posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release. Pictures (c) Andrew Fox and Hannah Blake-Feathers (bottom)

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s 2026-27 concert season launches today, with a family of incredible musicians, choirs and youth ensembles, making music that matters to the people of Birmingham, the West Midlands and beyond. The season’s opening concert marks a special milestone for the CBSO Chorus, which will celebrate its landmark 1,000th performance this evening.

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) season launch follows the success of ‘CBSO in the City’– an ambitious and ground-breaking city-wide music festival, which saw Birmingham’s orchestra deliver over 20 free performances in five days across the city. The event, as with the new season, reaffirms the CBSO’s commitment to engage with the broadest possible audience – and the ensemble’s pride to be Birmingham’s orchestra on the local and international stage.

New season highlights include the CBSO’s return to Coventry Cathedral in November for Britten’s War Requiem, a full cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies, new commissions, and a wide‑ranging programme embracing film, popular music and cross‑genre collaborations.

Fresh perspectives

The CBSO embraces new energy in this upcoming season with brand-new additions to the orchestra’s creative team. Ilan Volkov makes his debut as Principal Guest Conductor with Bruckner’s 7th Symphony, Messiaen’s Turangalila and a Shakespeare-inspired programme. The orchestra also welcomes its first Composer in Residence, GRAMMY-nominated composer Anna Clyne, who presents the world premiere of her new viola concerto ‘Resonant Forms’ with Lawrence Power, plus performance and recording projects.

New Collaborative Artists pianist Alice Sara Ott, saxophonist Jess Gillam and composer‑producer Rushil Ranjan, will also make their mark. The 2026-27 season will feature major concerto and chamber performances from Alice Sara Ott, solo concerts, presenting and education projects with Jess Gillam and a collaboration with Rushil Ranjan’s Orchestral Qawwali Project, a unique blend of Sufi poetry, Indian Classical dance and symphony orchestra.

Marking history

Kazuki Yamada (above with CBSO CEO Emma Stenning and Director of Artistic Planning Cath Arlidge) and the CBSO mark 200 years since Beethoven’s death in the 2026-27 season with a cycle of all nine of the German composer’s symphonies in 2027, as well as performances of his Violin Concerto and chamber music.

The orchestra also makes its return to Coventry Cathedral for Remembrance Day with a performance of Britten’s War Requiem which marks both the 50^th anniversary of the composer’s death and 64 years since the CBSO gave the world premiere of the piece at the Cathedral in 1962. The 11 November performance will be followed by a European tour.

The upcoming season will also delight film fanatics with concerts celebrating 50 years of Star Wars and 75 Years of Bollywood as well as tributes to legendary film composers John Williams and Quincy Jones. 

Pop fans won’t be left behind either. On 27 February, the CBSO presents its tribute to guitar legends with music by Black Sabbath, Muse, Jimi Hendrix, Guns N Roses, Queen, David Bowie and more before turning truly Scandinavian with Symphonic Abba on 22 April.

Family favourites and festive fun

Across the season, the CBSO’s Family and Notelets concerts aim to spark a lifelong connection with music. For under‑6s, Notelets interactive performances give children a space to sing, dance and discover orchestral instruments for the very first time. For older children, the orchestra’s Halloween Spooktacular invites ghosts and ghouls aged 6 and over to don their spookiest costumes for a night of Halloween-themed music at Symphony Hall on 25 October.

Christmas at Symphony Hall starts on 5 December with three festive masterpieces by Benjamin Britten, presented in collaboration with choral charity Ex Cathedra, before Kazuki Yamada takes the podium to lead the orchestra in three interpretations of The Nutcracker. Christmas pop favourites from ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ to ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ are on the menu for the CBSO Christmas Party on 17 December, then the spotlight turns on the orchestra’s vocal groups for Choral Christmas on 18 December. 

Emma Stenning, CBSO Chief Executive, comments: “When I look at this season, I see an orchestra that knows who and what it’s for. It’s not for a particular kind of audience, or a particular kind of music. It’s for Birmingham and for the Midlands, and it’s in demand across the world.  It’s for the die-hard orchestral fans, and for anyone who has never been and thinks it is not for them. It’s for the people who have been coming for decades and for the six-year-old who picks up a triangle at the end of a Notelets concert and cannot put it down.”

Kazuki Yamada, CBSO Music Director, comments: “With every season, the relationship between the orchestra and I deepens and strengthens. I am delighted to continue our Mahler cycle, as well as exploring all of Beethoven’s symphonies across this season. I am also looking forward to bringing the orchestra back to Coventry Cathedral for a landmark performance of Britten’s poignant and powerful War Requiem, as well as bringing joyous festive music to Symphony Hall this Christmas. We look forward to welcoming diverse audiences from Birmingham and beyond – everyone is welcome.”

The CBSO would also like to thank the many guest musicians, soloists and ensembles that will join them for the 2026–27 season. For full details, visit the CBSO website.

Published post no.3,018 – Wednesday 15 September 2026