is going to be epic. It’s a full orchestra and huge chorus. Harmonium by John Adams is a piece the CBSO premiered in Europe in 1987. Its world premiere was in America, and we did the European premiere, so it’s a piece that’s got real history with us.”

Appreciation for orchestral music is on the rise, not only through film and video game soundtracks, but also as people use streaming services to access classical music. Emma is keen to highlight the fact that the CBSO offers a helping hand to those who want to explore classical music for the first time: “We had a brilliant week last year where the orchestra played at the Bullring and at New Street Station, and we played smaller concerts all across the city - all for free. We’re doing that again; that’s the first thing in the brochure this year… Again, totally free! Come and get a sense of what the orchestra is about, and how incredible the experience of live music is.”

Emma adds that the brochure itself has a new feature to help audiences navigate new music - without first needing in-depth knowledge about the composers or performers.

“On the front of the brochure, we run through words like ‘adventurous, calming, comforting, moving, powerful…’ and as you look through the programme, you’ll see each concert has got two or three badges attached. All of those ‘mood badges’ have been applied by Kazuki or the artists, and sometimes the audiences. So it should be a really good sign-post for people, to help them find their way into the programme.”

“There will be things in the season that people have heard of, even if you’re not an orchestra-goer,” adds Catherine. “We’ve got the Star Wars trilogy - three films with live orchestra, from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 October. We’ve also got a Charlie Chaplin film, with live orchestra (Saturday 25 April). We’ve got a Bernstein night (Saturday 20 June), with bits from West Side Story, and we’ve got a James Bond night (Friday 20 February), There’s also a Queen night this autumn (Sat 20 September)…

“Movies and musicals are a great ‘way in’ for people to discover orchestral music, because if you’ve seen a movie, you’ve heard an orchestra play. We had a concert earlier this season which was the animated film How To Train Your Dragon, with the orchestra playing live. The soundtrack is phenomenal! It was just such a happy night, seeing the hall full to the brim with families - people coming for the first time. It’s a magical way to discover the orchestra.”

And for anyone who prefers a more traditional orchestral programme, there are definitely treats in store, led by Kazuki Yamada.

“Kazuki is with us until at least 2029,” says Catherine. “So this season, we’ve started a Mahler cycle - all nine Mahler symphonies will be performed by the orchestra over those four years. Mahler One kicks off the series on Thursday 15 January. That’s a long-term project, which will take audiences on a long journey. It’s also really good for the orchestra, because you start to cement your style together and build a unique voice.”

With tickets already on sale, Catherine and Emma hint at the concerts likely to prove particularly popular. Puccini’s Tosca is scheduled towards the end of the season, on Saturday 27 June, and Kazuki’s aforementioned Strauss programme takes place late this year, on Wednesday 10 December. Both might well end up selling like hot cakes, so book your tickets while you can.

The CBSO’s 2025/26 brochure is available at cbso.co.uk/season-25-26. Tickets for the season are on sale now.

By Jessica Clixby