An autumnal feast of music and theatre

• Sir Bryn Terfel performs with Royal Welsh College vocalists in Pan Ddaw’r Nos [5 Nov], featuring music from one of Wales’ most celebrated composers, Meirion Williams.
• Stories of female independence and family affairs are presented by the Richard Burton Company’s new cohort of theatre makers in Stick Fly, Tipping the Velvet and Hedda Gabler [24 Oct – 1 Nov].
• The musical memories of the Windrush Elders Cymru are celebrated in Calypso Cymru [26 Sept] with jazz trombonist Dennis Rollins.
• Jazz standards to free-flowing grooves, The Big Jazz Weekend [25-27 Oct] is jam-packed with outstanding musicians, free performances and workshops.
• Two groundbreaking artists, Matthew Barley [3 Oct] and Laura Cannell [4 Oct] form part of the inaugural Cardiff Music City Festival.
• There will be mutiny on the high seas this Christmas! The Richard Burton Company present the family favourite Treasure Island [6 – 13 Dec]
• Levantes Dance Theatre bring their quirky and humorous show - The Band [27 Sept]

Sir Bryn Terfel guides Royal Welsh College vocalists in the interpretation of Welsh poetry and music in Pan Ddaw’r Nos [5 Nov], featuring the works of one of Wales’ most celebrated composers, Meirion Williams. The Royal Welsh College Symphony Orchestra: Fantastique [31 Oct] also shines a spotlight on Welsh artists with Karl Jenkins’ Euphonium Concerto ahead of Berlioz’s roof raising Symphonie Fantastique.

Massed choral forces from the college will pay an uplifting tribute to RWCMD’s former Chair Laureate in A Concert to Remember Lord Rowe-Beddoe [1 Nov].

Global music takes the spotlight, exploring classical music from India featuring virtuoso sarod and tabla performers Debasmita Bhattacharya & Gurdain Rayatt [15 Nov]. Rushil Ranjan and vocalist Abi Sampa join forces with Manchester Camerata [7 Nov] in Māyā: an orchestral exploration of Carnatic music. Sinfonia Cymru [29 Nov] takes us to a West African Ankaben: a coming together of cultures with drummer Sidiki Dembélé. And heading across the Atlantic, the classical guitarist Gaëlle Solal [14 Nov] pays homage to one of Brazil’s most celebrated musicians, Villa Lobos.

In its inaugural year, Cardiff Music City Festival promises to push the boundaries of music and performance and we’re thrilled to present two artists that do just that. Matthew Barley [3 Oct] and Laura Cannell [4 Oct] straddle the classical and contemporary worlds, making tantalising use of improvisation, electronics and visuals to tell their musical stories.

This October, the Richard Burton Company present its brand-new cohort of theatre makers with stories of female independence and family affairs, tackling topics of race and privilege in Stick Fly [25 Oct – 1 Nov], gender identity in the adaptation of Sarah Water’s novel Tipping the Velvet [26 Oct – 1 Nov] and Ibsen’s controversial and thought-provoking, Hedda Gabler [24 Oct - 1 Nov].

Black RAT productions and Blackwood Miners’ Institute return to college with quick wit and boundless energy in their new comedy, The Three Musketeers [3 – 5 Oct] – all for one and fun for all!

Levantes Dance Theatre bring their quirky, humorous show The Band [27 Sept] told through awe-inspiring dance, theatre and circus.

The musical memories of the Windrush Elders Cymru are celebrated in Calypso Cymru [26 Sept] through the artistry of jazz giant Dennis Rollins with Royal Welsh College Jazz performers.

From traditional jazz standards to free-flowing grooves, The Big Jazz Weekend [23 – 25 Oct] will be a jam-packed weekend featuring some of the UK's finest artists, Iain Ballamy and Tim Garland’s Lighthouse Trio. The free performance stage will be bouncing with Royal Welsh College Big Band and Brazilian Ensembles, plus workshops for beginners means there’s something for everyone.

Incredible musical fluidity with a unique identity makes the Shai Maestro Trio [22 Nov] one of the most powerful and harmonious jazz groups in the music world today. The trio will be making their Cardiff debut at RWCMD this autumn.

This Christmas, the Richard Burton Company present Treasure Island [6 – 13 Dec], Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story of mutiny on the high seas. Royal Welsh College invites families to join Jim in his search for buried treasure, to voyage to desert islands and have sword fights!

RWCMD’s partnership with Welsh National Opera continues to thrive and together they present an exciting array of performances. WNO Chorus perform alongside RWCMD vocalists in A Chorus Christmas [6 Dec] in what will be an evening of festive operatic singing in the beautiful Taberncl Chapel in Cardiff city centre. This year, we welcome the president of the Shanghai Opera house, Maestro Xu Zhong to conduct WNO Orchestra with the singers of the David Seligman Opera school in our annual Opera Gala [3 & 4 Dec].

The ever-popular glittering night at the musicals with Christmas on Broadway [12-13 Dec] also makes a welcome return to the Christmas Festivities.