Warwick Arts Centre’s Orchestral Season 2025-2026
- ann-evans
- Sep 2
- 2 min read
Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason, Paul Lewis CBE and Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha join Chineke!, CBSO, RPO and more. Plus we celebrate the musicians of tomorrow with the best youth orchestras, Lunchtime Concerts and more.
There's sweeping age old European classics, stirring symphonies from the ‘New World’ and more lined up for Warwick Arts Centre's 2025-2026 Orchestral Season.
The concert series begins with the much anticipated return of Chineke! Orchestra (24 Sept 2025) who line-up Beethoven's Triple Concerto, penned at the turn of the 19th century, alongside William Dawson's 1934 Negro Folk Symphony. Joining the pioneering majority Black and ethnically diverse orchestra are leading violinist Tai Murray, and classical superstars Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello) and Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano). Roderick Cox conducts, having recently recorded Dawson’s work with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
Pianist Paul Lewis CBE takes to the stage with Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra (2 Dec 2025) as they present works by Liszt, Beethoven, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, while The Orchestra Of The Age of Enlightenment delve into Mozart's World (28 Jan 2026), and multi-prize-winning South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha accompanies the boundary-pushing Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (27 Feb 2026) under the baton of Kevin John Edusei.
Finally, the City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's Music Director Kazuki Yamada leads the CBSO (5 Mar 2026) through Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 (with Bruce Liu, winner of the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition) and Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition.
In addition, the Coventry venue also welcomes appearances from the CBSO Youth Orchestra (2 Nov 2025), fresh from celebrating their 20th anniversary, and the hugely respected National Youth Orchestra (5 Jan 2026). The 'world's greatest orchestra of teenagers', the NYO promise a typically exhilarating programme steered by conductor Alexandre Bloch (who recently conducted The Hallé at Warwick Arts Centre) and accompanied by world renowned cellist Inbal Segev.
Armonico Consort (18 Dec 2025) also take to the stage for Handel's Fireworks, while broadcaster Katie Derham introduces the BBC Concert Orchestra for a festive edition of BBC Radio 3’s Friday Night is Music Night (12 Dec 2025).
Warwick Arts Centre's affordable Lunchtime Concerts series (£5/free) continues with appearances from mezzo-soprano Martha McLorinan and pianist Lynn Arnold (9 Oct 2025), violinist Jeremy Samson and pianist Colin Druce (13 Nov 2025), and pianist Euan Stevenson (11 Dec 2025); the University of Warwick Music Centre ensembles celebrate Heroes And Villains (15 Oct 2025) with a free concert; the University of Warwick Chamber Choir present choral gems for Wintertide (5 Dec 2025); and the University of Warwick Symphony Orchestra and Chorus' Eternal Echoes (7 Dec 2025) includes reflective works by Rutter, Respigh, and more.
Doreen Foster, Warwick Arts Centre’s Director, said: “There are dramatic epics, familiar favourites, some heavy-weight performance and more than a few surprises lined up for our 2025-2026 Orchestral Series. Spanning a wide range of musical repertoire, there’s everything from Mozart and Mussorgsky, to Strauss and Sibelius, while outside of our Series we also welcome the next generation of classical stars as part of the NYO and CBSO Youth Orchestra, as well as our own highly accomplished ensembles and groups.”
For more information, and tickets, see: www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
Comments