What's On / Bristol Concerts, Theatre & Dance / classical

Classical Concerts in Bristol

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Bristol's Classical Scene

Bristol has a long history of classical music, with new talent emerging year upon year thanks to students at Bristol University’s prestigious department of music. The largest classical music performances see complete orchestras performing at St George’s Hall where natural acoustics continue to wow audiences of over five hundred guests. Contemporary solo performances have found home in Colston Hall’s second room, The Lantern. St Stephen’s church and the Victoria Rooms in Clifton are also essential venues for classical music and orchestras in Bristol.

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Our recent classical recommendations

Cables and Cameras return with the massive annual Inspired mini-fest, showcasing POC creatives and centring empowering narratives across a dazzling array of shorts, Q&As + the Bristol premiere of the definitive doc on dancehall queen Sister Nancy. Cables & Cameras proudly presents a dynamic one-day film and music event dedicated to showcasing the vibrant work of filmmakers of colour from across the globe.

Bristol’s glitterati, this is your summer solstice sermon! Comedy don Jeff Innocent and antihero of anarchic verse Attila the Stockbroker top a riotous cabaret lineup of satire, reggae, absurdism and sleight-of-hand. A stacked bill of chaos, charisma and counterculture with a dancefloor basted in enough dub to summon the ghost of DJ Derek. RIOT ACT proudly presents the very best in Comedy, Poetry, Music and everything inbetween from the South West and beyond

Sell out warning! A celestial highlight in the Impermanence calendar bursts onto the stage in a shower of rose petals and illuminating candles. Songs of the Bulbul melds deep Persian myths with the whirling dramatics of Sufi Kathak dance and a sweeping, epic score by Rushil Ranjan. A joyous and mesmerising experience; if you give contemporary dance just one chance this year, make sure this is it. Songs of the Bulbul, a new dance work by Aakash Odedra with choreography by Rani Khanam and music by Rushil Ranjan.

A beacon of contemporary classical and a past collaborator with Earth, Nirvana, and David Byrne (among countless others), Lori Goldston’s cello explorations are a marvel in their own right. Better still, she's joining The Cube to live-score a series of short films from underground visionaries including prolific Seattle outsider artist Jon Behrens, Ukrainian-American multi-disciplinary experimentalist Anna Kipervaser, and BEEF co-founder Vicky Smith. Cinematic Symbiosis

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What our editors say

“In their traditional contexts, the folk song traditions of Britain and Ireland have been, almost without exception, unaccompanied. Approaches to the accompaniment of folk songs from the early 20th century onwards have borrowed heavily from the conventions of classical and popular musics, often to the detriment of some of the subtleties and nuances of the traditional material.”
From: Rethinking Accompaniment for Traditional Songs - Workshop with Nick Hart

“In the second part of every class, we will apply this movement to traditional Cuban social dances such as Son Cubano, Chachachá and others, blending Afro-Cuban roots with social dance, and also exploring contemporary technique and basic classical dance concepts.”
From: AFROCUBAN & BODYMOVEMENT

“Deems Experiment (https://www.instagram.com/deems.experiment/) is a group of Bristol-based composers and instrumentalists whose style blends elements of jazz, classical music, hip hop, and math rock. For this night, the crowd will be graced with a duo composed of lead keyboardist Aondoyima ‘Deems’ Ioratim-Uba and bassist and drummer Munashe 'Kaps' Kapswarah (https://www.instagram.com/kaps.drumz/ from Grace Mack & The Pack, to take us through a journey of soulful melodies and smooth, mesmerising sounds.”
From: The Big Fish Bash Gig: Fundraiser for asylum seekers

“In this immersive oil painting course, we will focus on painting the two angels from The Baptism of Christ, exploring the moment where High Renaissance naturalism truly comes alive. You’ll learn how to build luminous flesh and atmosphere using the Sfumato technique—Leonardo’s famously subtle, almost magical method of soft transitions. We’ll also dive deep into convincing drapery folds, understanding how fabric flows, settles, and supports form, and you’ll learn how to integrate gold leaf into your paintings, uniting brilliance with classical tradition.”
From: Masters & Apprentices

“Scarlett Smith is an electroacoustic harpist and comedian. Tired of the harps demure, classical reputation, Scarlett’s debut solo show Any Objections? is a surreal quest to prove this instrument belongs far beyond the orchestra pit. Blending live looping covers of popular songs, self-produced indie-pop jingles and fast paced punch lines, the show is a playful celebration of creativity and harp innovation.”
From: Any Objections?