The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Chamber Choir joins Birmingham City Organist for this special concert. Principally conducted by Julian Wilkins, the choir comprises auditioned student singers who form an expert and flexible group. Expectations are high as their reputation grows nationally and internationally. They record almost every year for Somm Records, give concerts in Birmingham and further afield, and make occasional broadcasts. The choir is unique amongst all the UK’s conservatoires in having a significant recording presence; they have now made nine CDs in recent years. Their recent recording of music by Richard Rodney Bennett, conducted by Paul Spicer, won critical acclaim in Gramophone magazine which described the choir’s singing as “splendidly disciplined and infectiously fervent”. The choir’s Radio 3 debut came in 2015 when the BBC recorded a concert from the Ludlow English Song weekend.

Birmingham City Organist since 1983, Thomas Trotter is one of the world’s top-ranking virtuoso organists and was awarded the 2020 Queen’s Medal for Music. His fortnightly lunchtime concerts last around an hour and showcase the organ’s sublime delicacy and awesome power – as well as his own technical wizardry – in some of the most inventive programmes you’re ever likely to hear.