Performances

Join us in celebrating the rich and diverse community of postgraduate performers at the University of York, showcasing a selection of their outstanding work from across the year.

A pre-festival event not to be missed: University Choir and Symphony Orchestra join forces with The 24 in the stunning setting of York Minster to provide a spectacular finale to their 2025/26 season.

Join us at the Firefly Festival for a celebration of performance and theatre presented by students from the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies.

Join us at the Firefly Festival for a celebration of performance and theatre presented by students from the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies.

Join us at the Firefly Festival for a celebration of performance and theatre presented by students from the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies.

Join us at the Firefly Festival for a celebration of performance and theatre presented by students from the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies.

Join us at the Firefly Festival for a celebration of performance and theatre presented by students from the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies.

Join us at the Firefly Festival for a celebration of performance and theatre presented by students from the University of York’s School of Arts and Creative Technologies.

Join three of the most sought-after talents on the UK folk circuit - John McCusker, Sam Kelly and Toby Shaer - for a performance deeply rooted in tradition, yet bursting with innovation.

Join organist Robert Sharpe for a recital celebrating the baroque splendour and intimacy of the Buxtehude and JS Bach, followed by an in-conversation event with composer Philip Moore and Choral Evensong

Join us for a special screening of the documentary film Rave on for the Avon, a powerful exploration of people’s deep connections to rivers, followed by a panel discussion.

Join Navigators Art and a range of local talent in an eclectic programme of music and words celebrating the beauty, peace and wild inspiration of the garden.

Catch five members of the Glee Club at Elder High School, Cincinnati, Ohio, US at St Helen’s Church and enjoy a mixed repertoire of popular, musical theatre, folk, spiritual and sacred music.

Hands On is a playful piano performance all about touch: the important nuances of touch, especially for the wonderful resonances of piano music, but also for how playing and listening to music touches us.

Join York-based vocal ensemble Capriccio Five to experience beloved early music pieces shared with openness and enthusiasm in an intimate space.

Join organist Matthew Collins for a recital celebrating the rich and fascinating connections between organ music and the city of York - its composers, churches and musical life.

Sax Forte returns to the Festival with a fresh programme of music and an entertaining talk on the history of the saxophone.

In 1914, 11 girls leaving the Mount School in York began a round robin diary. Historian Krista Cowman and playwright Bridget Foreman present staged extracts from this 20th-century Quaker ‘WhatsApp Group’.

Come and hear Grammy-nominated artist Olivia Chaney, one of the most distinctive singer-songwriters of her generation, who has carved out a rare space between folk, classical and contemporary music.

Enjoy a thrilling fusion of jazz, tap dance and song as Triple Time explores the connection between musical theatre and jazz.

Join King’s Ely Prep Jazz Band at St Helen’s Church for an eclectic mix of jazz, rock and funk tunes guaranteed to set your toes tapping.

Enjoy performances by one of the UK’s most sought-after Carnatic vocalists, Supriya Nagarajan, alongside an eclectic ensemble of instrumental artists as you discover South Indian classical (Carnatic) music.

York Musical Society is joined by its partner choir from Münster, York’s twin city in Germany, for an uplifting performance of Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius.

Join Yorkshire Bach Choir for a captivating concert woven with themes of nature, gardens and transcendent landscapes, featuring a unique arrangement of Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending.

Rooted in South Indian musical traditions and informed by philosophical and ecological thought, Other Voices seeks to give voice to the voiceless - the flora and fauna of our planet - through an immersive soundscape.

Experience the sounds and smells of a piano being dismantled and transformed into a playable ‘strung back’ - the piano's frame and strings only - and enjoy performances with instrumental ensemble The Assembled.

Join Katie Harrison from York Consortium for Craft and Conservation and piano restorer Tom Binns for a talk exploring what can happen to old pianos when their upkeep becomes too expensive. How can we reimagine them and transform them for reuse?

Enjoy improv comedy with a historical twist. Yorkshire-based improvisers Fool(ish) create an evening of spontaneous comedy inspired by curious documents and artefacts from the city archive.

Discover the organ as an instrument of place - shaped by architecture, ritual and memory. Organist James Short presents a programme ranging from Praetorius and Bach to works by Judith Bingham and Rachel Laurin.

Join one of Britain’s favourite storytellers, Michael Morpurgo, for a spellbinding evening of words and music exploring our deep connection to the natural world.

Enjoy spoken passages from the writings of Anne Lister and her contemporaries interwoven with live performances of music from her own collection at an intimate concert in the glorious setting of York Mansion House.

Enjoy watching a concert-style musical and learn more about the innovative bioscience research being carried out at the University of York, followed by a ‘meet the researchers’ session.

Internationally acclaimed guitar virtuoso Galina Vale makes her seventh Festival appearance with a new programme of classical, flamenco and folk guitar music from Spain, Latin America, Eastern Europe and beyond.

Collecting the real haunted experiences of York residents, Living Lore: The Ghost Stories of Contemporary York is a new co-production between Skald Theatre Group and the York Society of Hauntologists.

Enjoy screenings of students’ work, talks and workshops from leading professionals in the UK film and television industry at this year’s LUMA Film Festival, as well as a Gala awards ceremony.