Former curator of paintings, drawings and prints at the National Maritime Museum James Taylor reveals a remarkable series of seafaring stories in this lively illustrated talk. Find out the real reasons why Charles Darwin sailed on the Beagle, and why Captain Robert FitzRoy was really returning to South American waters.

£5 unreserved Book tickets Booking Code: 14A

Australian String Quartet
Barbirolli Quartet
John Reid piano

Rising British stars the Barbirolli Quartet join their Australian counterparts for a first-time collaboration playing Mendelssohn’s dazzling and effortless Octet – an ideal way to mark the centenary of Mendelssohn’s birth. The Barbirollis and pianist John Reid start this delicious concert with Schumann’s gloriously virtuosic Piano Quintet. Nestled in between, and providing a stark contrast, are the delicate textures of Australian composer Gordon Kerry’s Variations.

Supported by Peter & Laura Tanter

£14.50 unreserved Book tickets Booking Code: 14B
See the Barbirolli Quartet perform again on Wednesday 15 July
See the Australian String Quartet perform again on Monday 13 July
See John Reid perform again on Monday 13 July

The extraordinary Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain returns to Lichfield for the first of two nights of something completely out of the box. They have plundered the British Film Institute’s archives to find a host of unusual and little-seen gems from the early days of silent film, and have sculpted them into a delightfully eclectic evening of music, film, comedy and pathos. This mixed bill combines short films and clips including adverts, singing pictures, dramas, science and nature films, hints, hobbies and documentary footage to amaze, amuse and baffle. All of this, of course, presented in the UOGB’s own inimitable style, and set to a programme of original scores and old favourites from musical history.

www.ukuleleorchestra.com

£22.50, £16, £10 Book tickets Booking Code: 14C

7:30pm Lichfield Cathedral 120mins
Gospel Night

Black Voices
Lichfield Festival Chorus
Carol Pemberton director

From gospel to spirituals, Caribbean to African, jazz and blues, the music of Black Voices spans cultures, ages and beliefs. Crossing language barriers, their performances continue to be powerful and inspiring, and we are delighted to welcome them back after their spectacular 2006 visit to lead us on a journey of beauty, humour and hope.

The Lichfield Festival Chorus, formed last year to perform The Traveller, returns for this specially commissioned evening of sacred and secular music.

Supported by LFA Silver members
Festival Chorus supported by Swinfen Broun Charitable Trust and The Golsoncott Foundation.

£20, £15, £10, £7.50, £5 (under 18s half price) Book tickets Booking Code: 14D

See Seating information for sight restrictions