Guildhall School of Music & Drama announces its Autumn 2025 Season

This autumn, Guildhall School of Music & Drama presents a varied programme of events for the public to enjoy, including concerts, drama productions, opera and jazz.

 Highlights include:

• Celebrated film and television composer Debbie Wiseman OBE, a graduate of Guildhall School, presents a new score for Lucy Prebble’s play Enron

• Internationally acclaimed conductor Daniela Candillari conducts the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in a programme including Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Orpheus’ Comet by alumna Dobrinka Tabakova

• The Guildhall Jazz Festival, an annual celebration of the School’s Jazz community, sees performances from Alexandra Ridout, Jacqui Dankworth and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra with Sam Eastmond, among many more

• Powerful productions centred on women’s stories are told in Lucy Kirkwood’s play The Welkin and Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald – with the latter presented as part of an opera double bill with Respighi’s Lucrezia – highlighting the realities of human emotion, connection and justice

• Music and environmentalism intersect in Hayden Thorpe’s collaboration with Guildhall School artists for Song of Ness, and Fabian Almazan discusses his passion for climate awareness with Head of Jazz Dr Jo Lawry as part of the Barbican’s Fragile Earth series

• Guildhall Session Orchestra collaborates with Zbigniew Preisner, Adekunle Gold and alumnus Adrian Dunbar in performances at both the Barbican and Southbank Centre

• The School’s free masterclass series includes the opportunity to see world-famous pianist Sir Stephen Hough working with Guildhall School keyboard players.

Details of the Autumn Season’s events can be found below.

 Music

 Guildhall Symphony Orchestra & Chorus

Friday 26 September, 7pm, Barbican Hall

 Internationally acclaimed conductor Daniela Candillari makes her debut with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra & Chorus in a programme that spans lyricism, brilliance and drama. Opening with the shimmering textures and celestial energy of Orpheus’ Comet, written by Guildhall alumna Dobrinka Tabakova, the programme also features Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, before culminating in Puccini’s powerful and mesmerising Messa di Gloria – a showcase for chorus and orchestra alike.

 Quartz Saxophone Quartet

Thursday 2 October, 7pm, Milton Court Concert Hall

 Formed in 1994 as students at Guildhall School, the Quartz Saxophone Quartet unites Paul Stevens, Christian Forshaw, Brad Grant and Mick Foster, four of the UK’s leading saxophonists – three of whom now teach at the School.

 They present a programme that showcases the breadth of the saxophone repertoire in celebration of the Quartet’s latest album, featuring compositions by their baritone saxophonist Mick Foster. In addition, the concert features works for large saxophone ensemble by Steve Reich and Christian Forshaw, with current Guildhall musicians joining the Quartet.

 Piano Masterclass with Stephen Hough

Tuesday 14 October, 10am, Milton Court Concert Hall

 Guildhall School welcomes internationally acclaimed pianist Sir Stephen Hough to work with outstanding Guildhall pianists in this free, open masterclass.

 A renowned performer, composer and writer, Sir Stephen Hough was the first classical performer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship and has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras at major venues and festivals around the globe.

 He has recorded more than sixty albums and received numerous prestigious accolades, including several Gramophone Awards, a Diapason d’Or de l’Année and eight Grammy nominations. In recognition of his services to music, he was knighted in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

 This special opportunity offers the chance to see Hough working closely with Guildhall School pianists in a morning of inspiring musical exploration, in the excellent acoustics of Milton Court Concert Hall.

Guildhall Symphony Orchestra

Wednesday 5 November, 7pm, Barbican Hall,

 Outstanding Guildhall soloist Xu Peng takes centre stage for a performance of Ravel’s jazz-inspired Piano Concerto, in a programme that also features Tchaikovsky’s powerful Fourth Symphony.

 The concert opens with a new work by a Guildhall graduate, name to be announced, showcasing the fresh creative voices emerging from the School today.

 Drama

 Enron by Lucy Prebble

Monday 20 – Saturday 25 October, Milton Court Studio Theatre

 Preview performance: Monday 20 October

 Mixing classical tragedy with savage comedy, Enron explores one of the most infamous scandals in financial history. Part case study, part modern myth, the play charts the dramatic rise and fall of the energy giant whose collapse sent shockwaves through global markets.

 This new production, directed by Paul Foster and designed by Cory Shipp, is driven by music and movement, with a specially composed score by acclaimed film and television composer Debbie Wiseman, a Guildhall alumna and Fellow.

 First staged at the Royal Court in 2009 before transferring to the West End and Broadway, Enron remains a powerful and provocative look at ambition, corruption and the cost of capitalism.

 The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood

Monday 20 – Saturday 25 October, Milton Court Theatre

 Preview performance: Monday 20 October

 Rural Suffolk, 1759. A woman’s life hangs in the balance – and twelve others must decide her fate.

 As Halley’s Comet streaks across the sky, Sally Poppy stands accused of a brutal murder and is sentenced to hang. But when she claims to be pregnant, the law requires a jury of twelve matrons to determine the truth. Dragged from their domestic routines into the stark reality of the courtroom, the women must navigate justice, morality and the limitations imposed on their power.

 Directed by Mumba Dodwell and designed by Stella-Jane Odoemelam, this gripping drama is a timeless tribute to women’s resilience across the ages, exploring gender roles, bodies and belief.

 Opera

 Opera Double Bill: Smyth’s Der Wald & Respighi’s Lucrezia

3, 5, 7 & 10 November, Silk Street Theatre

 Ethel Smyth’s Der Wald and Ottorino Respighi’s Lucrezia form this autumn’s Opera Double Bill, exploring love, power and resistance through two early 20th-century works centred on female protagonists.

 Composer and suffragette Ethel Smyth broke new ground as the first woman to have an opera staged at the Metropolitan Opera with her richly orchestrated Der Wald (‘The Forest’). This work explores desire and betrayal amid the shadows of the forest, unfolding with emotional intensity and Romantic grandeur.

 Ottorino Respighi’s Lucrezia offers a bold modern retelling of the legendary Roman tale, where a woman’s personal tragedy ignites political rebellion. Published and performed posthumously, Respighi’s expressive score and vocal writing was completed by his wife, Elsa Respighi, ensuring that the legacy and themes of this one-act opera can still resonate with audiences today.

 Dominic Wheeler conducts this new production, directed by Stephen Barlow and designed by Olivier Award winner Jon Morrell.

 Jazz

 Guildhall Jazz Ensembles

Wednesday 24 September, 7pm, Milton Court Concert Hall

 A vibrant concert marking the end of induction week for the Jazz department’s newest musicians. This celebratory event is their first opportunity to rehearse and perform together on stage, kicking off the academic year with arrangements by Fini Bearman, Winston Clifford, Adriano Adewale, Tony Kofi, Jo Lawry, Stuart Hall and Jules Jackson.

 Hayden Thorpe: Song of Ness

Thursday 16 October, 7.30pm, Milton Court Concert Hall

 Hayden Thorpe brings Ness to life, transforming Robert Macfarlane’s words into a spellbinding musical experience featuring Propellor Ensemble and musicians from Guildhall School’s Jazz, Strings, and Wind, Brass & Percussion departments.

 Through resplendent orchestration and ethereal choral arrangements, Song of Ness reimagines the atmospheric landscapes of Orford Ness – once a weapons development site, now a rewilded place of paradox.

 Inspired by Robert Macfarlane and illustrator Stanley Donwood’s Ness, Thorpe crafted the album by redacting words from the book to uncover hidden songs. With haunting melodies and innovative soundscapes, the echoes of history meet the forces of nature in this one-of-a-kind performance.

 Alongside the music, dynamic projection mapping by Guildhall Digital Design & Production students animates Stanley Donwood’s illustrations through striking 2D and 3D visuals, layered with live-mixed elements throughout the show.

 The evening also includes the world premiere of specially commissioned Ness works, with new songs from Thorpe and Macfarlane alongside arrangements for orchestra and choir by Jack McNeill and Kerry Andrew, the creators behind the acclaimed album.

Guildhall Jazz Festival x EFG London Jazz Festival

Tuesday 18 – Sunday 23 November, Milton Court Concert Hall

 The creativity and originality of the School’s Jazz community is celebrated in the Guildhall Jazz Festival in November, presented in partnership with the EFG London Jazz Festival.

 Five afternoons and evenings of performances at Milton Court Concert Hall feature headline sets from Alexandra Ridout, Fabian Almazan (Alcanza Suite Re-Imagined), Linda May Han Oh, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NYJO) with Sam Eastmond, and Harry Trevillion’s Cityscape.

 The festival also showcases a vibrant line-up of Guildhall Jazz students, alumni and special guests – including Jacqui Dankworth – with performances from the Junior Guildhall Big Band, Kinetika Bloco, and Guildhall Jazz Orchestra celebrating the 50th anniversary of Neil Ardley’s Kaleidoscope of Rainbows.

 Guildhall Session Orchestra

 The Autumn Season includes three performances from the Guildhall Session Orchestra, a dynamic ensemble of talented alumni from Guildhall School which has recently been making waves in the music world, collaborating with celebrated artists and pushing creative boundaries.

 Zbigniew Preisner with Guildhall Session Orchestra & Choir

Sunday 28 September, 8pm, Barbican Hall

 In celebration of his 70th birthday, Zbigniew Preisner – one of the most outstanding film composers of his generation – is joined by the Guildhall Session Orchestra & Choir to perform works from his vast collaborations.

 For many years, Preisner collaborated with the late director Krzysztof Kieślowski and scriptwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz, creating a multi-hued soundtrack that shaped the mood of existential despair in Three Colours, a stirring score that oscillates between diegetic and non-diegetic music in Dekalog, and a haunting operatic composition in The Double Life of Veronique.

 Performed with the Guildhall Session Orchestra & Choir, this concert features works from his extensive collaborations with Kieślowski, along with music from his album Requiem for My Friend, in memory of the late director.

 Preisner is joined by Lisa Gerrard – founding member, singer and composer from the iconic band Dead Can Dance – as well as a hand-selected group of collaborators.

 Adrian Dunbar: T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land with Guildhall Session Orchestra

Wednesday 19 November, 6pm & 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre

 Guildhall alumnus and Fellow Adrian Dunbar presents T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, with a score by Nick Roth. Composed for four actors, film and jazz quintet, this setting of Eliot’s poem was created by Dunbar and Roth’s multi-disciplinary arts project Unreal Cities. The work is expanded for this performance with full orchestral treatment in collaboration with the Guildhall Session Orchestra as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival.

 The piece was commissioned by the Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival 2015, supported by Faber & Faber, and created with the permission of the T.S. Eliot Estate, becoming the first authorised setting of the poem in its 100-year history.

Adekunle Gold with Guildhall Session Orchestra

Sunday 23 November, 7.30pm, Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre

 Guildhall Session Orchestra collaborate with Nigerian singer-songwriter Adekunle Gold.

Gold gained recognition from his very first single ‘Sade’, a cover of One Direction's ‘Story Of My Life’ and has now released five albums and amassed over 2.5 billion career streams with hits like 'Party No Dey Stop’ and ‘High’. 

 This very special one-off performance at the Royal Festival Hall closes the 2025 EFG London Jazz Festival.

 Children and Young People

 London Schools Symphony Orchestra

Monday 15 September, 7.30pm, Barbican Hall

 The LSSO returns to the Barbican following a summer tour across Yorkshire and Birmingham with a programme including Sibelius’ Finlandia and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony, led by conductor Matthew Coorey. This year’s LSSO Conductor in Residence, Ammal Bhatia, concludes his residency by conducting the orchestra in Peter Sculthorpe’s Kakadu and Anatoly Lyadov’s The Enchanted Lake.

 Moving from places physical to imagined, the programme journeys from Sibelius’s powerful homage to his homeland, through Lyadov’s symphonic poem evoking a scene of fairies and enchantment, to a vivid painting of an Australian national park by Peter Sculthorpe. The journey concludes in Shostakovich’s Russia, with his profound and moving Fifth Symphony responding to the criticism of the regime in which he lived.

 As part of the LSSO’s summer tour, this programme is also performed in:
Beverley Minster, Thursday 31 July, 7.30pm
Ripon Cathedral, Friday 1 August, 7.30pm
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Saturday 2 August, 3.30pm

Junior Guildhall Symphony Orchestra

Saturday 6 December, 6pm, Milton Court Concert Hall

 A chance to hear outstanding orchestral musicians of Junior Guildhall performing under the baton of Julian Clayton. Programme to be announced.

 Free events

 This season offers a rich and varied programme of free events, highlighting the talent and creativity of Guildhall School students alongside renowned visiting artists. Highlights include a rush-hour chamber concert with the Astatine Trio – the School’s new Hans Keller Chamber Fellows – and performances from Guildhall Jazz Voices, featuring the Jazz Singers, Jazz Choir and Vocal Jazz Ensemble. The boundary-pushing Ubu Ensemble joins forces with the Guildhall Percussion Ensemble for a powerful evening of music by Heiner Goebbels and Steve Reich, while the Fabian Willmann Trio leads an inspiring jazz masterclass.

 The Electronics at Eight series and Film Music Showcase spotlight new work by students from the Electronic & Produced Music department, and the Songs at Six recital series explores diverse themes – from Nordic landscapes and folklore in The Lure of the North, led by Iain Burnside, to Postcards from Italy, curated by Eugene Asti.

 Masterclasses from internationally acclaimed pianists John O’Conor, Jimmy Brière, Richard Goode and Jarred Dunn offer insights into solo keyboard performance, oboist Philippe Tondre sheds light on repertoire for the double reed instrument, while soprano Dorothea Röschmann leads a vocal masterclass exploring Lieder and opera.

 All of these events are free and open to the public – no tickets required.

 Visit gsmd.ac.uk/events for full listings.

The RDMR contact for Guildhall School of Music & Drama is Grace.