Sheffield Cathedral is proud to be taking part in the Classical Sheffield Weekend Music Festival. On 23 - 25 October, Sheffield’s choirs, ensembles, orchestras and instrumentalists come together in the first ever Classical Sheffield Festival of Music.
More than 600 singers and instrumentalists, from age 7 to 82, professional and amateur, will fill the city with music in the biggest and most varied celebration of classical music it has ever seen. There’ll be 30 concerts, from a bite-sized 20 minutes to 90 minutes long in seven venues: Sheffield Cathedral, City Hall and City Hall Ballroom, Crucible Studio, Blue Moon Cafe, Firth Hall, and a programme of pop-up music in Winter Garden.
Four symphony orchestras, seven chamber ensembles, twelve choirs, and two opera companies will perform works by more than 50 composers, including Mozart, Mussorgsky, Bernstein, Boulez, Tippett, Piazzolla, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Turnage, Bartok, Barber and Terry Riley as well as Indian classical music and classical-influenced jazz.
The festival starts on Friday 23 October with the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sheffield-born Ryan Wigglesworth and ends with New York Counterpoint at Firth Hall on Sunday 25 October.
Highlights include:
- Free pop-up music in Winter Garden on Friday afternoon and all day Saturday.
- University of Sheffield’s resident Indian classical music specialist John Ball leads a voncert of Indian Ragas in Sheffield Cathedral.
- Music in the Round’s resident Ensemble 360 will play two concerts; an all-Dvorak programme and a programme of Huw Watkins, Boulez, and Kurtag.
- A talk about the Strauss family with Classic FM presenter John Suchet (part of Off the Shelf).
- Tippett, Tavener, and Arvo Part from Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus conducted by Darius Battiwalla.
- Hallam Sinfonia and Hallam Choral Society join forces with Tideswell Singers to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in Sheffield Cathedral.
- New works from Sheffield-based Platform 4 Contemporary Composers.
- Sheffield Senior Schools Orchestra playing Kodaly’s Hary Janos Suite with Opera North’s Principal Percussionist Chris Bradley playing Cimbalom.
- The City Sings: A Collection of Choirs in Sheffield City Hall Ballroom. Seven choirs sing Gilbert & Sullivan, Bach and much, much more.
Get Tickets
Most concert tickets are just £5 with those aged 18 and under going completely free. There are two days of free events in the Winter Garden and Blue Moon café.
Alternatively, save money with a festival pass:
- Full weekend - (excluding the Friday evening Hallé concert) £20*
- Saturday only - £15*
- Sunday only -£10*
*Festival pass holders are asked to arrive no later than five minutes before the start of each concert. After that time we can’t guarantee your seat.
All tickets and passes for those age 18 and under are FREE.
For information on all the Classical Sheffield Festival of Music events visit www.classicalweekend.com.