BRITTEN SINFONIA'S SURROUND SOUND PLAYLIST AT ELY CATHEDRAL
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Experience live classical music as you've never imagined it in Britten Sinfonia's spectacular, immersive and welcoming concert format.
You're sitting or lying in the cathedral, looking up at its soaring arches and beautiful ceiling above.
Lighting states shift and capture the mood as a seamless musical sequence fills the magical space from all directions...
... like a radio mix or eclectic playlist, but performed live and all around you by over 100 musicians, with orchestral drama, solo virtuosity and heartbursting moments of choral beauty.
From music you’ll know and love, to add to-playlist new favourites, Surround Sound Playlist presents Handel’s Zadok the Priest, Purcell's Music for Queen Mary, Ennio Morricone's Cinema Paradiso suite and stomping folk sets by Will Pound alongside music by Grieg, Ravel, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen and Caroline Shaw.
Performers
Will Pound folk melodeon / harmonica
Tenebrae with Nigel Short conductor
Britten Sinfonia with Zoë Beyers violin / director
Cambridge Community Chorus
Coleridge Community College musicians
Programme to include:
Ēriks Ešenvalds Stars
Handel Zadok the Priest; The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
Morten Lauridsen O Magnum Mysterium
Ennio Morricone Cinema Paradiso suite
Parry I was glad
Prokofiev Dance of the Knights from Romeo & Juliet
Purcell Funeral March for Queen Mary
Traditional / Will Pound Amazing Grace
Traditional Danish Shine you no more
Ravel Pavane pour une infante defunte
Caroline Shaw And the swallow
Eric Whitacre Sleep
What audience members said about our 2025 performances
"It was like classical Glastonbury!"
“I just couldn’t believe how good it was. It was like a gift from heaven.”
“The overall atmosphere was one of deep tranquility and the performers were exceptional. It was the first experience of live classical music for both myself and my companion and we both had a wonderful time.”
“A fantastic immersive experience as well as some world class performances. Such great programming which suited all the generations of our family who came. The teenagers loved not sitting in a tiered concert hall. The early 30s loved the movement and extra production value. Us oldies appreciated the great performances by some of the best international stars of the classical world.”
Your Experience
- We think the ideal way to experience this event is to relax on the floor in the Immersive Zone. Bring a mat and a cushion to make yourself comfortable.
- Or if being on the floor is not possible for you, there will be both reservable and unreserved chairs.
- Because performances come from multiple stages in the space, there’s no one best place to be.
- Bring the family - the atmosphere is relaxed!
Pricing
IMMERSIVE ZONES: Unreserved spaces for you to bring a cushion or a gym mat and sit or lie on the floor in the cathedral's main nave.
Pay What You Can, from £6 to £30
LISTENING SEATS: Choose a an unreserved seat in one of the side aisles and transepts looking into the centre and listen to the full performance, with views of one stage or partial or intermittent view of the performers as they move around.
Pay What You Can, from £6 to £30
PREMIUM SEATS: Choose from a select number of reserved seats with an ideal view of Performance Area 1.
£40