Christmas Carols at Braithwaite Hall: Family concert

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Part of A Very Croydon Christmas

Step into the festive season with an enchanting evening of Christmas carols performed live by the London Mozart Players.

In the historic surroundings of the Braithwaite Hall, warm your spirits with a variety of Christmas classics performed by a brass quintet.

The hall will be decked with a festive display and refreshments will be included in the ticket price.

Family Concert
5pm – 5.45pm
Tickets: £2 (Family ticket*: £6)
Soft drink and festive biscuit included

*Family tickets include 2 adults & 2 children or 1 adult & 3 children

Don’t miss…

After the concert, visit the nearby Queen’s Gardens to see it illuminated by a free display of neon light murals. As the sun sets, walk through the gardens lit up by colourful light displays inspired by the notion of a place we call home – including neon living room furniture, and elements from nature like neon spiders and snails!

Christmas Carols at Braithwaite Hall: After-work concert

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Part of A Very Croydon Christmas

Step into the festive season with an enchanting evening of Christmas carols with our Brass Ensemble.

In the historic surroundings of the Braithwaite Hall, warm your spirits with a variety of Christmas classics performed by our Brass Quintet.

The hall will be decked with a festive display and refreshments will be included in the ticket price.

After Work Concert
6.30pm – 7.30pm
Tickets: £7.50 (Two for £12)
Mulled wine included

Don’t miss…

After the concert, visit the nearby Queen’s Gardens to see it illuminated by a free display of neon light murals. As the sun sets, walk through the gardens lit up by colourful light displays inspired by the notion of a place we call home – including neon living room furniture!

Exeter Philharmonic Choir

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Mozart Laudate Dominum, Vesperae solennes de confessore, K. 339
Mozart Regina Coeli, K. 276
Mozart Violin Concerto No. 1 in B flat Major, K. 207
Mozart Mass in C minor, K. 427

Lucinda Cox soprano
Daisy Walford soprano
Ruairi Bowen tenor
Tim Mirfin bass
Joel Munday violin
Howard Ionascu conductor
Simon Blendis leader
Exeter Philharmonic Choir

Kings College School Wimbledon Faure Requiem Side-By-Side

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Brahms Academic Festival Overture, Op. 80
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102
Faure Requiem (1900 version)

LMP at the Grand, Eastbourne

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Ruth Rogers Director

Tim Lines Clarinet

London Mozart Players Musical Weekend is back in 2025 at The Grand Hotel.

Many return year on year to experience this magical weekend of glorious chamber music, with 2025 marking 22 years of LMP performances here … with world-class music, exceptional dining, five-star accommodation on offer, and excellent company in beautiful surroundings, who can blame them?

German Requiem

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Fanny Mendelssohn Cantata, Hiob (Job)
Brahms Tragic Overture
Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem

Dan Ludford-Thomas conductor
Eleanor Pennell-Briggs soprano
Jonathan Brown baritone
Lewisham Choral Society
Hackney Singers

 

Hackney Singers and Lewisham Choral Society combine forces to perform one of the most magnificent works in the choral repertoire.

Brahms’ German Requiem is a delight for singers and audiences alike.

Fanny Hensel, ‘the other Mendelssohn’, was Felix’s older sister and a brilliant composer in her own right.

Neglected for many years, her music is now beginning to get the attention it deserves – and tonight you can hear her lively cantata Hiob (Job).

The contrapuntal style of the music is reminiscent of Bach, a composer the Mendelssohns much admired.

The programme also includes Brahms’ Tragic Overture, performed by tonight’s musicians, the celebrated London Mozart Players.

This is the sixth appearance for the joint choirs at the Southbank Centre, the last being a sell-out performance of Verdi’s Requiem in 2023.

London Mozart Players are one of the world’s finest chamber ensembles, harnessing the passion and talent of its musicians to create world-class performances.

Soprano Eleanor Pennell-Briggs has performed at London’s Cadogan and Smith Square Halls and in France, Italy and Luxembourg; she also works regularly with Covent Garden’s Royal Opera Chorus.

Baritone Jonathan Brown has sung opera in London, Paris, Lille and Strasbourg as well as a wide range of concert music throughout the UK, in continental Europe and in North and South America.

Conductor Dan Ludford-Thomas enjoys a busy schedule as a conductor, chorus master and singing teacher. He directs several choirs and performs regularly in major concert venues across the country

Trinity Laban Symphony Orchestra: Side-by-Side

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Simon Blendis leader
Jonathan Tilbrook conductor
Medb Brereton-Hurley conducting junior fellow
Trinity Laban Symphony Orchestra

Mozart Overture from The Magic Flute

Mendelssohn Symphony No. 5 in D Major, Op. 107 ‘Reformation’

Trinity Laban’s Side by Side series unites student talent with professional mentors, sharing their expertise and skills.

Mayfield Festival: Messiah

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Jack Gonzalez-Harding conductor
Ruth Rogers leader
Theano Papadaki soprano
Louisa Stuart-Smith alto
Sebastian Hill tenor
George Robarts bass
The Mayfield Consort chorus

Handel Messiah

Oxford Bach Choir: Handel, Messiah

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Handel Messiah
Ruth Rogers leader
Benjamin Nicholas conductor
Daisy Bevan soprano
Emma Roberts alto
Sebastian Hill tenor
James Geidt bass

Ealing Choral Society: Eternal Light, A Requiem

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Bairstow Blessed City, Heavenly Salem
Stanford Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem
Stanford O For a Closer Walk With God
Stanford For Lo I Raise Up
Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs
Interval
Howard Goodall Eternal Light, A Requiem
Simon Blendis leader
Peter Asprey conductor

Viola Virtuosity with Tim Ridout and Ruth Rogers

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Lera Auerbach Sogno di Stabat Mater
Mozart Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major K364
Interval
Hummel Potpourri mit Fantasie op.94
Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21
Ruth Rogers leader/solo violin
Jonathan Bloxham conductor
Timothy Ridout viola

Karl Jenkins’ 80th Birthday at Grayshott

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Jenkins Lament for the Valley (5′)
Requiem 2. Dies Irae
9. Pie Jesu
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
The Armed Man 11. Now The Guns Have Stopped
One World 9.Tikkun Olam
One World 15.Sakura, Spring Has Come
The Peacemakers 9.Solitude
Chatterbox!
Palladio

Jenkins (arr. Gibbons) Stabat Mater

 

Karl Jenkins conductor
Kathryn Rudge mezzo-soprano
Ruth Rogers leader
Joo Yeon Sir violin

Mill Hill Music Club

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Elgar Serenade for Strings
Holst St Paul’s Suite 
Vivaldi Concerto for 2 violins in A minor
Vaughn Williams (arr. Gerigk) The Lark Ascending
Grieg Holberg Suite
Simon Blendis  leader
Aki Blendis violin
London Mozart Players

Flights of Fancy

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Vaughan Williams (arr. Martin Gerigk) The Lark Ascending 
Dvořák Serenade for Strings in E Major, Op.22 
Joanna Marsh In Winter’s House 
Coleridge-Taylor Two Noveletten for Strings from Opus. 52

Simon Blendis director/solo violin 

Where there’s music, there’s meaning. And where there’s meaning, there’s heated debate about who’s right and who’s wrong. 

Sometimes the symbolism is clear, like in Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending; it beautifully depicts a soaring bird, brought to life by the solo violin. Joanna Marsh’s In Winter’s House draws from a fairy-tale like setting of light and dark text. Other pieces leave their narratives open to interpretation, like Coleridge-Taylor’s Four Noveletten (translated as ‘short stories’) which lets listeners’ imaginations run wild. 

Meaning can also be attached retrospectively. Take Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings – written in the 19th century, it was intended to provide light entertainment and background music for social gatherings. Today, aviation enthusiasts might identify it with piña coladas and getting caught in the rain, all thanks to British Airways adopting it as their boarding music.

Under 30? Get tickets for just £10.

Marvellous Maestros

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JS Bach Orchestral Suite No.2 in B minor
        7. Badinerie
Corelli Concerto Grosso, Op.6 No.8 
JS Bach Brandenburg Concerto. No.5 BWV 150 
Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622 

Ruth Rogers director
Timothy Lines clarinet
David Wright harpsichord
Michael Cox flute

 In a concerto, a star soloist steps into the limelight, accompanied by an orchestra. Classical composers wrote flashy solo parts for their friends, pupils, or – if they really wanted to show off – themselves.  

Our concert begins 400 years ago when Johann Sebastian Bach ruled the music scene. His music proves timeless, permeating everything from film scores to technology. Take his Badinerie; you might not recognise the name, but you may well know the tricky flute tune from its stint as Nokia’s catchy ringtone… 

His Brandenburg Concerto No.5 features three solo instruments: harpsichord, flute and violin, but the harpsichord is the undisputed star of the show. It has a dazzling solo passage, written to impress all who were listening – most likely premiered by Bach himself. 

Fast forward a few decades and we end up with Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. Mozart, ever the visionary, composed this piece for an instrument that hadn’t fully developed yet, showcasing his belief in its future potential. It was written for his frenemy Anton Stadler who invented the special type of clarinet Mozart would have known.  

This concert has been designed to include the set works of the 2025 GCSE music syllabus, making it ideal for students preparing for their exams. 

Under 30? Get tickets for just £10

Under 5s go free

Christmas Crackers with LMP: St John’s, Upper Norwood

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Alan Thomas director
LMP Brass Ensemble
Croydon Bach Choir
Croydon Music & Arts Brass Ensemble

A selection of Christmas hits and sing-a-long carols including including O Come All Ye Faithful, The Christmas Song and an array of festive medleys.

Come one, come all (ye faithful) to St John’s Upper Norwood to experience the magic of the festive season with the irresistibly Christmassy sound of the LMP Brass Ensemble. Unwind with a smorgasbord of timeless classics from a professional orchestra including sing-along carols and catchy Christmas No.1s. Joined by a host of local choirs and performers, this family-friendly concert will leave you feeling merry and bright this Christmas period by bringing you the music, sleigh bells and mince pies the whole family know and love.

Under 30? Get tickets for just £10

Under 5s go free

Christmas Crackers with LMP: Hastings

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Alan Thomas director
LMP Brass Ensemble
Rother Community Choir
Create Music Brass Players
LMP Brass Ensemble

A selection of Christmas hits and sing-a-long carols including including O Come All Ye Faithful, The Christmas Song and an array of festive medleys.

Come one, come all (ye faithful) to Henry Ward Hall to experience the magic of the festive season with the irresistibly Christmassy sound of the LMP Brass Ensemble. Unwind with a smorgasbord of timeless classics from a professional orchestra including sing-along carols and catchy Christmas No.1s. Joined by a host of local choirs and performers, this family-friendly concert will leave you feeling merry and bright this Christmas period by bringing you the music, sleigh bells and mince pies the whole family know and love.  

Please email [email protected] with access requirements.

Changing Seasons

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Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is reimagined in this spectacular live performance.

When Vivaldi wrote Four Seasons in 1723, the world was a difference place. As nature continues to inspire art, Vivaldi’s piece remains popular and still has a place today. But how do we respond when the world around us is changing?

Changing Seasons is an exhilarating, fresh take on Vivaldi’s classic from Croydon’s resident orchestra, LMP. Brought to life with music, dance and poetry from talented local arts groups, it is a reflection on the climate emergency and its impact on our future.

The evening features performances by Club Soda, CMA, Queer Croydon and Subrang Arts. Working with renowned composers, Fiona Brice and Sarah Freestone, they respond to our changing world, inspired by the seasonal themes of Vivaldi’s music.

Expect a vibrant fusion of artforms culminating in a multi-genre spectacular at Fairfield Halls. Changing Seasons is a proudly Croydon-made performance suitable for all ages.

Under 30? £10 tickets available

FREE Afternoon Showcase: 2-7pm
Join us earlier in the day for a FREE afternoon showcase in the public, open spaces of Fairfield Halls, featuring local talent from local music dance groups including Croydon Steel Orchestra, Beeja Dance, Gospel Rising and many more.

Featuring:

Vivaldi The Four Seasons

New commissions devised by Club Soda, Croydon Music & Arts, Queer Croydon x Stanley Arts and Subrang Arts with composers Fiona Brice and Sarah Freestone

Performers:

Jonathan Bloxham conductor

Simon Blendis leader/violin

Ruth Rogers leader/violin

London Mozart Players

Club Soda

Croydon Music & Arts

Queer Croydon x Stanley Arts

Subrang Arts