What's On — All events

Rush Hour Blues - Delano ...

Fri 29 Jan 5:30pm Symphony Hall Foyer Bars

Rescheduled from 17 December 2009 (the tenth anniversary of the death of Grover Washington), the quartet pays a belated tribute to a king of jazz fusion.
CBSO An Alpine Symphony

Thu 28 Jan 7:30pm Symphony Hall

Richard Strauss once boasted that he could depict a knife and fork in music - so when he sets out to paint the Alps themselves, you’d expect the results to be spectacular! His _Alpine Symphony_ is a vast, sun-drenched musical panorama - with everything from a trickling mountain stream to a mighty glacier, painted in music of dazzling colour and breathtaking power. Hear why Andris Nelsons has such a passion for this extraordinary score. Mozart was Strauss’s favourite composer, so his spirited 33rd Symphony and 24th Piano Concerto make the perfect musical _hors d’oeuvre_.
*City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *Andris Nelsons* _conductor_ *Martin Helmchen* _piano_
*Mozart* Symphony No 33 19' *Mozart* Piano Concerto No 24, K491 31' *Strauss* An Alpine Symphony 51'
Centre Stage - CBSO Playe...

Thu 28 Jan 1:10pm Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

*Fauré* Piano Quartet No 1 *Bridge* Phantasy Piano Quartet
*CBSO Players*
*Fauré* Piano Quartet No 1 *Bridge* Phantasy Piano Quartet
Birmingham City Universit...

Tue 26 Jan 3:30pm Symphony Hall
Birmingham City Universit...

Tue 26 Jan 10:15am Symphony Hall
Tom Paxton
Cancelled
Mon 25 Jan 7:30pm Town Hall

*It is with regret that Tom Paxton has cancelled his forthcoming UK tour dates, including this performance at Town Hall, Birmingham.* Unfortunately Tom’s wife Midge has been taken ill and Tom and family are currently at her bedside. Tom said: 'It breaks my heart to have to cancel my UK tour, however I need to be with my wife, Midge right now. I hope to return later on in the year to make this up to all my fans.' Ticket holders are being contacted. For more information contact Town Hall & Symphony Hall Box Office on 0121 780 3333.
BCMG conducted by Oliver ... BCMG 2009/10

Mon 25 Jan 7:30pm Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

More details to follow.
Lunchtime Organ Concert Thomas Trotter

Mon 25 Jan 1:00pm Town Hall

*Thomas Trotter* _organ_
*Bach* Prelude & Fugue in G BWV 541 7' *Franck* Prière 12' *Best* Variations on God save the Queen 8' *Harris* Four Short Pieces 10' *Wagner* Overture to Die Meistersinger 10'
Sing The Classics and Cla...

Sun 24 Jan 7:30pm Symphony Hall

Sing Live Central brings classical and rock together in one concert. Featuring time honoured favourites from Mozart and Handel, including the beautiful Ave Verum Corpus, and rock hits from U2, Bon Jovi, Queen, and more. Sing Live are accompanied by The National Festival Orchestra and a rock band.
Holocaust Memorial Day 20... The Legacy of Hope

Sun 24 Jan 2:00pm Town Hall

Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance as designated by the United Nations. It commemorates victims and survivors of the Holocaust and Nazi persecutions, as well as other worldwide genocides. The ceremony will take place in Town Hall, and will be inspired by the theme from the Holocaust Memorial Trust for 2010 - The Legacy of Hope. The afternoon will include speeches, music, readings and a special performance of Karl Jenkins’s _The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace_ with more than 200 singers and musicians including the Phoenix Singers, and the OneSound Youth Orchestra and Choir. The ceremony will enable all those affected by holocausts and genocides, either directly or indirectly, to reflect on these experiences and issues. Speakers will include a survivor of the Holocaust, local journalist Adrian Goldberg and Cllr Mike Whitby, the Leader of Birmingham City Council. Holocaust Memorial Day is organised in conjunction with community organisations by Birmingham City Council.
Reach Concert: The People...

Sat 23 Jan 7:30pm Town Hall

A local Midlands charity will be hosting a night of fun and enjoyment to raise funds to support an orphanage and school in rural India as well as Learning Disability Services in the Midlands. Reach the Concert will see performances by Bishop Challoner Secondary School performance group and the energetic and lively Holyhead Secondary School Bhangra Group. The night will be headlined by the 'Birmingham Voice of the Millennium' Richard Atlas, who will be backed by a fantastic six piece band. This night is sure to be enjoyable and educational and will raise much needed funds for some amazing community projects.
*Richard Atlas* _singer_
CBSO Elgar's Enigma

Sat 23 Jan 7:00pm Symphony Hall

To begin our series featuring the amazing musical decade leading up to the CBSO’s birth in 1920, we have one of the jewels of English music - Vaughan Williams’ luminous Tallis Fantasia, premiered in 1910. Britten’s late work for viola and strings also draws on older English music, while James Macmillan’s striking trumpet concerto is a prayer inspired by the composer’s Christian faith. This concert of deeply personal British music ends with Elgar’s brilliant tribute to his friends. *Pre-concert talk 5.45pm* Elgar to MacMillan Conductor Edward Gardner introduces tonight’s concert, in conversation with Stephen Maddock. "www.cbso.co.uk":http://cbso.co.uk
*City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *Edward Gardner* _conductor_ *Alison Balsom* _trumpet_ *Christopher Yates* _viola_
*Vaughan Williams* Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis 15’ *Macmillan* Epiclesis 25’ *Britten* Lachrymae 15’ *Elgar* Enigma Variations 29’
Notelets Hands on Worksho...

Sat 23 Jan 12:00pm Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

Action Stations - Using movement as a starting point, create your own action songs.
Notelets Hands on Worksho...

Sat 23 Jan 10:00am Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

Action Stations - Using movement as a starting point, create your own action songs.
Gilad Atzmon Quartet + St... Birmingham Jazz 2009/10

Fri 22 Jan 8:00pm Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

More details to follow shortly
Schubert from Bostridge a...

Fri 22 Jan 7:30pm Town Hall

_“A performance as intense and intriguing as it was timeless,”_ wrote _The Scotsman_ after Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano, Music Director of the Royal Opera House, performed Schwanengesang (Swansong) at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival. Their recent CD has won more critical plaudits. These unforgettable songs are the last that Schubert completed - audacious, economical but with an intensity of expression that takes us into a new world.
*Ian Bostridge* tenor *Antonio Pappano* piano
*Schubert* _Widerschein, Der Winterabend, Die Sterne_ 13' *Schubert* _Schwanengesang_ 53'
The Imagined Village

Thu 21 Jan 7:30pm Town Hall

Englishness is the final frontier of world music! *The Imagined Village* is a stunning project interweaving traditional folk with the sounds and voices of today's multicultural England. An outstanding line-up includes Martin Carthy, Eliza Carthy, and Chris Wood backed by a band featuring Grammy Award-winning musician and producer Simon Emmerson, Johnny Kalsi, Ali Friend, Andy Gangadeen, Simon Richmond, Sheema Mukherjee and Barney Morse Brown. Traditional instruments are interwoven with the sounds of today. Fiddles and squeezebox sit alongside electronica and ambient effect, with the line-up completed by members of world beat troupe Transglobal Underground and live electronic band, The Bays. This tour marks the release of the second Imagined Village album _Empire & Love_ due for release in early 2010, recorded in Emmerson's garage, converted to a studio by the band. The basic concept remains the same: traditional material interpreted by a band who are _not_ the usual suspects and a front line of English folk musicians. The album includes famous tracks like _Scarborough Fair_ alongside little-known gems such as Ewan MacColl's _Space Girl_. Praise for the first album: Winner- ‘Best Traditional Song’ BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008 Nominee- ‘Best Album’- BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2008 _“There was a sense of being in on the birth of something new and exciting”_ The Telegraph review of the WOMAD live show July 2007 _“It’s mischievous and tender, wry and wise, sad and surreal, but a folk that could only have been made in the 21st century”_ Observer Music Magazine _"A swirling, English ceilidh, stitched together by electric guitar and Indian drums and angry lyrics about current rural life, has righteous fire."_ The Independent. Supported by Moseley Folk Festival "Watch clips from songs featured on Empire and Love":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJv-Mj9cs9U "Watch the Space Girl video":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRfisYxfOyg "Watch the fully animated version of Space Girl":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7ZgShUIfQc "Watch My Son John video":http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K3bHpmKpKs
*Martin Carthy*, *Eliza Carthy*, *Chris Wood*, *Simon Emmerson*, *Johnny Kalsi*, *Ali Friend*, *Andy Gangadeen*, *Simon Richmond*, *Sheema Mukherjee*, *Barney Morse Brown*, plus members of *Transglobal Underground* and *The Bays*
CBSO Schools' Concert - E...

Thu 21 Jan 1:30pm Symphony Hall

Key Stage 3 and 4 Please note that this replaces the previously advertised schools' concerts on 15 April 2010
*City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra* *Edward Gardner* _conductor_
*Elgar* _Enigma Variations_
Centre Stage - Marie-Chri...

Thu 21 Jan 1:10pm Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

*Falla* Concerto for harpsichord & five instruments *Mozart* Flute Quartet in C, K.285b
*Marie-Christine Zupancic* _flute_
*Falla* Concerto for harpsichord & five instruments *Mozart* Flute Quartet in C, K.285b
Britten Sinfonia at Lunch

Thu 21 Jan 1:00pm Town Hall

Young firebrand composer, Nico Muhly has devised this programme. His influences are wide-ranging with early English choral music a particular interest. Here are his new arrangements of three songs by Jacobean composer, Orlando Gibbons plus a new work by Muhly himself.
*Thomas Gould, Miranda Dale* _violin_ *Martin Outram* _viola_ *Caroline Dearnley* _cello_ *Joy Farrall* _clarinet_ *Huw Watkins* _piano_
*Gibbons arr. Muhly* This Is the Record of John Hosanna to the Son of David O Lord in Thy Wrath *Howells* Rhapsodic Quintet *Nico Muhly* New Work (world premiere tour) *Copland* Sextet