Chamber Music Festival
Music in the Round & Ensemble 360 host an annual festival each May in the Crucible Playhouse and other venues around the city.
The nine days of Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, featuring Ensemble 360 and guests, are an absolute highlight of Music in the Round’s year. It’s an opportunity to enjoy a huge range of music in just a few days; for audiences to gain more in-depth knowledge about Ensemble 360 musicians, a composer or a piece of music; to see them perform with some incredible guest musicians and to present music that’s rarely heard.
For 2022’s Festival, Guest Festival Curator, Scottish composer Helen Grime MBE took the reins, and in 2023 renowned pianist Kathryn Stott is Guest Festival Curator. In 2024, international star cellist Steven Isserlis will be curating the programme for Music in the Round’s eagerly anticipated 40thanniversary Festival. Find out more as the full programme for each Festival is announced at www.musicintheround.co.uk
Ensemble 360
Get a brief insight into what this incredible group of musicians do and how they perform in the round.
Each Festival is a new journey for performers and audiences alike. It doesn’t matter how much or little you feel you know about the music being played - there’s always something new for people to experience.
Concerts are presented in the unique surroundings of the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, the UK’s most extraordinary venue for chamber music. It’s both intimate and relaxed, a space where you sit so close to the performers you can feel their excitement, see their energy and hear the control in every note.
Resident musicians Ensemble 360, Singer-in-Residence Roderick Williams, and international guest artists perform a wide range of classical chamber music, from very well-known pieces to brand new works.
You can also enjoy informal talks, live music in the Winter Garden, drama with music, a Sheffield Cathedral concert, silent film with improvised soundtrack, family events, and more.
Sheffield Chamber Music Festival 2023
Spine-tingling music performed up close!
Join Music in the Round & Ensemble 360 as they welcome some of the world's finest musicians and stellar guest artists for Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, 12 - 20 May 2023.
This year’s festival programme has been specially curated by acclaimed pianist, Kathryn Stott, who will be bringing artists Tine Thing Helseth (on trumpet), Amy Dickson (saxophone) Pavel Fischer (violin), JP Jofre (bandoneon) and Ruth Wall (harp) to join Ensemble 360, in an exciting mix of music from around the globe spanning 350 years.
Celebrating anniversaries of Graham Fitkin, Rachmaninov and Ligeti, the festival will focus on collaboration, connection, friendship and storytelling. Performances take place in the unique and intimate setting of the Crucible Playhouse, “the ideal way to experience the most intimate of art forms, from piano quintets to string trios.” (BBC Music Magazine).
A few events are also set to take place in the larger, iconic Crucible Theatre and on the Sunday of the festival, they’ll be heading out to the Peak District village of Stoney Middleton, for a very special evening of string quartets.
Festival Highlights
Sheffield Chamber Music Festival Launch: Songs and Dances
International star trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and Festival Curator Kathryn Stott join Ensemble 360 to launch Sheffield Chamber Music Festival in style.
Rachmaninov 150
In a spectacular celebration of the 150th birthday of the Russian giant of twentieth century piano-writing, Kathryn Stott and Tim Horton perform a breathtaking programme of Rachmaninov on two pianos.
Haydn & Fischer: String Quartets
Pavel Fischer, composer and former first violin of the Škampa Quartet, joins Ensemble 360’s string players to lead his third string quartet, inspired by Moravian folk music.
The Art of New Tango
A wonderful evening of music and conversation exploring the art of contemporary tango in the company of Argentinian composer-performer JP Jofre, one of the greatest living players of the bandoneon.
It's not just about the highlights
This festival is your chance to see uplifting performances from some of the world’s finest musicians.
Curated by pianist Kathryn Stott, this year’s Festival features the world-class Ensemble 360 plus stellar guests Tine Thing Helseth, Amy Dickson, Ruth Wall, Pavel Fischer and JP Jofre.
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
Public is quite simply stunning. Occupying the former gent’s toilet below the grade-1 listed Victorian town hall, Public is a tiny haven of fine drinks and delicious food - or as it was once described: ‘A Wes Anderson train carriage crowbarred in to 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.
