Shropshire: Classical
2025-2026 Season
Welcome to this season's programme. New events continue to be posted here as soon as details are available. So bookmark this page to keep in touch.
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Saturday 18 April 2026
7:30pm
Shrewsbury Abbey
Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture, Haydn's Heiligmesse and Brahms's second piano concerto with Sean Godden, piano
The concert opens with Mendelssohn's Hebrides overture of 1832 sometimes referred to as Fingal's Cave. Overture is something of a misnomer as it isn't the overture to anything, ...read more...
Tickets: £20 (U18 - free) HERE
Tuesday 21 April 2026
6:45pm
2 venues - see below
Mozart's The Magic Flute
streamed live from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Raised by a scheming dwarf and unaware of his true family origins, a young man embarks on an epic journey. Soon, destiny brings him face-to-face with a shattered sword, a fearsome dragon and the cursed ring it guards, and a Valkyrie forced into enchanted slumber.
More information and tickets:
Festval Drayton Centre HERE
The Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury HERE
Saturday 25 April 2026
7:30pm
St Chad, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Cantata Choir
Dvořák, Stabat Mater
This haunting piece based on a medieval Latin hymn on the suffering of the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion will move you. ...read more...
Tickets: £20.00 (students, under-18s and unwaged free) are available onlne HERE or at the door.
Tuesday 28 April 2026
6:45pm
Ludlow Assembly Rooms
Mozart's The Magic Flute
streamed 'as live' from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Raised by a scheming dwarf and unaware of his true family origins, a young man embarks on an epic journey. Soon, destiny brings him face-to-face with a shattered sword, a fearsome dragon and the cursed ring it guards, and a Valkyrie forced into enchanted slumber. ...read more...
Tickets £18.00 (u18 £7.00) HERE
Tuesday 5 May 2026
6:00pm
3 venues - see below
Tchaikovsky, Eugene Onegin
streamed 'as live" from the the Metropolitan Opera House, New York
Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin.
More information and tickets:
Ludlow Assembly Rooms HERE
Festival Drayton Centre HERE
The Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury HERE
Friday 8 May 2026
7:30pm
St Alkmund, Shrewsbury
Carducci String Quartet
with Simon Callaghan, piano
Works by Shostakovich, Caroline Shaw and Schumann
For their final concert of the 2025-26 season, the Carduccis are joined by the young international star pianist Simon Callaghan. Simon played with the Carduccis in Shropshire Music Trust's 2023-24 season ...read more...
Tickets: £18.00; (u18: £9.00) HERE
Thursday 14 May 2026
7:30pm
St John the Baptist, Whittington
Whittington Music Festival
Works by Bach including the Goldberg Variations arranged for accordion and strings.
Further details HERE
Friday 15 May 2026
7:30pm
St John the Baptist, Whittington
Whittington Music Festival
Schubert's Trout Quintet and works by Handel, Brahms, Finzi, Massenet, Delibes and Claire van Kampen.
Further details HERE
Saturday 16 May 2026
2:00pm
St John the Baptist, Whittington
Whittington Music Festival
Family Concert
Music and words inspired by the animal world, featuring Kadiatu and Braimah Kanneh-Mason and young stars from Whittington Festival masterclasses alongside Festival musicians.
Mozart's Clarinet Quintet and works by Biber, Shostakovich, Saint Saëns, and Ridout.
Further details HERE
Saturday 16 May 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Ludlow Orchestra
Works by Schubert and Mahler.
Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 and Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 make for a concert pairing that highlights two very different but complementary musical worlds. Schubert’s Third Symphony, written when he was just eighteen, sparkles with youthful energy, elegance, and melodic charm. ...read more...
Tickets from Ludlow Assembly Rooms box office soon.
Saturday 16 May 2026
7:30pm
St John the Baptist, Whittington
Whittington Music Festival
Piano Trios by Beethoven and Fauré, Gershwin's three pieces for clarinet and Schumann's Piano Quintet.
Further details HERE
Sunday 17 May 2026
3:00pm
St John the Baptist, Whittington
Whittington Music Festival
Whittington Festival String Quartet with Mebrakh Haughton-Johnson, clarinet
Works by Gershwin, Bizet, Rimsky-Korsakov and Katherine Hunka.
Further details HERE
Wednesday 20 — Sunday 24 May
Ludlow Piano Festival
Various Ludlow venues
Four conventional piano recitals are listed here — for other concerts and events across a wide range of genres, see the Ludlow Piano Festival website HERE
Thursday 21 May 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Works by Beethoven, Ravel and Dobrinka Tabakova.
One of the most sought-after young British pianists comes to Ludlow with a programme full of variety. Two Beethoven sonatas (including his most popular — Moonlight) are divided by Ravel’s passionate, fiendish and beautiful Gaspard de la Nuit and two flowing and haunting contemporary compositions by Bulgarian-British composer, Dobrinka Tabakova. A very hot ticket! ...read more...
Tickets: £25 (u18 £5) HERE
Friday 22 May 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Danny Driver, piano
Works by Lili Boulanger, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ligeti and Bill Evans.
One of the country’s busiest pianists, Danny is a regular on Radio 3, at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London and is known and respected for his very different and exciting programming. He brings us an intriguing mix of some rarely-heard and some well-known pieces by some rarely-heard and some well-known composers: Lili Boulanger, Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ligeti and Bill Evans. A rare treat! ...read more...
Tickets £25 (u18 £5) from Ludlow Assembly Rooms box office HERE
Saturday 23 May 2026
7:30pm
St Mary, Shrewsbury
Mariam Batsashvili, piano
Works by Mozart, Schubert, Chopin and Liszt.
pre-performance interview 7:00pm
The world-famous Georgian pianist and Liszt Piano Competition-winner returns to Shrewsbury to help fundraising for a new grand piano for St Mary’s Church, a church dating back to Saxon times with fantastic acoustics in the centre of the historic town. ...read more...
Tickets: £25 (u18 £10) HERE or at the door.
Saturday 23 May 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Peter Donohoe, piano
Works by Mozart, Brahms, Chopin and Schubert.
Peter loved playing in Ludlow so much last year that he asked us if he could come back! Who are we to say ‘no’ to one of the country’s most respected soloists? This time he plays Schubert, Brahms, Chopin and, for the first time at Ludlow Piano Festival, Mozart. Big names from a big name. ...read more...
Tickets: £25 (u18 £5) HERE
Sunday 24 May 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Vanessa Wagner, piano
The Complete Études of Philip Glass — UK première.
Vanessa Wagner has established herself as a major influence in classical music. Tonight, she plays (in full) one of the great contemporary landmarks – the twenty piano Etudes of Philip Glass, revealing its full emotional depth. For the listener, it’s a captivating journey where each piece unfolds into the next and Vanessa Wagner gradually and uniquely places these works among the great musical cycles. A UK première – in Ludlow! ...read more...
Tickets £25 (u18 £5) from Ludlow Assembly Rooms box office HERE
Friday 5 June 2026
7:30pm
St Chad, Shrewsbury
Ex-Cathedra
Music by Candlelight - Charles Burney Tricentenary
A celebration of a very special Shropshire-born musician, composer, music historian and writer Charles Burney. Ex Cathedra will celebrate his tercentenary with a programme of European music of his time — 1726-1814. ...read more...
Tickets: £22 (children and full-time students £11) online HERE
Wednesday 10 June 2026
7:30pm
St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
English Haydn Festival
Grand Opening Orchestral Concert
Works by Haydn and J.C. Bach played on period instruments.
Johann Christian Bach was born in Leipzig and became Music Master to Queen Charlotte, putting him right at the centre of London society and music-making, and justifying historical references to him as ‘the London Bach’. ...read more...
Tickets: £32 and £25 available HERE or telephone 07547 289704
Thursday 11 June 2026
12:30pm
St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
English Haydn Festival
The Revolutionary Wind Machine
Works by Druchetzky, Wranitzky and Beethoven played on period instruments.
Druchetzky studied oboe with the noted oboist and composer Antonio Besozzi in Dresden. He then joined the band of an infantry regiment in Cheb. It is believed he started writing music in the 1770s, most of it for his band. ...read more...
Tickets: £28 available HERE or telephone 07547 289704
Thursday 11 2026
7:30pm
St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
English Haydn Festival
Liturina Piano Trio
Works by Haydn, J.C. Bach and Beethoven played on period instruments.
The concert traces the rich evolution of the piano trio in the late eighteenth century, bringing together works by Haydn, J. C. Bach and the young Beethoven at pivotal moments in their careers. ...read more...
Tickets: £28 available HERE or telephone 07547 289704
Friday 12 June 2026
12:30pm
St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
English Haydn Festival
Consone Quartet
Works by Haydn and Mozart played on period instruments.
This concert pairs two celebrated works from the high Classical string quartet tradition. Haydn’s quartet Op.33, No.5 exemplifies his mature quartet style, full of clarity, wit, and imaginative dialogue between the four instruments. The Mozart quartet, known as The Hunt, follows ...read more...
Tickets: £28 available HERE or telephone 07547 289704
Friday 12 June 2026
7:30pm
St Mary Magdalene, Bridgnorth
English Haydn Festival
Haydn's Friends
Works by Haydn, Krommer, Vanhal and Beethoven played on period instruments.
This concert offers a vibrant exploration of Classical orchestral brilliance, spanning the elegance of Haydn to the inventive energy of Beethoven, with some lesser-known gems that showcase the richness of late 18th- and early 19th-century orchestral music. ...read more...
Tickets: £32 and £25 available HERE or telephone 07547 289704
Saturday 13 June 2026
12:00 noon
St Mary, Acton Round
English Haydn Festival
Christian Halstead, violin, Pavel Serbin, cello, and John Moore, fortepiano
Works by Charles Burney and William Herschel played on period instruments.
Dr Charles Burney was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist and book donor to the British Museum. He was a close friend and supporter of Joseph Haydn and other composers. ...read more...
Tickets: £28 available HERE or telephone 07547 289704
Saturday 20 June 2026
7:30pm
St Alkmund, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Cantata Choir
Rossini, Messe Solennelle
Further details when available.
Saturday 20 June 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Ludlow Choral Society
Works by Steve Dunachie, Lili Boulanger, Maria Hester Park, George Gershwin, Robert Pearsall, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Frederick Delius, Gustav Holst & Eric Barnum
A mixed programme of musical delights for a summer eventing in Ludlow. ...read more...
Saturday 21 November 2026
7:30pm
St Chad, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury Cantata Choir
Haydn, The Creation
Further details when available.
Saturday 5 December 2026
7:30pm
St Laurence, Ludlow
Ludlow Choral Society
Works by Britten, Sarah Quartel and other composers.
This concert brings together two evocative choral works that reflect on winter, ritual, and the human spirit from very different perspectives. Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols is a beloved modern classic ...read more...