Cambridge Summer Music Festival
1-29 July 2026
The 2026 Festival once again welcomes world-renowned musicians to beautiful venues in and around Cambridge, presenting nearly thirty events throughout July, including chamber music, orchestral and choral concerts, jazz, song and solo instrumental recitals, workshops and more – not to forget the ever-popular Sounds Green in the Botanic Garden.
Priority booking for Friends of CSM opens 12 April. General booking opens 26 April
Sounds Green in the Botanic Garden
1, 8, 15, 22, 29 July, 6.30pm
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
The best in open-air music on Wednesday evenings in Cambridge Botanic Garden – with Prime Brass, Arun Ghosh, Basin Street Brawlers, Paprika and Cores Do Samba.
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Masterclass with Ben Johnson
Saturday 4 July, 12.00pm
The Old Divinity School, St John’s College
Festival Director and acclaimed tenor Ben Johnson gives a masterclass to some of the most promising singers of the next generation.
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Spem in Alium
Saturday 4 July, 7.30pm
Our Lady and the English Martyrs Catholic Church
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge join forces with the Coro Clairière of the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana and the instrumental ensemble Concerto Scirocco to perform Tallis’s crowning achievement, the 40-part Spem in alium.
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Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony
Sunday 5 July, 4.00pm
Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden
Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, set to Walt Whitman’s stirring verse, is a glorious voyage into the vastness of the ocean – and the soul – in one of the repertoire’s most exhilarating choral symphonies.
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Ryan Wang piano
Tuesday 7 July, 7.30 pm
Pembroke Auditorium
Canadian pianist Ryan Wang, BBC Young Musician of the Year 2024, performs masterworks by Mozart and Schubert together with Mussorgsky’s epic Pictures at an Exhibition.
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Will Duerden double bass
Thursday 9 July, 1.10pm
St Botolph’s Church
A finalist in the 2018 BBC Young Musician of the Year, Will Duerden is highly sought-after as a soloist and chamber musician. His Festival performqance will include works by Schumann, Fauré and Ravel.
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The Brodsky Quartet
Thursday 9 July, 7.30pm
Cambridge Union
The acclaimed Brodsky Quartet present a specially-devised programme comprising Beethoven’s final String Quartet Op. 135 and Vivaldi’s much-loved The Four Seasons, to be accompanied by poems written by Ruth Padel and Michael Morpurgo.
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Kasparas Mikužis piano
Friday 10 July, 1.00pm
Trinity College Chapel
Lithuanian-born pianist Kasparas Mikužis was named Rising Star 2025 by Classic FM. His Festival concert will include Bach’s Toccata in F Sharp minor BWV910, Brahms’ Klavierstucke Op. 119 and Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 101.
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Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno
Friday 10 July, 7.30pm
Trinity College Chapel
La Nuova Musica return to Cambridge after their triumphant Festival debut in 2023 to present this allegorical tale set to some of Handel’s most virtuosic and emotionally rich music, filled with dazzling arias and expressive depth.
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Young Composers Workshop
Saturday 11 July, 10am
Murray Edwards College
A chance to hear the work of up-and-coming young composers – and to gain an insight into composing techniques, including writing for particular instruments.
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Ryan Corbett classical accordion
Saturday 11 July, 7.30pm
Selwyn College Chapel
Festival favourite Ryan Corbett returns to Cambridge Summer Music with a programme of works by J.S Bach, César Frank, Sergei Rachmaninoff and original works for accordion.
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Sam Jewison singer and pianist
Sunday 12 July, 5.30pm
Long Barn, Childerley Hall
Sam Jewison’s vocal prowess and pianistic virtuosity has seen him tour internationally. His programme will include classic songs by Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Kern, and more.
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Samrat Majumder guitar
Thursday 16 July, 1.00pm
Queens’ College Chapel
Scottish-Indian classical guitarist Samrat Majumder is the inaugural Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) 40th Anniversary Artist. He has also been named as one of Classic FM’s ‘Rising Stars’. His programme will incluce works by Dowland, Bach, Granados and Schubert.
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The Heath Quartet
Thursday 16 July, 7.30pm
Queens’ College Chapel
Returning to the Festival after a sell-out performance in 2024, the Heath Quartet present a hugely varied programme, including Josef Suk’s powerful wartime Meditation, alongside three masterful works by Britten, Mozart and Schumann.
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Sophie Bevan soprano
Friday 17 July, 1.00pm
Sidney Sussex College Chapel
In this very special programme, soprano Sophie Bevan and pianist Sebastian Wybrew, perform songs from across the centuries telling the age old tale of the human longing for solitude, including the famous Hermit Songs of Samuel Barber.
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CSM Lecture 2026: Graham Johnson
Friday 17 July, 7.30pm
Sidney Sussex College Chapel
The legendary accompanist and author Graham Johnson delivers the 2026 Cambridge Summer Music Lecture. Drawing on his work with many of the world’s leading singers, Johnson reflects on the evolving role of the accompanist in the modern recital tradition.
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Violin & Lute
Saturday 18 July, 1.10pm
St Botolph’s Church
Violinist Charlotte Spruit has been a prize winner at numerous international competitions and was selected as one of Classic FM’s ‘Rising Stars’ of 2024. For this concert she is joined by lutenist Sergio Bucheli to perform a selection of beautiful music for violin and lute.
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Kathleen Ferrier Award Winner
Saturday 18 July, 7.30pm
Pembroke Auditorium
First Prize winner at the 2025 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, mezzo Lily Mo Browne is joined by peerless song accompanist Graham Johnson who has devised this programme especially for her, including works by Purcell, Haydn, Fauré, Debussy and Elgar.
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Handel: Saul
Wednesday 22 July, 7.00pm
Ely Cathedral
Gabrieli Roar give another of their large-scale festival concerts, this time performing Handel’s epic biblical oratorio, Saul. The professional forces of Gabrieli will be joined by 250 young singers from around the country. Join them and revel in Handel’s glorious chorus writing, ranging from celebration to fury and mourning.
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Rob Burton saxophone
Thursday 23 July, 1.10pm
St Botolph’s Church
Saxophonist Rob Burton, winner of the Woodwind Category Final of the BBC Young Musician 2018, joins forces with pianist Max Rogers to present an enticing programme of works by Boulanger, Gershwin, Poulenc, Rodney Bennet and Piazzolla.
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Eleanore & Gus: guitar, bass & voice
Thursday 23 July, 7.30pm
Long Barn, Childerley Hall
A magical evening of music and intimate story-telling from multi-talented duo, Eleanor Grant and Gus McQuade. Passionate about showcasing music in its broadest sense, they present a programme ranging from Dowland to Dankworth, Britten to Joni Mitchell, and Florence Price to Hildegard von Bingen.
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Matteo Cimatti violin
Friday 24 July, 1.00pm
Pembroke Auditorium
Prize-winning Italian violinist Matteo Cimatti who has been praised for his “…refined playing and melodious and intense tone…” (ANSA). Join him for an interesting and varied programme of music by JS Bach, Arthur Benjamin, Heinrich Ernst and Béla Bartók.
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ROSL Gold Medal Winner’s Recital
Friday 24 July, 7.30pm
Pembroke Auditorium
One of the most prominent young oboe soloists in the UK, Ewan Millar won the Royal Over-Seas League Gold Medal in 2025. He is joined by the exciting young pianist Tomos Boyles to present an enticing programme including works by Bach, Clara Schumann, Barber, Debussy and Brahms.
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Festival Finale: London Mozart Players
Saturday 25 July, 7.30pm
Saffron Hall, Saffron Walden
Our Festival Finale celebrates the legacy of the Boyd Neel Orchestra, a pioneering chamber ensemble founded by Boyd Neel. The programme includes Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, which the Boyd Neel Orchestra premiered in 1944.
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