The orchestra will be popping up in unexpected spaces, with people having the chance to be the conductor during the Bullring shopping centre visit.

Across the rest of the city, musicians will appear in libraries, gardens, museums, cafés and at the New Street station.

The initiative demonstrates the findings from the CBSO's Birmingham Listening Project, which found that music is an integral part pf people’s daily lives and that it lives beyond the concert hall.

The project revealed Birmingham residents enjoy music when relaxing (68 per cent), commuting to or from work (40 per cent), at a social gathering with friends (37 per cent), at work (27 per cent) and when gaming (20 per cent).

Highlights of this year’s CBSO in the City programme include performances at New Street Station, where the CBSO and CBSO Chorus will take over the concourse on Friday afternoon, and at the Bullring, where the full orchestra will perform in the heart of the city centre.

At Brindleyplace, saxophonist and CBSO collaborative artist Jess Gillam will lead a mass “come and play” clarinet and saxophone event involving more than 60 participants aged from 12 to 89, while a wind ensemble will perform in the surroundings of Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

The programme will also make its Solihull debut at Touchwood, with a brass group performing as part of Summer Sessions at the Beach in Theatre Square.

Music director Kazuki Yamada will also return to the CBSO tram on the West Midlands Metro line.

Elsewhere, a string quartet will perform in the Banking Hall café at The Exchange alongside the University of Birmingham’s Helios installation by British artist Luke Jerram, while another string quartet performance will take place at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery as part of ‘EVERY THING MUST GO’, a new exhibition by Joe Lycett.

Family-friendly performances will take place at Birmingham Library throughout the week, while Digbeth will host ‘Open for Business’, an ambitious community operatic performance presented by Infinite Opera, Grand Union and the CBSO across nine venues.

The performances at Birmingham New Street and Bullring form part of Birmingham Weekender – a free three-day festival which will span across the city with colourful installations, exhilarating performances and experiences from Saturday 29 August to Monday 31 August. Full details to be announced on Monday 27 July.

CBSO music director Kazuki Yamada will be returning to perform to anyone who happens to be on the CBSO branded tram on Saturday 29 August, as well as conducting the full orchestra at Birmingham’s Bullring on Bank Holiday Monday.

All public performances are free (except for admission fees for some venues) and, throughout the week, everyone that experiences a CBSO performance will be able to pick up a golden ticket – which means that for just £1, they will be able to book a CBSO concert during its 2026-27 Season.

Emma Stenning, CBSO chief executive, said: “Birmingham is not a city waiting to be introduced to culture. It is already living it, in public spaces and on commutes, long before anyone walks through the doors of Symphony Hall.

“With CBSO in the City, our musicians spend a week in the places people already use and enjoy, creating surprise moments that feel personal, unexpected and rooted in the life of the city.

“We want people to feel that the CBSO is theirs, and this run of free public concerts is our gift to a city we are proud to call home.”

CBSO in the City is made possible thanks to the generous support of NBB Waldrons and John Osborn.