Music in the Round hosts Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, an annual festival of classical music each May, as well as star-studded seasons each spring and autumn.
Its resident world-class musicians Ensemble 360 regularly perform live music in the Crucible Playhouse where audiences can be close to the performers, sitting just a few metres from the stage.
In 2024, Music in the Round celebrates its 40th anniversary, with the highlight set to be a sensational nine day Festival from 17 – 25 May. Guest Curator of this year’s Festival is Steven Isserlis, “one of the greatest cellists of all time” Classic FM. He has chosen the music for over a dozen spellbinding concerts, and will also be performing himself, alongside Ensemble 360 and invited guests, including star baritone Roderick Williams.
Tickets for Music in the Round concerts cost from £16 to £21 full price, with all tickets just £5 for under 35s. Discover what’s on at www.musicintheround.co.uk
Sheffield Chamber Music Festival 2024
Get Closer to World-famous Classical Stars
Guest Curator of this year’s Sheffield Chamber Music Festival is Steven Isserlis, “one of the greatest cellists of all time” Classic FM. The superstar cellist has carefully selected the music for over a dozen spellbinding concerts taking place across nine days (17 – 25 May 2024), and will also be performing himself, alongside Sheffield’s world-class Ensemble 360 and invited guests, in two unmissable concerts!
Star saxophonist Jess Gillam, multi-award-winning pianist Stephen Hough, and Classic FM chart-topping guitarist Craig Ogden – are also among the stars performing in the intimate setting of the Crucible Theatre with Music in the Round in their anniversary year.
Discover the Wonders of Classical Masterpieces
From Mendelssohn masterworks for strings, to Chopin and Schumann for solo piano, there’s a huge variety of musical masterpieces to discover in Music in the Round’s anniversary year. Concerts range from short lunchtimes, afternoon matinees and epic evenings.
Explore Bach’s virtuosic music for violin, iconic Czech music for wind instruments, and for fans of The Piano tv show, Kathryn Stott’s Piano Favourites promises to be a whirlwind tour through four centuries of music and some of Vienna’s finest piano music from Tim Horton.
Enjoy an Eclectic Variety of Music Up Close
From the jazzy sounds of the trumpet with piano to the captivating charm of the Middle Eastern qanun, chamber music covers a wide variety of genres performed up close by a small group of musicians – and Music in the Round’s events regularly reflect this.
This autumn you can enjoy a guitar quartet, featuring chart-topping Classic FM recording artist Craig Ogden, and an immersive music event exploring the awesome beauty and power of water featuring Carnatic vocals, acoustic and electronic music and film.
Ensemble 360 concerts cover everything from classical staples to ground-breaking new work. This year you can catch the musicians performing both a critically-acclaimed work by one of our greatest living composers, Thomas Adès, and teaming up with a superstar soprano to string quartets from two modernist giants.
Share the Joys of Classical Music With Children
Music in the Round regularly presents classical music concerts for younger audiences.
This May younger listeners can enjoy a brilliant first concert for 3-7 year-olds based on the best-selling children’s book ‘Sir Scallywag and the Battle of Stinky Bottom’.
A very special guest singer, Roderick Williams, soloist at the King Charles’s Coronation, also joins the Music in the Round musicians for an unmissable concert for 7-11 year-olds combining well-known classical favourites with new works performed by him with flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn.
Step Out of the Concert Hall for a Completely Different Music Experience
Music in the Round takes its name from the ‘in the round’ concert experience you get at events held in their home venue, the Crucible Playhouse. It’s a unique space, where you sit just metres from world-class musicians and can soak up the electric atmosphere.
However, Music in the Round also offers a number of opportunities to get out of the concert hall each year.
A sunrise concert inside one of the city’s best kept secrets, the intimate Samuel Worth Chapel, accompanied by the beautiful sounds of the dawn chorus, is definitely one of Ensemble 360’s more unusual concerts this year.
Award-winning local group, Abbeydale Singers, present a gorgeous afternoon of choral music, alongside Ensemble 360 and rising stars of the opera and concert stage, singers Anna Huntley and Ella Taylor, in a modernist church in the leafy suburbs of Broomhill.
This autumn, a special day devoted to the wonderful string music of Felix Mendelssohn takes places with the Consone String Quartet and Ensemble 360 in tranquil two city-centre venues, St Matthew’s Church (Carver Street) and Upper Chapel (Norfolk Street).
And to finish the season, a classy Christmas concert in the spellbinding setting of Sheffield Cathedral. Music in the Round residents Ensemble 360 will be joined by the Cathedral choir for Britten’s exquisite Yuletide theme and variations A Boy was Born as well as a number of seasonal classics.
And to Top It All Off… A Performance by the People of Sheffield for the People of Sheffield
To complete its 40th anniversary celebrations in 2024, Music in the Round will also be staging a brand new production, The Monster in the Maze, in November.
Written by acclaimed British composer, Jonathan Dove, the opera will feature around 150 Sheffield people across an orchestra, brass band, children’s, youth and adult choirs, all brought together to perform on the Crucible Theatre’s iconic stage alongside professional musicians.
An epic story: millennia in the making and a fitting celebration for their 40th anniversary year!
It's not just about the highlights
This Festival is your chance to see uplifting performances from some of the world’s finest musicians.
As well as opportunities to catch performances from Steven Isserlis, “one of the greatest cellists of all time” (Classic FM) you can also enjoy concerts with stellar guests including singers Ella Taylor, Anna Huntley and Roderick Williams (soloist at King Charles III’s coronation), pianists Mishka Rushdie Momen and Peter Hill, violinists Irène Duval and Robin Ireland, and of course Sheffield’s resident world-class classical musicians, Ensemble 360.
While you are here in Sheffield why not…
Explore the City Centre
Sheffield city centre has a load of really great places to explore and a thriving independent scene of shops and restaurants. So make the most of your time here and find out what makes this city so special.
Explore Kelham Island
Recently named one of the World's 51 Coolest Neighbourhoods by TimeOut, Kelham Island has a vibe all of its own. Microbreweries and tattoo parlours; flea markets and flat whites; street food and skateboarding - all surrounded by water and with music at the beating heart..
Have a bite to eat or a nice relaxing drink
Piccolino
Located in Millennium Square, Piccolino brings a true taste of Italy to the heart of the city. Their dishes are rustic, simple and delicious and are created using the best, freshest ingredients.
Silversmiths
Silversmiths is situated in the heart of Sheffield City Centre close to Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Train Station. Their aim is to produce the finest modern British cuisine with a strong Yorkshire influence and a hint of fine dining in a relaxed environment for all to enjoy.
Public
Occupying the former gent’s toilet below the grade-1 listed Victorian town hall, Public is a stunning little haven of fine drinks and delicious food - or as it was once described: "...Wes Anderson train carriage crowbarred into an old bog".
Leopold Square
Set against the stunning architecture of several magnificent Grade II listed buildings, Leopold Square has been stylishly rejuvenated into a vibrant city centre leisure spot, offering top quality bars and restaurants.
