Shaker Loops with Christ Bryan and Rakhi Singh © Mike Skelton.jpg
Manchester Collective Announce 25/26 Season
Reshaping the future of classical music through radical work made in the north of England
Groundbreaking collaborations with artists and composers including Cassie Kinoshi, The Marian Consort, Ben Nobuto, Sean Shibe and Thick & Tight
Touring across the UK and Europe, with debuts at Factory International’s Aviva Studios in Manchester, Bristol Beacon and Royal Danish Academy of MusicDetails of the Autumn Season’s events can be found below.
Manchester Collective today announce their 2025-26 Season – the first to be curated by co-artistic directors Rakhi Singh and Jasmin Kent Rodgman.
Known for bold and experimental programming that challenges classical music conventions, Manchester Collective aim to create space for radical thinking, feeling and human connection, for both artists and audiences. Their new season features genre-defying projects and cross-artform collaborations that span the broadest musical horizons, showcasing a melting pot of inspirations, cultures and sounds.
Fuelled by a belief that classical music is a living, evolving and multi-faceted artform, the Collectiveare ever more focused on championing and amplifying a wide range of voices and perspectives. World premieres by Samantha Fernando, Cassie Kinoshi, Jasmine Morris and Ben Nobuto sit alongside music by Kaija Saariaho, John Adams, Mica Levi and collaborations with groundbreaking artists including poet Christ Bryan, multi-instrumentalist CHAINES, vocal ensemble The Marian Consort, guitarist Sean Shibe and dance-theatre company Thick & Tight.
Equally at home in a concert hall or an underground nightclub, the Collective are cementing their reputation as one of Britain’s most innovative contemporary ensembles. The shape-shifting group continue as Resident Artists at the Southbank Centre through the 25-26 season, whilst deepening their impact in Manchester through artist development schemes that support the next generation of classical and contemporary music-makers.
Jasmin Kent Rodgman, who joined the Collective in 2024 alongside her career as composer and producer, says: “It’s been a brilliant year of hatching plans and charting new territories with Rakhi and the wider creative team. We continue to evolve and build on the legacies that draw people to us – storytelling, drama and transformative human experiences – by embracing the ethos of the Collectivemore than ever before. We’re intensifying the depth of our collaborations, embracing a fluidity between genre and form, and blurring the lines between artists and audience.
We’ve assembled a phenomenal cast of composers, musical friends old and new, choreographers, poets and visual artists. Audiences will be able to get up close to the musicians in an ancient crypt, enjoy glitching strobes and rhythms in a nightclub, or soak up soaring melodies whilst the concert hall is bathed in light. Worlds and colours will collide! I believe this year’s Collective reflects the world we live in and celebrates the vibrancy, beauty and joy of classical music with an openness and integrity.”
Rakhi Singh, violinist and composer who co-founded Manchester Collective in 2016, says: “This season we enter a new artistic phase with me and Jasmin taking the Collective in a new musical direction. Jasmin brings a fresh perspective on contemporary music in the UK, alongside our exploration of great works of the past, as we create the canon of the future.
We are working with movement, literature and poetry as well as great music. As always, you can expect the concerts to be dynamic and varied, from intimate choral works to the roaring power of an ecstatic string orchestra. Each programme has a distinct flavour, woven around the seasons and our experiences throughout the year, carrying us through as the world around us changes and we crave different emotional experiences as a result.”
THE 25/26 SEASON
Shaker Loops (26 September – 5 October)
The Shakers, a radical Protestant sect originating in 18th-century Northern England, believed that music and movement are doorways to spiritual experience. American composer John Adams pays homage to their worship and ecstatic energy in the high-octane Shaker Loops, presented here in collaboration with Lancastrian poet Christ Bryan, who weaves spoken word into Adams’ oscillating rhythms. Kaija Saariaho’s mysterious ode Terra Memoria, Dobrinka Tabakova’s Such Different Paths, and an ancient religious hymn arranged by Rakhi Singh complete the programme. Touring to Southbank Centre, London (26 September), Howard Assembly Room, Leeds (27 September), St George’s Bristol (3 October) and Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester (5 October).
Lights and Places (30 October and 9 November)
A celebration of voices bursting from Britain’s contemporary music scene, showcasing composers who are writing about the here and now and presenting a kaleidoscope of sounds and cross-genre experimentation. Mathis Saunier’s performance art piece HYPER MEMORIA sits alongside the electronic beats and acoustic strings of Anna Meredith and the jazzy heat haze of Errollyn Wallen’s All the Blues I See. Jocelyn Campbell’s music veers between contemporary classical, alternative pop and electronica, whilst Alex Groves weaves a hypnotic soundworld in his piece for solo violin and drone. Touring to The White Hotel, Salford (30 October) and Southbank Centre, London (9 November).
Wintering (22 November – 5 December)
In collaboration with imaginative vocal ensemble The Marian Consort, Wintering invites audiences to slow down, reconnect with the land and one another, and usher in the solstice. Inspired by Katherine May’s bestselling book ‘Wintering’ and commissioned by Wigmore Hall, a new piece from composer Samantha Fernando calls on nature’s power for healing even in the coldest and darkest months. A restorative and intimate evening encouraging respite through an alternative nativity song, crystalline harmonies, and David Lang’s meditation on freedom and unity. Touring to Wigmore Hall, London (22 November), Stoller Hall, Manchester (27 November), Howard Assembly Room, Leeds (28 November), Tung Auditorium, Liverpool (29 November), Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, York (3 December) and Bristol Beacon (5 December).
Sky with the Four Suns (3 – 12 February)
John Luther Adams’ Canticles of the Sky for string quartet takes inspiration from sunbeams that hit ice crystals and refract, forming vivid halos and sundogs. The work sits at the heart of a nature-infused programme that takes audiences on an otherworldly journey, from the radiant purity of Arvo Pärt’s Summa to music by experimental British composer and musician Mica Levi, before leaving earth to be enveloped by a new work by Jasmine Morris. Touring to Bristol Beacon (3 February), Lakeside Arts, Nottingham (5 February), Howard Assembly Room, Leeds (6 February), Future Yard, Birkenhead (7 February), Aviva Studios, Manchester (8 February) and St Martin-in-the-Fields, London (12 February).
Sea Shanties (28 March)
The Collective present a deep dive through the history of sea shanties with long-time musical friend and collaborator Sean Shibe. A master of the guitar in all its guises – from acoustic to electric – Sean joins the ensemble for a programme that revels in the camaraderie of folk song. Composer Ben Nobuto – whose music reflects a whirlwind of avant-garde, pop, electronic, video game music and contemporary classical influences – takes sea shanties as inspiration for a new work co-commissioned with and premiered at Southbank Centre, London (28 March).
Papillons (6 – 9 May)
A programme of transformation through performance, devised with dance-theatre company Thick & Tight (Daniel Hay-Gordon and El Perry), whose radical work refuses to be pinned down. Drawing on queer culture, it flits between ballet and cabaret, the absurd and the disarmingly moving. Sept Papillons, a set of seven miniatures for solo cello by the pioneering late composer Kaija Saariaho, is performed by Laura van der Heijden, whilst Manchester-based artist CHAINES debuts a new creation live – synthesising cutting-edge technology with their classical training to create surreal, glitchy textures. Touring to Lakeside Arts, Nottingham (6 May) and Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester (9 May) with more dates to be announced.
Patterns in Repeat (26 – 30 June)
A vibrant showcase of female titans of contemporary experimental music. Dance, human connection and roots in Black culture are at the heart of jazz for Cassie Kinoshi – here the Collective present a world premiere work written by the saxophonist/composer. Best known for her vocal acrobatics, Meredith Monk’s instrumental piece Backlight is a rare treasure, performed alongside Cassandra Miller’s Perfect Offering which was penned in the throes of illness and explores the passage of time while our body remains inert. Touring to Howard Assembly Room, Leeds (26 June), Southbank Centre, London (28 June) and Aviva Studios, Manchester (30 June).
Manchester Collective in Europe (various dates)
The Unfurrowed Field, the Collective’s acclaimed collaboration with pianist Fergus McCreadie and violinist Donald Grant, is revived for performances across Europe, touring to Frankfurt (Alte Oper, 11 October), Lugano (LAC, 6 June) and Fribourg (Théâtre Equilibre, 8 June). Taking inspiration from the earliest-known names for the island of Britain, Albion, Now is a new show celebrating contemporary classical voices – including Christian Mason, Dobrinka Tabakova and Errollyn Wallen – which tours to Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie, 19 March) and Copenhagen (Royal Danish Academy of Music, 23 March).
Closer to home, the Collective join award-winning composer and pianist Hania Rani to perform the world premiere of Non Fiction at the Barbican, London (25-26 November). Assembled as a 45-piece orchestra with conductor Hugh Brunt, the work is Rani’s first piano concerto and symphonic piece.
For full programme details, visit manchestercollective.co.uk/25-26