More Music News
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A CBSO Centre return for Birmingham Gay Symphony Orchestra
Posted on Thu 02 Jul
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Feature: Take Notes
Posted on Tue 26 May
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Review: The Flying Dutchman at Birmingham Hippodrome
Posted on Fri 08 May
THE DEVINE MUSICK PIANO TRIO
Conductor and keyboard virtuoso Steven Devine is joined by regular collaborators Caroline Balding (violin) and Andrew Skidmore (cello) for this latest Shropshire Music Trust concert.
The evening’s programme features three works which were written within 10 years of one another at the end of the 18th century: Haydn’s Piano Trio in E major, Hob. XV:28; Mozart’s Piano Trio in G major, K 496; and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op 1 No1.
Maidment Building, Shrewsbury School, Friday 25 September
TENEBRAE: SPANISH GLORIES
‘Passion and precision’ is the motto of this award-winning chamber choir, which, under the direction of Nigel Short, is considered to be one of the world’s finest vocal ensembles.
Although dedicated to supporting contemporary composers, Tenebrae is also held in high regard for its interpretations of the choral cannon, with works by Poulenc, Tavener, Brahms and Bruckner all featuring in an extensive repertoire.
This Malvern Theatres appearance sees the ensemble celebrating the glories of the Spanish Renaissance, presenting a programme centring around a large-scale and widely hailed masterpiece: Tomás Luis de Victoria’s Requiem Mass.
Malvern Theatres, Friday 25 September
THE GESUALDO SIX AND MATILDA LLOYD TRUMPET
Works from the Golden Age of polyphony by Tallis and White are juxtaposed with modern compositions by Roxanna Panufnik, Alec Roth, and Deborah Pritchard in this mouthwatering team-up of the Gesualdo Six with trumpeter Matilda Lloyd. Highlights include Sir James MacMillan’s O Radiant Dawn - an evocative setting from the composer’s Strathclyde Motets - alongside Richard Barnard’s Aura, which has been co-commissioned by the artists.
Elgar Concert Hall, The Bramall, University of Birmingham, Friday 25 September
FOCUS ON POLAND FESTIVAL WEEKEND
Performances by world-class artists, a new commission from much-admired composer Daria Kwiatkowska, and a programme of activities designed to bring together Polish and local communities through shared cultural experiences, are all on the agenda when Leamington Music hosts its Poland Festival Weekend late in the month.
The concerts across the three days will feature music by several Polish composers, presented alongside works from Mozart, Schumann, Ravel, Franck and Britten. Warsaw-based Royal String Quartet (pictured) will perform at the Royal Pump Rooms on Saturday the 26th.
Royal Pump Rooms, Leamington Spa, Friday 25 - Sunday 27 September
ARMONICO CONSORT: SUPERSIZE POLYPHONY 3
Armonico Consort turn 25 this year and are ready to party! Concert-goers who’ve enjoyed the ensemble’s previous two Supersize Polyphony performances will no doubt be waiting with bated breath for the next in the series. And why wouldn’t they be? After all, what’s not to like about an immersive 360-degree surround-sound concert celebrating large-scale 16th- and 17th-century choral music?
Armonico director Christopher Monks is typically effusive about the forthcoming celebration: “For those who have loved the cinema sound-effects of our polychoral performances from Spem in Alium in 40 parts surrounding the audience, you will simply love this! We will be working with special guest choirs around the UK in celebration of our momentous milestone.”
Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, Saturday 26 September; Great Malvern Priory, Tuesday 6 October; Coventry Cathedral, Tuesday 26 January
MIDLAND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: STRINGS SERENADE
Midland Chamber Orchestra kickstart the 2026/27 season with a lunchtime concert that showcases a variety of classical string orchestra music. The programme features works by four much-loved composers: Purcell (Excerpts from Abdelazer), Bach (Concerto For Two Violins), Elgar (Serenade For Strings) and Grieg (Holberg Suite).
St Mary’s Church, Moseley, Birmingham, Sunday 27 September
RBC FRENCH HORN DAY
“Come blow your horn!” is surely a Royal Birmingham Conservatoire invitation no self-respecting young French horn player would wish to ignore. The opportunity to do just that comes in the shape of this end-of-month, sure-to-be-fun-filled day of musical activity. As well as featuring warm-ups and ensemble sessions with Conservatoire students and teachers, the day also includes the opportunity to hear a performance by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s hugely talented principal horn, Elspeth Dutch (pictured). The event will conclude with an informal sharing of the ensembles’ work, in Bradshaw Hall.
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Sunday 27 September
CBSO: ELGAR'S ENIGMA VARIATIONS
Conductor Stephanie Childress here makes her debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. She takes the helm for a concert comprising two hugely popular works by famous 20th-century composers and a brand-new offering from Welsh pianist Gwilym Simcock.
Gwilym’s Triple Concerto - which has been co-commissioned by the CBSO - will be performed by three talented musicians, one of whom is saxophonist Jess Gilliam...
The afternoon of musicmaking begins with Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony, a four-movement composition based on pieces he wrote as a pre-teen and which he then reworked in his early 20s.
The concert is brought to a conclusion with a performance of Elgar’s Enigma Variations, included within which is the hugely famous and familiar Nimrod movement.
Audience members can enjoy a talk with Stephanie and Jess ahead of the afternoon performance.
Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Wednesday 30 September
SHREWSBURY MALE VOICE CHOIR
Shrewsbury Male Voice Choir and Shifnal Male Voice Choir join forces early this month - alongside Llanelli’s Cor Y Sgarlets - to present an evening of choral music.
The concert will feature a broad range of compositions, from choir classics to modern crowd-pleasers.
All profits from the event will be donated to Hope House Children’s Hospices.
St Chad’s Church, Shrewsbury, Saturday 3 October
RAUTIO PIANO TRIO
Bringing a distinctive perspective to core 18th- and 19th-century repertoire, London-based chamber ensemble the Rautio Piano Trio stop off in the West Midlands early this month to perform a programme featuring works by Joseph Haydn, Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert.
Huntingdon Hall, Worcester, Sunday 4 October
FIBONACCI QUARTET
Since forming at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama seven years ago, Fibonacci have been making a name for themselves as one of Europe’s finest young string quartets.
They visit Birmingham to perform a lunchtime concert that features Mozart’s String Quartet No21 and their own arrangements of Moravian folksongs as a prologue to Janácek’s Intimate Letters.
Elgar Concert Hall, The Bramall, University of Birmingham, Friday 9 October
OPUS 13
Oslo-based BBC Radio Three New Generation Artists Opus 13 boast a fast-growing reputation on the international chamber-music scene. They have been ably assisted in their inexorable rise to stardom by first-prize wins at international string quartet competitions in Wigmore Hall and Bordeaux... This mid-month Leamington Music concert sees them performing works by Beethoven, Brahms and Thomas Adès.
Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa, Friday 9 October
CBSO: NORTHERN LIGHTS & GERMAN SOUL
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra head north mid-month to take on the challenge of Sibelius’ Fifth - a work which the composer laboured over for many a year, twice withdrawing it despite public approval of the composition.
“In a deep dell again,” Sibelius wrote in 1914. “But I already begin to see dimly the mountain that I shall certainly ascend… God opens his door for a moment and His orchestra plays the Fifth Symphony.”
It would be five more years before the Finnish composer was finally satisfied with the work...
Alongside Sibelius’ Fifth, the concert programme features Brahms’ First Piano Concerto, a thunderous and passionate piece here performed by acclaimed pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. The conductor for the evening is Thomas Dausgaard (pictured).
Victoria Hall, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Friday 16 October
WARWICKSHIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Now in its 86th year, Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra here present a concert celebrating the brilliance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The programme features the composer’s Capriccio Italien, Piano Concerto No1 and Symphony No6 ‘Pathétique’. Roger Coull is the conductor. The pianist is James Willshire.
Warwick Hall, Saturday 17 October
EX CATHEDRA: IN 40 PARTS - SPEM IN ALIUM
Ex Cathedra founder Jeffrey Skidmore opens what will be his final season as the ensemble’s conductor with a concert that takes as its focal point Thomas Tallis’ Spem in alium, a composition considered by many to be the most iconic work of choral music ever written.
Sitting alongside the piece in the evening’s programme is The Wilderness - a world premiere from internationally acclaimed composer & baritone Roderick Williams - and Alec Roth’s ‘spine-tingling’ Earthrise, a work commissioned by Ex Cathedra way back in 2010.
Birmingham Town Hall, Sunday 18 October
CBSO: SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE
This François Leleux-conducted CBSO concert climaxes with a performance of Symphonie fantastique, a piece which Hector Berlioz wrote as a reaction to a deeply affecting romantic failure.
Accompanying the acclaimed work are two compositions by Claude Debussy - Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Faun and Rhapsody For Cor Anglais And Orchestra.
A lush and lyrical wind sinfonietta from Ruth Gipps completes the programme.
Symphony Hall, Wednesday 21 October
ORCHESTRA OF THE SWAN: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
The Warwick-based Orchestra of the Swan (OOTS) return to their previous home of Stratford-upon-Avon this month to take part in the town’s week-long music festival - an event which is this year celebrating its 30th anniversary.
OOTS’ concert sees them presenting a programme featuring compositions from three centuries. These include Dido’s Lament (Purcell), Gabriel’s Oboe (Morricone), Adagio (Barber) and Air (Bach)... Mozart, Vivaldi, Handel and Elgar, meanwhile, are represented by some of their most enduring music.
Stratford Town Hall, Stratford-upon-Avon, Thursday 22 October
SERENADES WITH FRANÇOIS LELEUX
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s (CBSO) ever-popular Centre Stage season continues this month, giving audiences the chance to experience the artistry of the musicians in an intimate setting.
The latest entry in the series sees acclaimed oboist François Leleux team up with the orchestra’s woodwind section to perform mini masterpieces by Dvořák, Gounod and Richard Strauss.
The lunchtime concert comes the day after Leleux conducts the full CBSO in a performance of Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique.
CBSO Centre, Birmingham, Thursday 22 October
RED PRIEST: A BAROQUE EXTRAVAGANZA
With the promise of a 30th-anniversary year to look forward to in 2027, baroque quartet Red Priest boast a truly unique style, bringing together high-energy performance with boundary-crossing arrangements and an endearing theatricality. Given that the group take their name from red-haired Italian priest and legendary Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi, it’s no surprise to find that they’re turning to his best-known work, The Four Seasons, for this Shropshire Music Trust concert. Compositions by Bach, Handel and Georg Philipp Telemann are also included in the evening’s programme.
Maidment Building, Shrewsbury School, Friday 23 October
THE GONZAGA BAND
Cornettist Jamie Savan formed the Gonzaga Band back in 1997, meaning that their 30th-anniversary year lies just a couple of months away.
Jamie is joined by soprano Faye Newton and Steven Devine (harpsichord and organ) for this 55-minute lunchtime concert, performing a selection of songs and duets from the age of Monteverdi...
The winning compositions from the 2026 NCEM/BBC Radio Three Young Composers Award also feature in the programme.
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Tuesday 27 October
LEON MCCAWLEY PIANO RECITAL
Since forming at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama seven years ago, Fibonacci have been making a name for themselves as one of Europe’s finest young string quartets.
They visit Birmingham to perform a lunchtime concert that features Mozart’s String Quartet No21 and their own arrangements of Moravian folksongs as a prologue to Janácek’s Intimate Letters.
Stoke-on-Trent Classics’ Piano Masters returns with an imaginative new season of concerts.
October’s contribution to the series is a performance by renowned British pianist Leon McCawley. A first-prize winner many a moon ago in the ninth International Beethoven Piano Competition, Lyon is using his late-month Potteries recital to trace the evolution of the piano, from Mozart’s classical clarity to the rich Romanticism of Chopin and Grieg.
Works by Beethoven, Fanny Mendelssohn and Faure also feature on the bill.
Stoke-on-Trent Repertory Theatre, Thursday 29 October