THE CBSO IS TAKING OVER BIRMINGHAM

If you’ve ever thought Birmingham could do with a little more live orchestral music in its railway stations, shopping centres, trams and assorted public spaces, the CBSO has you covered.

CBSO in the City returns for the Bank Holiday weekend, August 27 to 31, with 20 free performances popping up across Birmingham and beyond.

And they’re not just sticking a violinist in Victoria Square and calling it a festival. The full orchestra and CBSO Chorus will take over New Street Station; Music Director Kazuki Yamada will play piano aboard a West Midlands Metro tram; the full orchestra hits the Bullring; and there’s music at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, BMAG, Brindleyplace, The Exchange and Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Jess Gillam leads a mass clarinet and saxophone session at Brindleyplace, while Sunday brings Open for Business, a community opera unfolding across nine Digbeth venues. At BMAG, meanwhile, you can combine strings with Joe Lycett’s EVERY THING MUST GO exhibition.

Almost everything is free, although normal admission charges apply at some host venues. Better still, catch a performance and you could pick up a Golden Ticket, unlocking a CBSO concert from the new 2026/27 Symphony Hall season for just £1.

Basically: Birmingham becomes one enormous concert hall for five days. Lovely stuff.