Since the 2026 edition of CBSO in the City launched last Thursday, thousands of people experienced the orchestra in surprise public spaces as they went about their day – from the Departure Boards at a packed New Street Station (featuring an orchestral tribute to Dolly Parton) to performances at The Exchange café, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Touchwood Shopping Centre in Solihull.

In addition, special Wind in the Willows performances for children and families was delivered at Birmingham Library, and saxophonist (and CBSO Collaborative Artist), Jess Gillam, led Saxophones in the City – a mass ‘come and play’ clarinet and saxophone event at Brindleyplace. CBSO’s Music Director Kazuki Yamada enthusiastically led from the front, performing electric piano onboard a CBSO-branded tram – and, over the weekend, members of the public even got the chance to conduct the orchestra.

Beyond experiencing the free live performances, Birmingham residents got their hands on 5,000 CBSO ‘Golden Tickets’, which they can redeem for a concert as part of the orchestra’s new season at Symphony Hall for just £1. This initiative will introduce many people to an orchestral concert experience in their home city for the first time – fulfilling the CBSO’s commitment to making orchestral music as welcoming and inclusive to the broadest possible audience.

The success of CBSO in the City builds on the orchestra’s audience research over the last two years, which revealed that music plays a vital role in the heartbeat of daily life – with 93% of residents including at least one kind of music as the soundtrack to their lives and 89% keen to push boundaries and explore new music genres at concerts and gigs.

As Mark Bamping, CBSO’s Director of Marketing and Communications, said: “Birmingham is a city of extraordinary diversity and, like any great city, it contains many different voices, experiences and points of view. Music has a rare ability to bring those voices together. It crosses divides and gives people a shared space – somewhere to stand together, listen together and feel part of something bigger. This weekend, CBSO in the City has reminded us what we have in common, and just how much Birmingham has to celebrate.”

Key figures from the Birmingham business community have also supported CBSO’s work across the city. Rob Bhol, CEO of NBB Waldrons, comments: “We have been delighted to support the CBSO’s magnificent work over the last five days. Events like CBSO in the City bring the whole city together and do a great deal to build the city’s reputation for creativity, innovation and leadership much further afield.

“We are proud Birmingham is home to one of the world’s finest symphony orchestras and, with greater support from local government and the business community, there is so much more that music can do to add significant economic and social impact to Birmingham and the Midlands at large.”

Reflecting on the extended weekend festival – Emma Stenning, CEO at the CBSO, comments: “One thing we’re consistently trying to do at the CBSO is to get rid of as many barriers as possible. Image can be a barrier. Price can be a barrier. Location can be a barrier. That’s one of the reasons why ‘CBSO in the City’ takes place in public spaces and it’s free to experience.

“With CBSO in the City our musicians have spent five days in the places where people are already, creating surprise moments that feel personal, unexpected and rooted in the life of the city. We want people to feel that the CBSO is theirs, and this run of free public concerts has been our gift to a city we are proud to call home.”

Kazuki Yamada, Music Director at the CBSO, adds: “Having the chance to surprise people with music, to see how it brings happiness and joy, is so uplifting for all of us. The CBSO does that week-in week-out at Symphony Hall – and at our concerts around the world – but Birmingham is our home, and sometimes we just want to give a gift of music to everyone who lives, works or visits here.”