Date: October 5, 2026

Monday 5th October 2026, 6:30 PM at St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1RE.

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Programme
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata no.5 in C minor, Op.10 no.1
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Sonata no.24 in F sharp major, Op.78
Frédéric Chopin – Fantasy in F minor, Op.49
Frédéric Chopin – Scherzo no.2 in B flat minor, Op.31
Frédéric Chopin – Ballade no.1 in G minor, Op.23

Performers
Matthew Mclachlan – piano

Programme Note
Following its acclaimed debut in 2024, the prestigious Edinburgh Royal Mile Royal International Piano Series returns with a complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 Piano Sonatas and other works, performed across the 2026–27 season. Showcasing exceptional talent from leading UK and international pianists, each recital offers a unique perspective on some of the most profound and beloved works in the piano repertoire.

This season marks the 200th anniversary of Beethoven’s death – these concerts pay a fitting tribute to his great genius, two centuries on.

Set against the magnificent backdrop of St Giles’ Cathedral — illuminated by candlelight and enhanced by a newly installed Steinway grand piano — these concerts promise an unforgettable musical experience at the heart of Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile.

About Matthew McLachlan
Matthew was born in 2000 and started piano lessons with his father in 2008. At 11 years of age he passed grade 8 and entered Wells Cathedral School as a specialist musician, studying with John Byrne. After two years in Somerset he entered Chetham’s in Manchester where he studied piano with Dina Parakhina and Cello with Gill Thoday. After gaining the ATCL and LTCL recital diplomas with distinction in 2014 and 2015, Matthew was awarded the FTCL in 2016. This followed on from winning third prize in the senior division of the first Scottish International Youth Prize Competition, held at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in July 2016. In 2014 Matthew’s performance of Ravel’s G Major Piano Concerto was commended in the Chetham’s Concerto competition and in the same year he was a prizewinner at the 2014 Mazovia Chopin Festival in Poland. As a result of his performance in Mazovia, he was selected to perform a 60-minute solo recital at the 2015 World Piano Teachers’ Conference (WPTC) in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Date: October 8, 2026

Thursday 8th October 2026, 7:30 PM at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue, Bloomsbury, London, WC2H 8EP.

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Programme
Nico Muhly – Doublespeak
Kai Kubota-Enright – spatial communication of dripstone
Isabella Gellis – And Other Things
Missy Mazzoli – Still Life with Avalanche
Steve Reich – Double Sextet

Performers
Mad Song

Programme Note
Join Mad Song’s “expert young players” (The Observer) for a vibrant concert exploring repetition in the music of five living composers. The varied programme spans the globe and culminates in Steve Reich’s iconic Double Sextet.

The evening opens with Nico Muhly’s Doublespeak, a dazzling showpiece of ensemble virtuosity. Kai Kubota-Enright then takes us to the meditative soundworld of coastal Japan. The contemplative mood continues with Isabella Gellis’s And Other Things, before Missy Mazzoli’s lyrical Still Life with Avalanche rounds off the first half. After the interval, we’ll dive into Double Sextet, the work that won Steve Reich the Pulitzer Prize.

Mad Song are a specialist new-music ensemble who have performed around the UK and in Germany. Their “rock solid groove” (Artsdesk) promises to make for an unforgettable evening!

Date: October 10, 2026

Saturday 10th October 2026,7:00 PM at St James’s Church, 197 Piccadilly, Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL.

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Programme
Traditional Arabo-Andalusi – Algerian Songs of Memory and Heritage

Performers
Rachida Lamri – Director / mezzo-soprano
Yaz Fentazi – oud
Samir Nacer – percussion

AMAL Choir

Programme Note
Join the Algerian Music Association of London (AMAL) for an enchanting night celebrating the rich, sweeping heritage of Algerian music.

Directed by mezzo-soprano Rachida Lamri, this diverse ensemble takes the stage in breathtaking traditional attire to perform “Arabo-Andalusi” classical masterpieces, beloved national anthems, and nostalgic oldies.

The choir’s captivating vocal arrangements will be backed by an exceptional lineup of world-class instrumentalists.

Experience the mastery of oud virtuoso Yaz Fentazi, celebrated for his high-profile collaborations with global icons Robert Plant and Natacha Atlas, alongside the driving, vibrant rhythms of percussionist Samir Nacer and the deep grooves of Fouzi on bass.

Secure your seat for a magical evening of culture, rhythm, and pure musical artistry in this beautiful venue in the heart of London.
AMAL – The Algerian Music Association of London.

Date: October 13, 2026

Tuesday 13th October 2026, 7:30 PM at Ely Cathedral, The College, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4DL.

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Programme
Luca Marenzio – Iste Sanctus
Costanzo Festa – Da Pacem Domine
John Dunstaple – O Quam pulchra es
Jachet de Mantua – O Jesu Christe
Francisco Guerrero – O Domine Jesu Christe
Thomas Tallis – Sancte deus
Tiburtio Massaino – Illuminare Jerusalem
~ Interval ~
Francis Pilkington – Rest, Sweet Nymphs
John Dowland – Weep you no more, sad fountains
Thomas Campion – Never, weather-beaten sail
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry – Songs of Farewell: 3, Never weather-beaten sail
Benjamin Britten – Hymn to the Virgin
Kerry Andrew – Stella Matutina
Arvo Pärt – The Deer’s Cry

Performers
David Bray – Conductor

Luminatus Vocal Ensemble

Programme Note
This concert explores a rich tapestry of great choral music from across Europe. It includes beautiful sacred and secular pieces, including music by the early English master Dunstaple, the Italian Luca Marenzio, and Spaniard Francisco Guerrero. There are glimpses of the genius of Thomas Tallis and a chance to celebrate John Dowland, C.H.H. Parry, Arvo Pärt and Benjamin Britten. This is a wonderful collection of music for the soul, performed by luminatus professional vocal ensemble.

Date: October 17, 2026

Saturday 17th October 2026, 11:00 AM at Central Hall, St Mary Street, Southampton, SO14 1NF.

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Programme
John Williams – Harry Potter Symphonic Suite
Jonathan Willcocks – The Theatre Ghost
Stephen Schwartz – Wicked (arr.)
Luke Flynn – Ghostbusters
Modest Mussorgsky – A Night on the Bare Mountain
Edvard Grieg – In the Hall of the Mountain King

Performers
City of Southampton Orchestra

Programme Note
Do you want to get your child interested in classical music? Would you like to see a local orchestra perform some ghoultastic music? Then come along to the City of Southampton Orchestra’s Spooktacular Family Concert on 17th October at Central Hall!

To keep you bewitched we will be performing music from:
* Harry Potter
* Ghostbusters
* Wicked
And other spooky, classical pieces performed alongside the New Forest School of Dance.

We also have our storyteller extraordinaire, Phil Cheesman, to bring the story of ‘The Theatre Ghost’ to life. Accompanied by the orchestra, this is going to be a spine-chilling performance!

There are 2 performances, 11am and 2pm, each lasting an hour so hopefully your little ones will still be spellbound! As these performances are aimed at children of ALL ages (even the big ones!) and their families, we are not expecting them to stay still or be quiet. In fact, there will be a chance to join in, to get up and move around, ask some questions to the conductor and the orchestra as well as submitting a drawing to be shown on our big screen! Please see our Facebook and Instagram pages for more details

It’s going to be SPOOKTACULAR! We can’t wait to see you there!

Date: October 23, 2026

Friday 23rd October 2026, 7:30 PM at Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York, York, YO10 5DD.

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Programme
Henry Purcell – Hail, bright Cecilia, Z.328 : ‘Tis Nature’s Voice’
John Dowland – Time stands still
John Dowland – Sorrow, stay
Henry Purcell – Music for a While

Performers
Reginald Mobley – countertenor
Julien Léonard – viola da gamba

Programme Note
In an age of rapid technological growth, do we risk losing ourselves to the tools of advancement? Have we shrunk the world and connected ourselves to everything, only to lose connection to each other? In our hyper-connected yet increasingly isolating world, music must express its power to keep us connected to each other. Join Grammy-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley, the virtuoso gambist Julien Léonard and the internationally acclaimed specialist of early plucked instruments Brandon Acker for a deeply moving evening that demonstrates, even in the age of algorithms, that art remains our most powerful tool for human connection.

Building on his 2023 Alpha Classics project, Because, Reginald Mobley’s latest album celebrates music’s power not only to keep us tethered but also its innate power to draw us closer together. Solitude invites audiences into a quiet and intimate place, to pause and unplug from the busy world around us, where emotion, feeling, meaning and imagery created by stories reign unopposed.

Beginning with the incredible invocation of ‘Tis Nature’s Voice, Solitude hopes to draw the ear and open the heart through the genius invention of Henry Purcell, the declamatory charm of Samuel Pepys (through the work of the musicians in his employ) as well as the deep melancholy of John Dowland. This spirit is carried to American shores, where Jonathan Woody and Douglas Balliett explore, through ground bass song, the indomitable resilience contained in the fugitive slave narrative of the brilliant African American Haiku poet Crystal Simone Smith. The programme ends with songs arranged by nineteenth-century Black American guitarist, composer and abolitionist Justin Holland, who, as a spiritual successor to Dowland, leaves us with some of the most beautiful melancholic stories to be created and sung in the 1800s.

Date: October 31, 2026

Saturday 31st October 2026, 4:00 PM at St Michael’s Parish Church, Kirkgate, Linlithgow, West Lothian, EH49 7AL.

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Programme
Joby Talbot – Path of Miracles

Performers
Alistair Digges – Conductor

Edinburgh Singers

Programme Note
Path of Miracles, by British composer Joby Talbot, is an ethereal choral journey following the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. The Edinburgh Singers first performed one of its movements, Santiago, back in 2018, before performing the work in its entirety in Edinburgh in 2024. The choir are excited to bring this glorious a cappella masterpiece to Linlithgow and Glasgow in 2026.

Written in 2005 following a commission from the vocal chamber group, Tenebrae, this 17-part a cappella work contains a libretto that spans Greek, Latin, Basque, Spanish and French as it takes the listener along the path of this ancient route.

Depicting one of the most enduring religious pilgrimages, the Camino de Santiago, it captures travellers’ stories in an unmissable musical journey drawing from a vast range of global vocal traditions.