An extraordinary ensemble forged in Sheffield is celebrating 20 years of making world-class chamber music.
Ensemble 360 was created by local concert producer Music in the Round in 2005 to continue the legacy of the Lindsay String Quartet by having a chamber music group resident in the city.
These resident musicians are now known across the UK for their intimate and convention-challenging ‘in the round’ performance style at the Crucible Playhouse. As well as playing in leading recital halls across the country, the Ensemble takes chamber music to new audiences through its work in communities. This May, the group is curating the 41st Sheffield Chamber Music Festival to mark the anniversary, with 20 unmissable events.
“We’ve always wanted to curate the festival – it’s fantastic”, said horn player Naomi Atherton, who has been with Ensemble 360 since 2005.
“The Sheffield audience is very special. One of the things about the Playhouse is the intimacy of the space, you can feel the audience and their feedback.
“The festival is very intense, but you know the audience is there for it all.”
Ensemble 360 is a group of 11 musicians: one piano, five string and five wind players. When it was founded, the first musicians had to be based in Sheffield in order to establish a connection with their home city. Many of its members, including founder member and leading pianist Tim Horton, have gone on to be internationally recognised.
In 2023, the ensemble was shortlisted for the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Ensemble Award in recognition of its contribution to the UK’s chamber music scene. In 2024-25, Ensemble 360 performed in 69 concerts at 17 venues. Of those, 22 were schools’ and family events introducing thousands of children to classical music.
Naomi, who won the brass final of BBC Young Musician in 1984 and lives in the Peak District, said: “Our community work with young people is one of my highlights.
“When we do our family concerts at the Crucible, they have been learning the songs, and we walk out on stage to them singing the songs with joy in their faces. “It makes my heart sing every single time.”
As part of the festival, each ensemble musician has chosen a ‘Desert Island’ piece of music and there are several exciting collaborations.
There will be a spectacular evening with the world’s premier solo percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, who has won three GRAMMY Awards and performed at the opening of the London 2012 Olympics, leading 1,000 drummers in celebration. Multi-award-winning sitar player Jasdeep Singh Degun will join the Ensemble for a bold fusion of music, as will familiar faces from the Ensemble’s early days, the Elias String Quartet. The Ensemble will also perform dawn concerts inside Sheffield’s Samuel Worth Chapel, a fun family story concert and some of chamber music’s most-loved works over the nine days.
Naomi added:
“There will always be a place for traditional chamber music. “But as you can see in the Festival this year, it’s becoming more diverse and integrated with our communities. “We have to represent what’s out there – we can’t stand still.”
The 2025 Sheffield Chamber Music Festival runs from Friday 16 until Saturday 24 May. Tickets are available now, starting at £5 for under-35s and students. To book, please click here.
