Alan Titchmarsh is set to bring his own festive cheer to Birmingham this Christmas, as he joins the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and a number of local charities, for one of the city’s favourite festive events.

Alan Titchmarsh

Alan, one of the UK’s best-loved TV presenters and green-fingered personalities, will join the CBSO family – the Orchestra and over 250 members from the four CBSO Choruses – for Festive Favourites (21, 22 and 23 December).  These popular Christmas concerts will be filled with plenty of sparkle as members of the Orchestra and CBSO choruses will set the hall alight with carols and festive classics alongside Alan’s heart-warming readings and stories from his very own seasonal anthology, Fill My Stocking.

Alongside well-known seasonal tunes and classic carols such as Hark the Herald the concert will also provide a platform for a number of local charities to collect funds at a critical time of year. This year, the charities collecting will be: St. Basils (December 21, 7.30pm), the Ronnie Bowker Foundation Fund (December 22, 7.30pm), Cyberknife Appeal, QE Hospital (December 23, 3pm) and Acorns Children’s Hospice (December 23, 7.30pm). These concerts follow on from a hugely successful charity concert for the CBSO’s own Benevolent Fund earlier this month.

Stephen Maddock, Chief Executive of City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra said: “We know that our Christmas concerts often herald the start of the seasonal festivities for many people, and this year, we are thrilled to be supporting a number of local charities that are doing remarkable things in our region. In the past, these collections have raised thousands of pounds, thanks to the generosity of our concert attendees, and I hope we will be able to say the same of this year.”

This year’s Festive Favourites concerts will take place at Symphony Hall on Friday 21 December (7.30pm), Saturday 22 December (7.30pm) and Sunday 23 December (3pm and 7.30pm).

Tickets are available from Symphony Hall or Town Hall box offices in person, by phone: 0121 780 3333, or online: www.cbso.co.uk/concerts. (Note –  a £2.50 transaction fee is charged by THSH Box Office on all bookings except those made in person).