NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

North Staffordshire Symphony Orchestra here marks the 100th anniversary of Stoke-on-Trent being granted city status. 
The programme for the evening features works by six composers, including Delius’ North Country Sketches, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Tuba Concerto, Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations and William Walton’s Spitfire Prelude and Fugue. 
Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Laureate Nick Degg also contributes with his critically acclaimed poem I Come From A Town.

King’s Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, Saturday 28 June 

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TELFORD ORCHESTRA

Telford Orchestra has been making music for more than 160 years, during which time it’s had a number of name changes and experienced wildly fluctuating fortunes in terms of its size - at one stage, it numbered just five people! Thankfully, it is nowadays in far more robust health, boasting between 40 and 50 players at most of its concerts. The latest of these finds the orchestra presenting ‘music for a summer’s evening’. The programme features compositions by, among others, Strauss, Smetana, Rossini and Delius.

Anstice Hall, Madeley, Telford, Saturday 28 June

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MIDLAND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Bringing together teachers, students, young professionals and recent Royal Birmingham Conservatoire alumni, the well-regarded Midland Chamber Orchestra perform a repertoire which mainly consists of classical, baroque, and early romantic music. Their lunchtime concert at St Mary’s Church late this month sees them presenting a programme featuring Mozart’s 'Jupiter' Symphony, Haydn’s Overture to L'Isola Disabitata, and Rosetti’s Concerto for Two Horns in E flat. 

St Mary’s Church, Moseley, Sunday 29 June

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PHOENIX SINGERS: SUMMER CONCERT

Rising from the ashes of Chorus 2000 - a large choir created in 1996 in the lead-up to the millennium - the Birmingham-based Phoenix Singers is a mixed-voice choir comprising more than 100 members. This month’s summer concert sees them turning their talents to a programme of songs from stage and screen. 

Routh Hall, Bromsgrove School, Saturday 5 July

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BIRMINGHAM BACH CHOIR: LA BELLE FRANCE

One of the city's oldest and most distinguished musical groups, Birmingham Bach Choir here gets its teeth into a selection of beautiful French music.

The programme features Poulenc’s Chansons Françaises, Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orleans, and two works by Fauré - Cantique de Jean Racine and his famous Requiem. 
Solo French organ pieces, plus the premiere of a short work by Russell Hepplewhite enitled Song Of Flight, are also included.

Paul Spicer is the conductor, Martyn Rawles the organist. 

Great Malvern Priory, Saturday 5 July

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​ARMONICO CONSORT: RACHMANINOV VESPERS

Founded in 2001 by organist & conductor Christopher Monks - and using authentic period instruments - Warwick-based baroque consort Armonico here turn their talents to the task of performing Sergei Rachmaninov’s Vespers. Composed and premiered in 1915, the work is based around the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Malvern Theatres, Tuesday 8 July 

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HALESOWEN ORCHESTRA

The Halesowen Orchestra has been described as one of the town’s hidden jewels - a description with which the ensemble’s many supporters would no doubt wholeheartedly agree.

Founded in 1986, the amateur group of musicians meet once a week to practise a wide and varied repertoire of works by some of the world’s greatest classical composers.

This month’s concert of ‘summer classics’ features Beethoven’s Creatures Of Prometheus Overture, Gouvy’s Symphonie Breve, Hummel’s Introduction, Theme and Variations, Reinecke’s King Manfred Act V Prelude, and Symphony No35 ‘Haffner’ by  Mozart. 

Carters Lane Baptist Church, Saturday 12 July

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BIRMINGHAM GAY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Formed in 2008 when two violins, a flute, an oboe, a trumpet and a French horn responded to a magazine advert, Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra now numbers more than 50 members, not all of whom identify as LGBT+.

Their summer concert sees them taking a musical journey through the animal kingdom, presenting a programme that features, alongside other music, The Lion King, How To Train Your Dragon, Gioachino Rossini's Thieving Magpie and Igor Stravinsky's Firebird.   

St Paul’s Church, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, Saturday 12 July

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SOUTH BIRMINGHAM SINFONIA

Committed to musicmaking ‘of the highest standard’, the South Birmingham Sinfonia is a full-sized, Bournville-based, non-professional symphony orchestra who perform a wide range of music, including major symphonic works and concertos with professional soloists. 

The programme for this month’s concert features Mikhail Glinka’s Russlan And Ludmilla, Sergei Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto (with soloist Roman Kosyakov), and Jean Sibelius’ Second Symphony.

St Hilda’s Church, Warley Woods, Saturday 12 July

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TENEBRAE CHOIR

Passion and precision are the core values of this award-winning chamber choir, which performs under the direction of Nigel Short. 

Although dedicated to supporting contemporary composers, Tenebrae are also held in high regard for their interpretations of the choral cannon; works by Poulenc, Tavener, Brahms and Bruckner have all featured in their extensive repertoire across the years.

This cathedral concert, presented as part of the Lichfield Festival, features a performance of Joby Talbot’s Path Of Miracles. The choir’s first major commission back in 2005, the dramatic four-movement piece is based on the Catholic pilgrimage to Santiago. 

Lichfield Cathedral, Sunday 13 July

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ARMONICO CONSORT

Founded in 2001 by organist & conductor Christopher Monks - and using authentic period instruments - Warwick-based baroque consort Armonico here turn their talents to the task of performing a concert of music inspired by epic medieval poem Beowulf. They are joined for the occasion by 250 children from AC Academy schools and choirs, former Royal Harpist Alis Huws and keyboardist Dan Goodger. A fresh narration by Will Towers is brought to life by celebrity guest Oz Clarke. 

Warwick Hall, King’s High School, Tuesday 15 July

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SIR WILLARD WHITE & THE BRODSKY QUARTET

Two great names in classical music here join forces to present an eclectic evening of musicmaking featuring jazz and classical works, musical theatre numbers and evergreen pop standards.

Highlights of the concert, which is being presented as part of the Lichfield Festival, include a rendition of Ol’ Man River, spirituals and folksongs, music from Porgy & Bess, and a performance of the oft-recorded My Way.

The concert marks the end of the Brodsky Quartet’s critically acclaimed three-year Lichfield Festival residency.

Lichfield Cathedral, Thursday 17 July

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CBSO & THE ORCHESTRAL QAWWALI PROJECT

Symphony orchestra, Sufi poetry and classical dance is the winning combination powering the genre-defying Orchestral Qawwali Project.

Returning to Symphony Hall following a sell-out performance two years ago, the project - which is written & directed by critically acclaimed composer Rushil Ranjan - brings together rich orchestral arrangements (here performed by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra) with the soaring and effortless vocals of Abi Sampa.

Prize-winning conductor Melvin Tay is the man at the helm. The ever-brilliant CBSO Chorus lend their voices to proceedings.   

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Saturday 19 July

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PALISANDER

Lichfield Festival’s associate early music ensemble here present a concert in which they explore the historic relationship between music and the magical spectrum, including elements of maths, philosophy and the occult. The programme features pieces by Tartini, JS Bach and Hildegard von Bingen, alongside Renaissance consort music and contemporary works.

The Hub at St Mary’s, Lichfield, Sunday 20 July

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JENEBA KANNEH-MASON

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason’s cathedral concert closes this year’s Lichfield Festival. 
A rising star who is following in the footsteps of celebrated elder siblings Isata and Sheku, pianist Jeneba released her debut solo album, Fantasie, earlier this year, having last summer earned plenty of plaudits for her first-ever performance at the BBC Proms.

She’s played at the BAFTAs and the Royal Variety Performance, too, and has a passion for curating programmes that cross diverse musical landscapes. 

Her Lichfield concert includes works by Chopin, Debussy and Florence Price - all of which are featured on her album - together with music by Bach (Partita No5) and Beethoven (Sonata No17, The Tempest).  

Lichfield Cathedral, Sunday 20 July

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THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL

The Three Choirs is the oldest non-competitive classical music festival in the world. 
The event brings together established favourites of the British classical choral tradition with works drawn from a broader, more international musical canvas. 

Choral and orchestral concerts feature prominently in a week-long programme that also includes cathedral services, solo and chamber music recitals, masterclasses, talks, theatre, exhibitions and walks. 
The action takes place each year, on a rotating basis, in one of three beautiful cathedral cities, Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford, the latter of which is hosting this year’s proceedings.

Various locations, Hereford, Saturday 26 July - Saturday 2 August