The quiet intensity of Edmund Finnis’ Cello Concerto paves the way for Bruckner’s monumental, visionary symphonic statement.

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Edmund Finnis and Bruckner

Barbican Centre

Britten and Tippett shared many traits: both were pacifists; conscientious objectors during the war; homosexuals, at a time when it was publicly outlawed in Britain; and both shared a love of older forms of music. Drawing on one of Corelli’s concerti grossi, Tippett’s Fantasia views the Baroque through modern eyes in this passing from darkness into light.

In Britten’s sparkling setting for voice and string orchestra (initially for soprano, later tenor) this phrase from French symbolist poet Arthur Rimbaud becomes an enigmatic throughline amid the poet’s eccentric scenes. Lose yourself in Britten’s crystalline textures, and Rimbaud’s magical imagery: of boats battered by whirlpools of light, of jugglers and rogues, cortèges of russet and opaline.

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Royal Northern College of Music

Britten and Tippett shared many traits: both were pacifists; conscientious objectors during the war; homosexuals, at a time when it was publicly outlawed in Britain; and both shared a love of older forms of music. Drawing on one of Corelli’s concerti grossi, Tippett’s Fantasia views the Baroque through modern eyes in this passing from darkness into light.

British Iconoclasts

An exhilarating musical journey, where West African and European traditions call out to each other.

Join Manchester Collective’s string ensemble, percussionist extraordinaire Sidiki Dembélé and his band for folksong and storytelling from the Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal. Born out of his family’s griot tradition of West African oral history and music, Sidiki’s work ‘Teriya’ (‘friendship’ in Bambara) celebrates where our roots intertwine.

Our destination is the musical meeting point between cultures. Guiding us there and directing from the violin is Rakhi Singh. Hear the old anew with her bold reimaginings of classical and folk tunes, baroque mixed with African percussion, and plenty of improvisational magic along the way.

Manchester Collective and Sidiki Dembélé: Constellations

New Music Detroit (NMD) celebrates Concert of Colors with music shaped by the plurality of human experience and the shared presence in listening together.

NMD core members Joe Becker (principal percussionist of DSO), Jocelyn Zelasko Conselva, Úna O'Riordan (cellist of DSO), and Justin Snyder, will be joined by violinist Magnolia Rohrer, performing music by Roberto Sierra, Andrea Casarrubios, Kevin Day, Juhi Bansal, Yihan Chen, and Edmund Finnis.

Concert of Colors featuring New Music Detroit

Orchestra Hall

At the center of the concert is the outstanding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and works that highlight the versatility and radiance of English music through the centuries. Edmund Finnis' "Hymn", originally part of his string quartet "Aloysius" and arranged here for string orchestra, is inspired by William Byrd's setting of the hymn "Christe, qui lux es et dies". The music reflects the rising and setting of sunlight and combines the spiritual depth of the 16th century with Finnis' own musical language. With his cello concerto - a European premiere - Finnis explores the colorful range of expression of the cello in connection with a lively orchestral sound. William Lawes' "The Sunrise", a work from the English Early Baroque, captures the beauty and symbolism of a sunrise. Arthur Bliss' "A Colour Symphony" is finally inspired by the symbolic meanings of different colors. Here, musical and visual layers merge into a multifaceted interpretation of color and sound. Concert as part of the Dresden Music Festival.

 Symphony Concert The Explorer Kanneh-Mason - Dresden Philharmonic - Manze

Palace of Culture

He played at one of the most spectacular weddings of recent years: for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The bride herself had called the then 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and asked him to play during the church service at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle - and half the world watched him. Now he is our guest and fits perfectly into our unconventional concert with his unconventional appearance and artistic excellence! The program includes nothing less than a premiere! The cello concerto by Edmund Finnis will be heard for the first time in Europe on this evening - and you can be there.

abgeFRACKt: Cello Flow

We continue our longstanding relationship with the music of Sir James MacMillan with Holy Week performances of his Seven Last Words from the Cross.

Seven Last Words From The Cross With Tenebrae

St Martin-in-the-Fields Church | London

arc Shopping Centre

Snape Maltings

Celebrated for its innovative and imaginative programming, the Manchester Collective repeatedly succeeds in uncovering exciting thematic threads and establishing unexpected connections. In their new program, "Albion, Now," they take the audience on a journey through the contemporary British music scene. Christian Mason's vibrant "Sardinian Songbook" encounters Errollyn Wallen's lyrical sound language of "Five Postcards," Anna Meredith's wild swarm of flies in "Tuggemo," in which strings and electronica buzz around each other, and other discoverable new creations from Great Britain—formerly known as Albion. The Manchester Collective thus draws on the rich world of myth and legend of old England and transforms it into a contemporary soundscape.

Manchester Collective

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Nicholas Carter, one of the leading opera conductors of his generation, makes his Bridgewater Hall debut.

BBC Philharmonic - Four Last Songs

The Bridgewater Hall

Four Last Songs

"Paul Jacobs is one of the great living virtuosos … he is utterly without artifice,” declares The Washington Post. Witness the musicianship of the first and only organist to win a Grammy Award as Jacobs performs Saint-Saëns’s “Organ” Symphony, a work so expressive the composer claimed, “I have given all that I had to give.” Jacobs also performs Samuel Barber’s exuberant Toccata Festiva. Beethoven penned four unique overtures to his opera Leonore; the MSO performs the sumptuous third iteration here, as well as brand new music by composer Edmund Finnis.

Saint-Saëns “Organ” Symphony

Warner Grand Theater

Elgar’s Enigma Variations contain one of the most fascinating mysteries in British classical music. Consisting of a theme and 14 variations—some dark and searching, others playful and assertive—the orchestral work builds upon a wistful theme that was written as a countermelody to an unknown piece that Elgar never shared. A century later, no one has cracked the code to the secret tune. Roberto González-Monjas opens the program with another set of variations, this time by Korngold, overflowing with golden harmonies and a folkish warmth.

Elgar’s Enigma

Walt Disney Concert Hall

A concert of glittering works with Debussy’s sensual and impressionistic quartet at its heart, shimmering with life and light between opening storms and a grand conclusion.

New Impressions: Debussy & More

Portsmouth Guildhall

Violinist Rakhi Singh performs works by Edmund Finnis, Julia Wolfe, Julius Eastman, Alex Groves, and more from her debut solo album, ‘Purnima’. A leading artist in the UK’s exciting contemporary classical music scene, Singh has firmly established her reputation touring with cutting-edge artists such as Phillip Glass, Abel Selaocoe, and the London Contemporary Orchestra. She is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Manchester Collective, the award-winning ensemble known for its daring collaborations and engaging performances in spaces ranging from concert halls to warehouses, nightclubs to festivals.

Sounds of Now: Purnima Eastman, Wolfe & Singh

Maxwell Quartet

The Assembly Room

Music affects us on a profound level, it has the ability to transport and inspire but also to release and heal. Join violist Andrew Berridge and a quartet of musicians to explore the familiar and the new, opening our ears more widely to appreciate the full potential of what live music can do for us. With works by Brahms, Beethoven, Cristobal de Morales, Edmund Finnis, Caroline Shaw and Dobrinka Tabakova, this programme is firmly rooted in Scottish Ensemble’s belief that music can lift spirits and strengthen connections.

Resound with Scottish Ensemble

Adelaide Place Baptist Church

Music affects us on a profound level, it has the ability to transport and inspire but also to release and heal. Join Scottish Ensemble" class="css-u850" data-mark-multiple="true">Scottish Ensemble's violist Andrew Berridge and a quartet of musicians to explore the familiar and the new in this intimate listening experience, revealing the full potential of what live music can do for us. With works by Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven, Edmund Finnis, Caroline Shaw and Dobrinka Tabakova, this programme is firmly rooted in Scottish Ensemble’s belief that music can lift spirits and strengthen connections.

Lunchtime Concert: Scottish Ensemble

Perth Concert Hall

Ro ned med klassisk musikk og ta en pause fra en hektisk hverdag.

Musikere fra Oslo-filharmonien inviterer deg til en avslappet og uformell konsert på Trekanten. Vi spiller med et lite orkester som fremfører minimalistisk musikk.

Chillout Kammerkonsert

Fægteklubben Trekanten

Samy Moussa has burst onto the music scene winning plaudits for his compositions and his conducting alike. For his Ensemble 10:10 debut, he brings compelling composers rarely heard on these shores – Jacques Hétu (from Canada) and David Diamond (from the US), but also serene music from the UK’s Edmund Finnis. Moussa also introduces us to his acclaimed Violin Concerto with a UK premiere starring our very own Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Leader, Thelma Handy as soloist. Moussa’s music is described as ‘dazzlingly coloristic’, full of ‘intoxicated harmonies and noisy energy’ – this concert will encompass all that and more.

Ensemble 10:10

Yoko Ono Lennon Centre

The first of three Sinfonietta Nova concerts will feature London Sinfonietta's Jonathan Morton. The concert will take you on a journey through the raw and palpable power of Krzysztof Penderecki, the eerie and unsettling undercurrent of the Oscar-winning soundtrack 'There Will Be Blood' to the unistic and deeply layered style of composer Zygmunt Krauze, who will sit at the piano.

Sinfonietta Nova

Łaźnia Nowa Theater

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is one of classical music’s biggest rising stars. He has sold out multiple Carnegie Hall performances alongside his sister, Isata, and he now returns with essentials of the cello repertoire and several recent additions to it. Experience one of the legendary J. S. Bach cello suites and a 20th-century piece it inspired. Enjoy Britten’s Cello Suite No. 1 and a sonata by the endlessly resourceful guitarist Leo Brouwer. Be one of the first to hear exciting new works by two next-generation composers from the United Kingdom, each of which received its world premiere by Kanneh-Mason at the Royal Academy of Music.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Cello

Carnegie Hall

Following a sold-out 2019 PCMS debut with his sister and recital partner Isata, British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason returns to the Perelman Theater for a program that includes the Philadelphia premieres of solo cello works by Cuban composer Leo Brouwer and Welsh pianist Gwilym Simcock. Kanneh-Mason’s “light baritone tone quality often blossoms coloristically within the bounds of a single note. In fact, it’s hard to really talk about individual notes in his playing because so much of what he does comes off in lyrically rendered sound shapes” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s career and performances span the globe. Whether performing for children in a school hall, at an underground club or in the world’s leading concert venues, Sheku’s mission is to make music accessible to all. After winning the BBC Young Musician competition in 2016, Sheku’s performance at the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle in 2018 was watched by two billion people worldwide.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason in Concert

Amelia Plantation Chapel

A master musical storyteller who evinces an artistic maturity well beyond his 24 years, charismatic British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason returns to Berkeley in his Cal Performances solo recital debut with a program of new and familiar works. Kanneh-Mason skyrocketed to fame as the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, and thrilled Cal Performances audiences in his 2019 Berkeley debut. He is adored by fans the world over for an interpretive style that is bold and inviting, commanding and yet supremely lyrical. Kanneh-Mason’s program includes staples by Bach, Britten, and Cassadó, alongside works composed especially for him by Welsh composer Gwilym Simcock, English composer Edmund Finnis, and Cuban composer Leo Brouwer. “The sweetness of his tone is a wonder to behold. He is an appealingly sure virtuoso. His vibrato is deep and penetrating. He embraces every passage in every piece with agreeable passion. Talent like this comes along rarely” (Los Angeles Times).

University of California, Berkeley

Here, major works from Philip Glass’ career sit alongside music by composers of today. An early movement from his First String Quartet reveals a composer testing ideas that would later define minimalism, while the Fifth Quartet shows that language fully realised, with driving rhythms and immense emotional power.

Philip Glass at 90: Manchester Collective

Southbank Centre

Enter a hall of mirrors, where past and present forever recur.

For Philip Glass’s 90th anniversary, Manchester Collective give their unconventional take on the musical icon – by pairing him with an artist unafraid of big metal and classical sounds.

Glass stands as a towering figure not just in minimalism but contemporary culture, having collaborated with everyone from Martin Scorsese to Aphex Twin. Encounter the end and beginning of his 20th-century quartets, from early dissonance to later musical freedom and his trademark lyrical repetition.

His music is flanked by Rylan Gleave. Working across doom metal, experimental and orchestral music, he’s established himself as a fearless performer and composer. Expect haunting vocals and a dark, imaginative take on an ancient prayer, alongside a brand-new work for string quartet and voice. ‘Devotions’ by Edmund Finnis provides a shaft of light.

Edmund Finnis

Events

Upcoming events

Jan 31, 2027

Philip Glass at 90: Manchester Collective · Southbank Centre

Feb 5, 2027

Manchester Collective: Glass Reframed I · Royal Northern College of Music

Past events

Oct 25, 2026

Edmund Finnis and Bruckner · London Symphony Orchestra

Oct 16, 2026

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra · Royal Northern College of Music

About

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