This year’s CBSO in the City highlights include:

• New Street Station – the CBSO and CBSO Chorus take over the concourse on Friday afternoon.

• Bullring – the full orchestra performs in the heart of the city centre.

• Brindleyplace – saxophonist and CBSO Collaborative Artist Jess Gillam leads a mass “come and play” clarinet and saxophone event with over 60 participants ranging from age 12 to 89.

• Birmingham Botanical Gardens – a wind ensemble performs in the gardens.

• Touchwood Solihull – this year CBSO in the City makes its Solihull debut, with a brass group performing as part of Summer Sessions at the Beach in Theatre Square.

• West Midlands Metro Tram – Music Director Kazuki Yamada will make his much-anticipated return to the CBSO tram.

• The Exchange – a string quartet plays in the Banking Hall café alongside the University of Birmingham’s breathtaking Helios installation by British artist Luke Jerram.

• Birmingham Museum& Art Gallery – a string quartet performance in ‘EVERY THING MUST GO’, a new exhibition by Joe Lycett (open from Wednesday 29 July).

• Birmingham Library – family-friendly performances across the week.

• Digbeth – Infinite Opera, Grand Union & the CBSO present ‘Open for Business’ an ambitious community operatic performance unfolding across nine venues in Digbeth.

Emma Stenning, CBSO Chief Executive, says: “Birmingham is not a city waiting to be introduced to culture. It is already living it, in public spaces and on commutes, long before anyone walks through the doors of Symphony Hall. With CBSO in the City, our musicians spend a week in the places people already use and enjoy, creating surprise moments that feel personal, unexpected and rooted in the life of the city. We want people to feel that the CBSO is theirs, and this run of free public concerts is our gift to a city we are proud to call home.

The performances at Birmingham New Street and Bullring form part of Birmingham Weekender – a free three-day festival which will span across the city with colourful installations, exhilarating performances and experiences from Sat 29 Aug – Mon 31 Aug.

CBSO Music Director Kazuki Yamada will be returning to perform for anyone who happens to be on the CBSO-branded tram on Sat 29 Aug, as well as conducting the full orchestra at Birmingham’s Bullring on Bank Holiday Monday.

All public performances are free (except for admission fees for some venues) and, throughout the week, everyone who experiences a CBSO performance will be able to pick up a golden ticket, which means that for just £1, they will also be able to book a CBSO concert during its 2026-27 Season.

Kazuki Yamada, Music Director at the CBSO, adds: “CBSO in the City is one of my favourite moments in the year. Having the chance to surprise people with music, to see how it brings happiness and joy, is so uplifting for all of us. The CBSO does that week in week out at Symphony Hall, and at our concerts around the world, but Birmingham is our home, and sometimes we just want to give a gift of music to everyone who lives, works or visits here. I can’t wait to play on the tram again, and to bring the full orchestra to the Bullring.”

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Featured image credit: Hannah Fathers