The Love Orchestra

Tim Burke conducts the combined forces of Durham University Choral and Orchestral Societies in one of the repertoire’s most monumental musical statements. Premiered in 1837 with 450 performers, Berlioz’s Requiem is a colossal, cinematic statement of faith, fear and hope, a sonic portrait of ‘mankind gathered together on the last day’.

This isn’t just a collection of Christmas music – it’s a celebration of the season’s full emotional range. Joy, wonder, reflection, play. Big bold choruses and quiet, candlelit moments. Music that lets you sing along one minute and stop to breathe the next. You’ll hear familiar carols in all their festive glory – from the joyful sweep of Joy to the World to the dark sparkle of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. Some come wrapped in rich new arrangements, others just as you know and love them. There’s grandeur too in the echoing brass of Gabrieli’s Venice, while Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky add fast-paced festive tunes you’ll know and love from film and TV – Troika and The Nutcracker.

Switch between three channels of pop, hip-hop and dance classics while UK DJs keep the pace moving under lasers and glowing stone arches.