Northern Lights

Northern Lights (Fri 27 - Sun 29 November 2026) is a weekend of elemental music from the frozen north, presented by Music in the Round. 5 events across the weekend, at the Crucible Playhouse and Firth Hall, including a panel discussion and a variety of four concerts of intimate music from acclaimed ensembles.

From the spectral strings of Iceland to the intimate, achingly beautiful chamber works of Grieg and Sibelius, and the rich folk roots of Norwegian strings, this is a journey through Nordic soundscapes both ancient and new. As the nights draw in, we look north in the company of three exceptional ensembles and invite you to join us on a journey of otherworldly musical light.

Concerts:

27 November, 5.15pm 
A Journey Through Nordic Music
Crucible Playhouse, Sheffield

Setting the scene for the weekend, join a panel of musicians and experts who will shine a light on some of the composers and music featuring across the three days. 

27 November, 7pm
Music from Iceland
Crucible Playhouse, Sheffield

Phaedra Ensemble launches our Northern Lights weekend with a dazzling portrait of contemporary Icelandic music ranging from celebrated glacial works by Anna Thorvaldsdóttir and Oscar-winning Hildur Guðnadóttir, to new arrangements of the ever-inventive Björk and Ólafur Arnalds’ haunting original music for Broadchurch.

Evoking distant plains, shimmering permafrost landscapes, the flickering of flames and the chill of the tundra: this is music from the land of fire and ice.

28 November, 2pm
Sibelius & Grieg
Crucible Playhouse Sheffield

Ensemble 360 perform masterpieces and miniatures for strings and piano by two giants of Nordic classicism.

Grieg’s Cello Sonata is a passionate, expressive, dancing work, full of sweeping melodies and stirring tension. Sibelius’s taut String Quartet broods and bristles with soulful intensity and culminates in a fiery finale.

28 November, 7pm
Engegård Quartet
Crucible Playhouse, Sheffield

Norway’s multi-award-winning Engegård Quartet brings its customary boldness, energy and freshness to Sheffield. It is a quartet with a deep affinity with Mozart and Beethoven and a profound commitment to Norwegian music.

Fresh from releasing a highly praised complete recorded cycle of Mozart’s string quartets, this concert brings together key strands of their musical life.

Beethoven’s Serioso retains its power to move as it veers violently between brutish power and yearning lyricism before tumbling to its thrilling conclusion. Grieg’s only completed string quartet is joyously inspired by the unique sound of the hardanger fiddle, evoking singing, dancing and quarrels in a distinctly Norwegian musical language.

29 November, 2pm
Norwegian Folk
Firth Hall - University of Sheffield

Formed under the midnight sun in the Lofoten Islands, Norway’s leading string quartet brings the rugged soul of the country to the stage.

From the vast plains of Finnmark to the fjords of Kvæfjord, this programme features the Quartet’s own arrangements of traditional joiks – one of the oldest song traditions in Europe – alongside haunting psalms and spirited bridal marches.

A fresh take on repertoire that is 400 years in the making, this concert explores the roots of much of the weekend’s music in an evocative, moving and joyful finale.