Saffron Hall announces Spring 2027 season

Saffron Hall has announced its Spring 2027 season, bringing together some of the world’s leading musicians and ensembles with an increasingly adventurous programme spanning classical music, jazz, folk, musical theatre and performances combining music with theatre and storytelling.

Running from New Year through to July, the season includes appearances from Mitsuko Uchida, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Benjamin Grosvenor, Paul Lewis and Martin Hayes, alongside major orchestras and ensembles including Saffron Hall’s Resident Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Hallé, Aurora Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Tenebrae and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The season opens on Sunday 3 January with a traditional New Year celebration from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gergely Madaras, before a spring programme that ranges from Mahler, Beethoven, Mozart and Rachmaninov to Miles Davis, Noël Coward and Gilbert and Sullivan.   

Among the classical highlights is pianist Mitsuko Uchida, who gives a solo recital on 13 February before returning on 25 March to join Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3. Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. The Hallé, conducted by Kahchun Wong, brings Mahler’s Fifth Symphony to Saffron Hall on 19 February, while Britten Sinfonia joins Tenebrae and Nigel Short on 20 March for a programme culminating in James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross. 

Several events take the theatrical possibilities of live music further. On 7 March, Juliet Stevenson and Rachel Parris are scheduled to appear in By a Lady: The Life and Wit of Jane Austen, weaving Austen’s private thoughts, writings and characters together with music. A week later, The Gesualdo Six and theatre-maker Bill Barclay bring the remarkable and violent life of Renaissance composer Carlo Gesualdo to the stage in Death of Gesualdo.     

On 23 April, Aurora Orchestra and Nicholas Collon return with a dramatic exploration of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, culminating in a performance of the complete symphony from memory – a hallmark of the ensemble’s distinctive approach to orchestral performance.

The programme also celebrates significant anniversaries. Fairport Convention mark 60 years in 2027, while the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment celebrates its 40th anniversary with a programme of Vivaldi concertos. Together with a March appearance from Lindisfarne, the season brings two of British folk-rock’s best-known bands to Saffron Hall.

Elsewhere, audiences can hear the Ronnie Scott’s All-Stars exploring the landmark jazz of 1959; a Valentine’s Day celebration featuring West End performers; Irish fiddle player Martin Hayes; and A Most Marvellous Party, in which Nicky Spence, Mary Bevan and Joseph Middleton celebrate Noël Coward alongside music by Gershwin, Britten, Weill and others. The season also sees the return of Saffron Hall’s informal Foyer Club programme of folk, jazz and comedy

Saffron Hall Chief Executive Angela Dixon MBE said:

“There is extraordinary creativity and imagination running through this season. Live music is already a theatrical experience, but increasingly we are working with artists who find new ways to draw audiences into the music – whether that is Aurora Orchestra performing Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique from memory, the extraordinary story of Gesualdo brought to life on stage, or celebrating Jane Austen through words and music.

“At the same time, what happens beyond Saffron Hall is becoming an increasingly important part of who we are. This spring sees our most ambitious programme yet across Essex. We believe every child should have the opportunity to experience the joy and energy of live music in their own community, and we are enormously proud to be working with some of the world’s finest artists to make that happen.”