Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra

29/05/2026

Pēteris Vasks: The Fruit of Silence

The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.

Described by the composer as a “very silent meditation”, The Fruit of Silence takes the five lines of text from Mother Teresa and imagines them in the modern day.

Hear it live next month at Victoria Hall Sheffield, at oyt upcoming concert Protest Notes

Pēteris Vasks: The Fruit of Silence Context Pēteris Vasks composed the haunting choral work, The Fruit of Silence in 2013. Commissioned by the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the piece was premiered in 2013 at the event. Read more…

29/05/2026

🤖 You can't get away from AI nowadays 🙄 but we love working with real artists to create our wonderful concert posters 🫶🏼

🎨 Evie and Will are based in Brighton and Sunderland, respectively. They both completed the BA in Animation course at University of Lincoln 2015-2018 and now work as illustrators and animators. We've never met them IRL, but they are very much part of the furniture at SPO and we love what they do 😍

28/05/2026

"As well as the role it played by representing the people of Finland embracing democracy, Finlandia has now also found its place outside of those political boundaries as one of the most-performed tone poems. Its enduring popularity has created a memorable piece of music that is sure to be enjoyed for years to come."

🤓 Dive a little deeper into Sibelius' Finlandia in the Classicalexburns blog before hearing it live at Victoria Hall Sheffield, on 13th June at our Protest Notes concert.

🎟️ https://buytickets.at/sheffieldphilharmonicorchestra?ref=social-media

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia Context During 1899 the political intensity in the Grand Duchy of Finland was becoming more serious. Opposition was met from Russian press, sparking a great divide in Finnish arts. Jean Sibelius was Read more…

19/05/2026

🕊️ We'll be closing our programme with Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks’ The Fruit of Silence

Vasks grew up in Soviet-occupied Latvia, and much of his music reflects a longing for peace, humanity, and spiritual freedom in the face of oppression.

Rather than us ending the concert in triumph or spectacle, Vasks leaves us with stillness - a quiet invitation to reflect, breathe, and hope.

Written in 2013, The Fruit of Silence is a deeply meditative work inspired by the words of Mother Teresa:

The fruit of silence is prayer.
The fruit of prayer is faith.
The fruit of faith is love.
The fruit of love is service.
The fruit of service is peace.

📍 Victoria Hall, Sheffield
📅 Saturday 13 June, 7.30pm
🎟️ https://buytickets.at/sheffieldphilharmonicorchestra?ref=social-media

17/05/2026

🎭 Sergei Prokofiev’s final symphony (No. 7 in C # minor) was completed in 1952, just a year before the composer’s death, during the final years of Stalinist Russia.

By this point, Prokofiev was living under immense pressure. The soviet authorities had condemned his sixth symphony for it's perceived “decadent formalim”, while worsening health and financial difficulties had left him increasingly vulnerable. Hoping to win the lucrative Stalin Prize (worth 100,000 rubles) Prokofiev found himself caught between artistic honesty and political expression.

The symphony's ending tells this story most powerfully.

Prokofiev originally ended the work quietly - the music fading away with the distant ticking of the glockenspiel. But conductor, Samuil Samosud urged Prokofiev to add a brighter, more triumphant conclusion to improve its chances of winning the Prize. Reluctantly, Prokofiev composed a short, energetic alternative ending. Privately, however, he made clear which version he believed in, telling his good friend (the cellist & conductor Mstislav Rostropovich) that the revised ending should not survive him.

Therefore, naturally, for this performance, we will be performing Prokofiev’s original ending.

📍 Victoria Hall, Sheffield
📅 Saturday 13 June, 7.30pm
🎟️ https://www.tickettailor.com/events/sheffieldphilharmonicorchestra?ref=social-media

14/05/2026

✨ The centrepiece of our Protest Notes concert is Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations.

The Montgomery Variations was written in response to the American Civil Rights Movement and reflects on the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott sparked by Rosa Parks and led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Drawing on the spiritual 'I Want Jesus to Walk with Me', the music unfolds through a series of contrasting variations - at times tender and reflective, at others urgent, defiant, and triumphant.

It's an important artistic response to racial injustice and the fight for equality, and we're very much enjoying working on it in rehearsals.

📍 Victoria Hall, Sheffield
📅 Saturday 13 June, 7.30pm
🎟️ https://buytickets.at/sheffieldphilharmonicorchestra?ref=social-media

12/05/2026

✊ “Shout, shout, up with your song!”

The next piece in our June programme is Ethel Smyth’s March of the Women - the iconic anthem of the British suffragette movement. We've commissioned a fresh arrangement of this piece for orchestra by University of York composition alum (SPO viola & Sheffielder) Zoë Birtwhistle.

Composed in 1910, the piece became a rallying cry for women campaigning for the right to vote. Smyth herself was deeply involved in the movement and, as legend goes, even conducting the anthem from her prison cell window with a toothbrush after being jailed for protest action.

Zoë's orchestration has been described by our MD George Morton as 'Elgar on acid'. Bringing new colour to the piece, while preserving its fire and defiance more than a century later.

This music is a celebration of protest, courage, and collective voice.

📍 Victoria Hall, Sheffield
📅 Saturday 13 June, 7.30pm
🎟️ Protest Notes https://buytickets.at/sheffieldphilharmonicorchestra?ref=social-media

11/05/2026

We'll be opening our Protest Notes concert next month with Sibelius' triumphant, Finlandia 🇫🇮

Few orchestral works begin with such power and purpose. Written in 1899 during a period of increasing Russification in Finland, Finlandia became a symbol of national identity and quiet resistance.

If you come along expect blazing brass, brooding chords, and one of the most uplifting hymn tune melodies ever written.

A powerful opening to an evening of music shaped by protest, resilience, and hope.

📍 Victoria Hall, Sheffield
📅 Saturday 13 June 7.30pm
🎟️ https://buytickets.at/sheffieldphilharmonicorchestra?ref=social-media

29/04/2026

Nice to read the other two Making Music UK blogs on ticket sale strategies from two other northern orchestras Preston Symphony Orchestra and Leeds Symphony Orchestra 💪🏼

(Loving the hammer pic, John)