Classical Music

Classical Music’s Spring issue brings you features focusing on the classical artists embracing the pop scene, the organisations loaning top-shelf instruments to top-quality artists, and the trustees working behind the scenes to support the UK’s culture sector.

This week, I have been busy with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) team finalising plans for our 2026-27 season, which we’ll be announcing later this Spring. This comes at a time when our national market research reveals that the percentage of people in the UK that want to discover orchestral music has reached its highest level in six years. Set against a context of economic hardship and geo-political uncertainty, this enduring and upward trend for classical music is hugely inspiring.

London’s Royal Academy of Music has today announced the launch of the first fully funded Foundation Year for a UK music conservatoire. Supported by the Clore Duffield Foundation for its first three years of delivery, the course will welcome its first cohort of students in July.

Despite some excellent progress in recent years, gender equality in opera and classical music remains a significant issue. In some respects, the policy and culture debate on equality is looking down the wrong end of the telescope: female artists don’t need a greater share of a man’s world; they need to be understood and celebrated for who they are – and on their own terms. One of the biggest factors shaping many women’s creative and career pathways is motherhood.

Orkney's annual celebration of the arts returns in June for a 10-day programme of concerts and evens around midsummer (19-28 June) Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the 2026 St Magnus Festival features a new orchestra, new performance space and world premieres of new works by composers including Lisa Robertson, Daniel Kidane and Emily Hazrati.

‘If you want to get close to the true soul of America throughout its cultures and its epochs, I think your first step should be to understand the songs of our people: you cannot hear or sing them without having a pretty damn heavy heart sometimes, but they make democracy audible.’ American baritone Thomas Hampson is embarking on an enormous undertaking: a year of extensive events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The Royal Society of Musicians’ annual Jacqueline du Pré Charity Concert is set to return to London’s Wigmore Hall next month with a programme featuring a newly commissioned piece by composer Cecilia McDowall.

The Three Choirs Festival is set to return to Gloucester this summer, with an eight-day programme of music, talks and events from 25 July to 1 August. This year’s programme celebrates the legacy of Edward Elgar, presents music living composers, and marks the completion of Gloucester Cathedral’s refurbished organ.

Southend-on-Sea’s Song School has launched a national campaign calling for the development of a UK-wide apprenticeship model for musicians, vocalists and other artists. The independent music organisation is asking the UK government to create clearer, more accessible pathways for the continued development of young musical talent.

The Musicians’ Company has announced that its Award for Organists has been awarded to Joshua Simões. The organist and assistant director of music to HM Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace receives a £6,000 grant to ‘develop his career with intensive study’.