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For all music lovers, South Kensington has plenty to offer from masterclasses, percussion festivals, big bands, classical, world music, live orchestras, music for all the family and so much more.
An intimate Late Night Jazz series presents sensational music in the sultry setting of the Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room. Various nights
Smell the greasepaint and feel the blaze of those Broadway lights, as the BBC Concert Orchestra whisks you away for a night at the musicals. The toe-tapping favourites include overtures and tearjerkers from Broadway giants including Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers, all performed by the ever-versatile BBC Concert Orchestra – and some special guest soloists.
In 2021, the BBC Proms returns to the Royal Albert Hall for a summer of live music, as it has done every year since 1941. With 52 concerts over 44 days, featuring 30 orchestras and ensembles and more than 2,000 musicians, this ambitious season promises a celebration of live music on a scale not seen since before the pandemic.
Dalia Stasevska, the BBC Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, leads a First Night featuring Vaughan Williams’s ravishing Serenade to Music – written to celebrate Proms founder-conductor Henry Wood’s 50 years on the podium and premiered by him at his jubilee concert in the Royal Albert Hall in 1938.
Back by overwhelming demand, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra promises to take you to double-0-heaven with this sensational concert! Enjoy iconic theme songs and thrilling Bond anthems from almost six decades of box office blockbusters. Highlights to include: Goldfinger, Licence To Kill, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia With Love and many more!
Legendary ten-time Grammy Award and NEA Jazz Master winner George Benson returns for one night only at the Royal Albert Hall in 2022. The jazz guitar legend just released his 45th album, Walking to New Orleans, a tribute to both hit machine Fats Domino and the original rock guitar hero and poet, Chuck Berry.
Bryan Adams is heading to London for three epic shows at the Hall in April 2021 as part of a special residency. Each night, Bryan will perform one of his classic albums in full, plus a selection of his greatest hits from a staggering back-catalogue. Monday 9 May: Cuts Like A Knife (1983) Tuesday 10 May: Into The Fire (1987) Wednesday 11 May: Waking Up The Neighbours (1991)
The Detroit-born singer-songwriter has sold over 55 million records worldwide over the course of her career. Suzi first came to the attention of the British public in the early 70s as a support act alongside Thin Lizzy on Slade’s first UK tour. The Queen of Rock N Roll then went on to release a string of hits including Can the Can, Devil Gate Drive and Stumblin’ In.
An unmissable all-Beethoven concert culminates with the monumental Choral Symphony with its climactic Ode to Joy.
When the Royal Albert Hall was officially opened in 1871, it welcomed its first audience to the sound of the mighty ‘Father’ Willis organ – then powered by two steam engines. We celebrate the Hall’s 150th-anniversary year with a recital showcasing the power and range of an instrument whose 9,999 pipes would stretch nine miles if laid end to end, an organ that has been played by celebrated recitalists and rock legends alike.
Composed within just two months in the summer of 1788, Mozart’s three final symphonies together form a musical sequence that explores all sides of humanity. No. 39 offers a grand introduction, its fanfares and dances setting the scene, before we’re plunged into the dark drama of the Symphony No. 40, and finally emerge into the sunlight of the ‘Jupiter’ Symphony, with its dazzling fugal finale. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is conducted by its dynamic Principal Conductor Maxim Emelyanychev.
Musical borrowings, reworkings and reinventions run through this season’s Proms. The invisible thread linking tonight’s concert really begins with Bach. A lilting chaconne from his Cantata No. 150 underpins the finale of Brahms’s Symphony No. 4, and the latter’s elegant synthesis of heart and head is itself the inspiration for American composer Elizabeth Ogonek’s Cloudline, a lyrical homage to ancient musical forms and techniques.
Music and performance return to Serpentine Live encounters and performances in music, poetry, dance and more in the Serpentine Pavilion on selected nights throughout the summer.
Get ready to fall in love with Kensington and Chelsea again this summer post-lockdown. They’re celebrating what the borough has to offer with exciting events and activities taking place from June to September and you’re invited to join in the fun. There’s something for everyone to enjoy, from parks, high streets and museums, to libraries, local businesses and more.
The Royal College of Music is delighted to introduce RCM Chamber Essentials, a series of four concerts exploring a variety of works from well-known composers to those who came from under-represented backgrounds.
Portuguese conductor Joana Carneiro joins the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to mark the 50th anniversary of Stravinsky’s death with a concert pairing the composer’s ballet Pulcinella – a witty, charming take on Baroque dance and commedia dell’arte – with the heart-rending Stabat mater by Pergolesi, whose music inspired it.
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla champion the music of a too-long neglected composer. A pupil of Vaughan Williams, Ruth Gipps started her career as an oboist with what was then the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1944, before becoming established as a composer. Her Symphony No. 2 takes a wide-screen, cinematic view of the Second World War, embracing exhilaration, anxiety and, finally, ecstatic rejoicing.
Conductor Vasily Petrenko appears for the first time at the Proms in his new role as Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. They are joined by Japanese violinist Sayaka Shoji for Respighi’s Concerto gregoriano – a spiritual serenade in which the soloist becomes a wordless cantor, whose plainsong-inspired melodies soar over the orchestra.
WOW – Women of the World is bringing the world together at the Royal Albert Hall for a very special live, in person celebration this September. This one-off evening will feature a line-up of some of the world’s most inspiring performers, comedians, activists and thinkers, hosted by WOW’s Founder Jude Kelly.
Join the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra as it celebrates 75 years at the forefront of music-making in the UK with a star-studded concert at the Royal Albert Hall. This very special occasion will also welcome Vasily Petrenko as the RPO’s new Music Director.
The Royal Albert Hall can't wait to throw open their doors and welcome everyone back to toast their 150th birthday! Spanning two years of celebrations, they'll have major commissions from British artists, headline performances from musical legends, and events showcasing the next generation of talent from around the globe.
March 2021 marks the Royal Albert Hall's 150th year and they would love you to join them in the celebrations, with major commissions from British artists, headline performances from musical legends, and a series of showcases promoting the next generation of talent.
If you would like to keep up to-date with everything that is happening at our amazing science and arts institutions in South Ken, why not sign-up to our weekly newsletter. Bursting with great content, you'll be spoilt for choice. Every fortnight, there's something different to see and do, from fantastic new exhibitions and wonderous collections to unique, one-off events to tantalise and excite.
Patti Smith will perform at the Royal Albert Hall for the very first time in 2021. The punk poet laureate and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is known for fusing rock and poetry in her work. She also won the National Book Award for her memoir Just Kids in 2010. Catch the legendary American artist performing timeless songs with her band, poetry and more.
The UK’s most popular classical show returns to the Royal Albert Hall in November 2020! No other show presents such a magnificent combination of the very best in classical music and state of the art technology. Ranging from a flood of pure white light to electrifying multi-coloured laser displays, the dazzling special effects bring to life the scenes and moods evoked by each glorious piece changing the way you experience classical music forever.
The Ismaili Sounds is pleased to present Calmate, performed by Hip-Hop artist Fidah, who in this song explores the balance between faith and world, and encourages open conversation on the existential questions of life.
The Royal College of Music has launched its autumn events season for 2020, including the first performances in London’s newest concert hall. The state-of-the-art Performance Hall is part of a recent £40 million investment in the RCM’s iconic South Kensington campus.
Family favourite The Muppet Christmas Carol will be screened with live orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall as part of our 2021 Christmas season. This show will take you on a magical journey through the classic Charles Dickens story performed by the Muppets.
Experience Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in concert in 2022 as part of the Royal Albert Hall’s Films in Concert series. Return of the Jedi (1983) sees Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and co. joined by Jabba the Hutt, Yoda and the Ewoks in an adventure across the galaxy as Darth Vader prepares to unleash the final blow to the Rebel Alliance.
Experience The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in concert in 2022 as part of the Royal Albert Hall’s Film in Concert series. Peter Jackson’s award-winning epic fantasy adventure, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novels, follows a hobbit named Frodo Baggins, who finds himself in the possession of the all-powerful One Ring, and the fellowship formed to take it to Mount Doom to be destroyed.
My Christmas Orchestral Adventure returns in 2021 and Albert’s Orchestra is poised and ready for a magical journey through classical music. Oh no! Father Christmas has lost his map on a practice run of his delivery route! Thankfully Albert's trusty ensemble has found it but they need your help to return it to him ahead of the big day!
The Ismaili Sounds presents Shab-e-Didam, a song in praise of Hazrat Ali. This rendition is performed by the DN Khorog Band from Tajikistan and features original lyrics by the celebrated Persian poet and philosopher, Hafez-e Shirazi.
