14 premieres, music in iconic spaces, the Cries of London: Spitalfields Music Festival 2024

Spitalfields Music Festival returns with events in iconic spaces across East London from 27 June to 10 July 2024. The festival opens with soprano Nardus Williams and lutenist Elizabeth Kenny in In the Shadow of the Tower, exploring East London's cosmopolitan history in a recital at St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London. The concert features a new work by Roderick Williams, one of 14 premieres being presented at this year's festival. And we return to St Peter ad Vincula for Sing Joyfully: Tudor and Jacobean Music for the Chapel Royal performed by Choir of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London.

The Carice Singers explore another aspect of London history with Cries of London at St Botolph without Bishopsgate, featuring Berio's Cries of London alongside music by Alexander Papp, Mary Offer, Robert Crehan, Effy Efthymiou, Alice Beckwith, and Anibal Vidal. Whilst the Gentle Author will be talking about the cries of London at St Botolph without Bishopsgate hall, and one of the festival's Neighbourhood Schools projects also focuses on the subject. Students will be producing a sound installation inspired by the modern day Cries of London, which will be on display at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate on Tuesday 2 July.

The Manchester Collective are returning to Village Underground for a programme including music by Missy Mazzoli, Edmund Finnis, Kaija Saariaho, Caroline Shaw, Errollyn Wallen, Dobrinka Tabakova and a new commission from Jocelyn Campbell. The National Youth Choir Fellowship Ensemble will be joining Zoe Martlew (cello), Roderick Williams (baritone), Andrew West (piano) and the trombone quartet Slide Action for a concert at the Dutch Church, Austin Friars, celebrating NMC Recordings' 35 anniversary with a wide range of music associated with the label from Ben Nobuto and Alex Paxton to Zoe Martlew and Roxanna Panufnik to Brian Elias and Howard Skempton to Imogen Holst and Richard Rodney Bennett.

Me Without You from composer Emily Levy and Writer-Director Mella Faye celebrates those we’ve lost and those of us who are still here, through music, dance and recorded interviews, at Metronome London.

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields makes its festival debut with a programme of Ruth Gipps, Britten, Walton, Elgar, Walton, Jonathan Woolgar and Philip Herbert' s Elegy: in memoriam Stephen Lawrence at St Anne's Church, Limehouse. Stephanie Lamprea (soprano) and Anna Kjær (choreographer / dancer) join the Hebrides Ensemble for Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire alongside an exhibition of new paintings by double bassist and artist Kirsty Matheson at St Mary at Hill.

Alongside these and other events there are walking tours, talks and much more.

Full details from the festival website.