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

Sell out warning! Bolstering Bristol's contribution to the cultural intifida, this year's poetic pillar of the Bristol Palestine Film Fest is humming with radical potential. With voices from Gaza and beyond, we will come together to remember the martyrs and lay another brick in the road to freedom for Palestine and all oppressed peoples worldwide. Raise the Bar: Poems on Palestine at Arnolfini.

Sell out warning! Unparalleled Golden Age of Cinema with that fuzzy hometown feeling! The 11th Cary Come Home Festival screens twelves highlights from Mr Grant's vast filmography over three themed days, including the romantic nautical romp Operation Petticoat, and his graceful, comic swansong Walk Don't Run. Cary Comes Home 2026 Festival at Bristol Megascreen.

Sell out warning! The word for world is forest, and the forest is flailing. These three films explore the forest as it butts up against capitalist hegemony, colonial extractivism and tech-fuelled destruction. Delve deep into the undergrowth with indigenous scientists, shamans, lasers and the eternal spirit of resistance as these astonishing films negotiate the terrifying world we have created. Forest Ecologies, Colonial Legacies at The Cube.

Sell out warning! I heard they suck live! A final hurrah for pop-punk’s most magnificently dysfunctional lifers, 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up digs through decades of the friendships, feuds and frayed bonds between Fat Mike, Melvin, Smelly and El Hefe, with a treasure trove of archival footage documenting their reign as patron saints of lost causes and mall rats. NOFX: 40 YEARS OF FUCKIN’ UP BRISTOL SCREENING at Lost and grounded brewery.

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What our editors say

“Two Principal dancers from The Scottish Ballet will be performing some spectacular classical repertoire. Philip Glass' Mad Rush will be played live by Royal College of Music trained pianist and notorious Drag Queen, Barbs. Students from The Rambert School will present some of their choreographic work. Josh & Roseanna will do a little turn!”
From: 15 Years Young _ A Celebratory Gala

“Discover your inner Corpse Bride, Rothbart, Myrthe, and Black Swan in a class where the most gothic classical ballets meet Halloween. Set against a playlist where Tchaikovsky, Adam and Chopin showdown with MJ, Hammer, Electric Six, Nina Simone and more this class will have you gleefully dance yourself to death!”
From: Halloween Special Ballet to Not Necessarily Ballet Music Class

“*The Book of Advice*, an experiment in self-translation, stems from the andarznameh tradition of classical Persian literature, a form that moves between verse and prose as it engages invented or familiar sayings and folktales. Originally written in Persian between 2018-2020, the book now speaks in both English and Persian, opening at once from the back and the front, in a voice both distanced and familiar. The vicissitudes of the everyday preoccupy its intimately impersonal speaker as she wrestles with the inadequacy and mobility of language.”
From: Eve Esfandiari-Denney: *Girling* & Ghazal Mosadeq: *The Book of Advice*

“This month, the exhibition is accompanied by live music from two Bristol-based artists. Pablo Jimenez-Moreno explores sound, space, and texture through classical fingerstyle guitar and minimalist composition, creating immersive soundscapes using intricate techniques, subtle dynamics, and layered acoustic textures. Shaved blends found sound and homemade instruments to create a laid-back ambient atmosphere.”
From: Pop-Up Art Exhibition

“Dj Devolicious fuses cross-generational rhythms, rich lyrics and irresistible bass. With roots in Ghanaian hi-life, church and classical music, and a passion for soul and electro, Devolicious delivers electric mixes that take listeners on a journey of dance music delights. ”
From: After Hours: Dance Out Special