Friday 15 November 2024, 7pm Sheffield City Hall 

• DEBUSSY Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
• BOULANGER Psalm 130: De Profundis (Out of the Depths)

• SAINT-SAЁNS Fantaisie in Eb major for organ
• SAINT-SAЁNS Symphony No.3, “Organ”

Our season in Sheffield will start with a fantastic concert featuring works by French composers, in the City Hall with Resident Orchestra the Halle, award-winning conductor Delyana Lazarova and our own Darius Battiwalla playing contrasting pieces by  Saint-Saens on the magnificent City Hall organ.

Delyana Lazarova, winner of the inaugural Siemens Hallé International Conductor’s Competition, will begin this concert with Debussy’s sensuous evocation of the poet Mallarmé’s dreams and desires of a faun. Delyana will then directs the massed forces of the Hallé, Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus, a rising RNCM star and the stunning mezzo-soprano, Hanna Hipp, in Lili Boulanger’s ominous setting of Psalm 130, widely believed to be a reaction to the outbreak of World War One.

In the second half Chorus Musical Director and leading organist Darius Battiwalla will pull out all the stops in music by Saint-Saёns. His first published organ work, Fantaisie, has two contrasting movements: one, full of elegance and charm and the other, strong and confident. The concert concludes with his monumental, fascinatingly-textured “Organ” Symphony. – a very popular work that will leave you uplifted and exhilarated in equal measure.

The Hallé

Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus
Delyana Lazarova conductor
Hanna Hipp mezzo-soprano
RNCM vocalist tenor
Darius Battiwalla organ

Pre-Concert Talk with BBC Broadcaster Trisha Cooper: 6pm

Tickets from £22.95, students and u-18s £10.50, available online and from the City Hall box office.

Special offer – gather 10 friends and family together and book at the same time for just £10 per ticket – no matter where you sit!

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Saturday 14 December 2024 Sheffield City Hall at 2.30pm

Christmas Concert with Black Dyke Band

A Christmas tradition like no other! The Black Dyke Band and Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus return once again for this wonderful seasonal celebration with carols for choir, singalongs for the audience and gems for the band. Presented by the multi-talented broadcaster, presenter, actor and author, Zeb Soanes, who will guide us through a programme that includes perennial favourites such as Sleigh Ride, Winter Wonderland and O Holy Night as well as newly-arranged pieces by one of the most successful of all living composers, John Rutter. There will also be local Sheffield carols, including Hail Smiling Morn, and a long-forgotten carol by Barnsley composer, Arthur Godfrey, entitled Christmas Eve.

Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus

Darius Battiwalla – conductor

Black Dyke Band

Nicholas Childs – conductor

Zeb Soames – presenter

Tickets are available from the City Hall box office, online, and on the door on the night.

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Saturday 23 March 2025, St Marie’s cathedral, Sheffield at 7.30pm

Faure Requiem

The Chorus is pleased to be closing the Classical Sheffield Festival Weekend 2025 with a programme featuring two world premieres in the wonderful acoustic of St Marie’s cathedral. The first half will feature two new compositions by composer and broadcaster Stephen Johnston, who has made hundreds of radio programmes, most notably as presenter of Radio 3’s critically-acclaimed Discovering Music, where he explored pieces of music in detail, playing extracts to help discover what makes them work. Read more about Stephen on his website. Past programmes are available on the Discovering Music Archive

The first half will conclude with the world premiere of the winning works from the Stella Jockel Young Composer Competition.

• Stephen Johnston: two new works
• works by the winners of the 2nd Stella Jockel Young Composer Competition
• Interval
• Gabriel Faure: Requiem

Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus

Darius Battiwalla – conductor

Ticket prices to be added. Available online (small booking fee), from choir members and on the door by cash or card,  Tickets for those in wheelchairs and with limited mobility are available , please email .

A Saturday in April or May 2025- to be confirmed

Come and Sing in Sheffield

Darius Battiwalla – Conductor

10am to 4pm, performance at 5pm

Following the resounding success of our first Come and Sing event held in May 2024, the Chorus is pleased to be offering another chance to sing a popular choral work with South Yorkshire’s foremost mixed voice large choir.  The work, date and venue are yet to be confirmed.

You will spend the day rehearsing alongside the City Hall’s Resident Chorus, conducted by the choir’s Music Director Darius Battiwalla. Darius has conducted choral performances with leading orchestras including the Halle, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Manchester Camerata, and he has prepared the Chorus for appearances at the Proms and for recordings with the BBC Philharmonic for Chandos. He has worked regularly as guest chorusmaster or conductor with many other choirs including the Northern Sinfonia Chorus, Leeds Philharmonic Chorus, Huddersfield Choral Society, CBSO chorus and Netherlands Radio Choir.  Darius is Leeds City Organist and has appeared as organ soloist with the Halle, London Philharmonic Orchestras and the BBC Philharmonic, and he gives regular chamber concerts with members of the Manchester orchestras on piano and harpsichord. Despite this impressive record he is a very friendly conductor, encouragingly supportive and challenging in equal measure.

The day will start at 10.00 with registration from 9.30am, and run to 12.30 with a break for tea or coffee and cake (included in the admission price).  Bring your own lunch or use one of the many great eating places in the city centre. We’ll re-commence at 2pm and rehearse until 4pm, when there’ll be a longer break until the performance for family and friends at 5.30pm. Scores will be provided, but if you prefer to bring your own that’s fine though it won’t lead to a discount as we’ll still have to cover the cost of hired copies. Wear anything you feel comfortable in, but don’t take bulky bags as there isn’t a cloakroom.

Information about joining the Chorus will be available on the day; see https://sheffieldphil.org/membership-join/new-members/

Tickets prices to be added. Singing tickets will include score and refreshments.  You are advised to book in advance. Tickets for the performance are FREE, but tickets are required.  Tickets will be available online (with a booking fee) or from Chorus members (no booking fee).

Sunday 8 June 2025 Sheffield City Hall at 4pm

Hayden Creation

The Sheffield International Concert Series season finale will leave you in awe of the wonders of creation. Under the baton of the Hallé’s charismatic Choral Director, Matthew Hamilton, the massed forces of the Hallé and the Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus will be joined by a trio of exceptional soloists to breathe hope and joy into Haydn’s divine masterpiece, The Creation. The composer dreamt of a big sound with this oratorio – around 180 musicians and singers took part in the Viennese premiere – and this life-affirming work takes you on a musical journey from chaos and darkness to the creation of a new world. The perfect antidote to a world of despair and tyranny, this concert is a celebration of the beauty of life and the power of music.

The Hallé
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus
Matthew Hamilton conductor
A trio of exceptional soloists

Pre-Concert Talk with BBC Broadcaster Trisha Cooper & Guests: 3pm

Tickets available from the City Hall box office, online, or on the door on the night.

BUY TICKETS

Special offer – gather 10 friends and family together and book at the same time for just £10.50 per ticket – no matter where you sit!