Shropshire: Classical

Friday 5 June 2026

7:30pm

St Chad, Shrewsbury

Ex Cathedra
Jeffrey Skidmore: conductor

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. The concert will be preceded at 6.30pm by a 30-minute conversation about Dr Burney with Ex Cathedra’s director, Jeffrey Skidmore.

Dr Charles Burney was born in Shrewsbury in 1726 and attended Shrewsbury School. His brother James was organist at St Mary’s in the town, where the young Charles received much of his early musical training. At the request of Dr Thomas Arne, Charles began his musical career in London. In the 1770s, he undertook two lengthy tours of France, Germany and Italy. He met Mozart twice and was a close friend of Joseph Haydn. His writings provide some of the clearest portraits of life in 18th-century England and Europe, as he remained at the heart of cultural life until his death in 1814.

Tickets: £22 (children and full-time students £11) online HERE