Friday Night Is Music Night comes to Bristol Beacon, with a road trip across American music in all its stars and stripes.
The charismatic Leonard Bernstein is represented by the fizzing overture from his second musical, Candide, which opened on Broadway 70 years ago this year. Central to American’s rich cultural melting pot are the African roots of jazz and the scintillating rhythms of Latin America – reflected in turn by Duke Ellington’s Solitude with its glamorous, sweeping strings, and by John Adams’ arrangement of Astor Piazzolla’s darkly swirling tango ‘La Mufa’ (Misfortune). Adams himself (80 this year) gave Minimalism – another style ‘born in the USA’ – a human face and funky groove, as we hear in The Chairman Dances, from his opera inspired by the historic meeting in 1972 of President Nixon with Chairman Mao of China.
Another leading living American composer, Jennifer Higdon, invites us to mark our Dance Card, while the dance hall meets the concert hall in Morton Gould’s colourful Second American Symphonette. And it’s no surprise that the country that turned slapstick into global entertainment also gave us Leroy Anderson, the master of the musical fizz, bang, wallop.
Presented by Bristol Beacon
BBC Concert Orchestra
Programme
Bernstein Overture Candide
Ellington Solitude
Jennifer Higdon Dance Card
Anderson Blue Tango & Clarinet Candy
John Adams The Chairman Dances
Anderson The Sandpaper Ballet
Piazzolla arr John Adams La Mufa
Gould Second American Symphonette
Event details
Format: Reserved seating for concert
Age: For all ages (Under 16s to be accompanied by an adult)
Pre-concert talk with Jonathan James
Lantern Hall, 18:10. Free with concert ticket. Unreserved seating (30 mins)
Performance times
Pre-concert talk: 18:10 – 18:40
Doors: 18:30
Start Time: 19:00
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Watch & listen on demand
This concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Sounds.
Orchestral Ticket Prices
There are five price bands for every concert in the 2026/27 orchestral season: Premium and Bands A – D
Within price bands A-C, there are two types of ticket: Standard and Open Concession.
If you are under 26, there is a fixed ticket price available on a limited number of seats for every concert.
Premium
Standard: £58.00
Open Concession: n/a
Band A
Standard: £50.00
Open Concession: £45.00
Band B
Standard: £37.00
Open Concession: £32.00
Band C
Standard: £26.00
Open Concession: £21.00
Band D
Standard: £16.00
Open Concession: n/a
U26
Standard: £10.00
Open Concession: n/a
Ticket Offers
Orchestral Season Multibuy offer
Orchestral Season Multibuy offer
Save up to 30% on tickets
Buy 3 concerts save 10%
Buy 4-8 concerts save 20%
Buy 9-11 concerts save 25%
Buy 12+ concerts save 30%
Applies to Standard Price tickets only. To qualify for the discount, tickets for the corresponding number of concerts must be purchased in one transaction.
Manchester Collective Series
Manchester Collective Series
Save 10% – Multibuy offer
We’ve teamed up with St George’s Bristol to offer a discount if you attend both Manchester Collective concerts in the Glass Reframed series.
Buy both concerts and save 10% off your order.
Group Booking
Group Booking
Bring your friends and save!
Book 10+ tickets for any one concert in the season and save 10%
Book 20+ tickets and save 20%
Contact box office for more info on group booking.
Applies to Standard Price tickets only. To qualify for the discount, tickets for the corresponding number of concerts must be purchased in one transaction. The discount will be applied at checkout after entering your customer details.
Only one multibuy offer can be used when purchasing tickets. If you would like to take advantage of both our Manchester Collective multibuy offer and our Season multibuy offer, the best offer for you will be automatically applied at the time of purchase.
Pre-concert Talks
with Jonathan James
Lantern Hall (30 mins, unless otherwise advertised)
Free with a concert ticket
Hosted by conductor, music educator, writer and presenter Jonathan James, pre-concert talks are a great way to take a deep dive into the season’s concerts.
With his breadth of expertise and bags of enthusiasm, Jonathan introduces the works being performed, interviews members of the orchestras and demystifies the creative process.
You will be asked to display your ticket to gain admission to the talk. Please check the event page for pre-concert talk start times and location.
About Beacon Hall
Our flagship venue at Bristol Beacon
Seating plans
Seating plans
Beacon Hall has three levels that can be used in a seated or standing format. View seating plans, auditorium entrances and exits and accessible viewing areas.
Venue information
Venue information
Take a closer look at our beautifully restored venue, see what’s on and view detailed information about the performance space.
The venue
Beacon Hall
at Bristol Beacon
Getting to the venue
Location: Beacon Hall is located within Bristol Beacon. Head to Level 1 and follow signs to find the auditorium.
Address: Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street, Bristol, BS1 5AR
Bicycle
Bicycle racks can be found in front of the main entrance on Trenchard Street, Colston Street, and on the city centre promenade. Find your nearest cycle routes using Cycle Planner.
Car parking
Trenchard Street multi-storey car park is 200m away, directly behind Bristol Beacon.
Bristol Clean Air Zone
Bristol Beacon is inside the Bristol Clean Air Zone. Check if your vehicle will be charged and how much you’ll have to pay.
Bus
Most bus services stop in and around the city centre promenade, 250m from Bristol Beacon.
Access
Mobility
Spaces for wheelchair users are in:
- row S in the centre of the rear Stalls (10 spaces)
- row Z in the left and right wings at the back of Lower Tier (4 spaces, 2 on each side),
- row Z on the right only at the back of Upper Tier (2 spaces)
Assistance Dogs
Assistance dogs and emotional support animals are allowed in the performance space. Seats in row F are most suitable. If you prefer, you can leave your animal with a member of staff during the performance.
Hearing Facility
A Sennheiser MobileConnect assistive listening system is installed in the venue. Download the free App and use your own mobile device and headphones to listen to the performance. (Devices are available on request.)
Eat & Drink
Eat & Drink
We’ve got plenty of places for you to relax and refill. From coffee and cake, to delicious sharing boards, to full menus.
More from 2026/27 Orchestral Season
2026/27 Orchestral Season
The joy of live music for everyone
19 dazzling concerts from iconic orchestras including our Orchestra in Residence, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. International ensembles from Strasbourg and Düsseldorf, plus ensembles from around the UK including Scottish Ensemble, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Paraorchestra, Sinfonia of London, Manchester Collective, London Symphony Orchestra and Ex Cathedra Choir & Baroque Orchestra.
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
with Mark Wigglesworth
Classical
Folk
Orchestral Season 2026/27
Scottish Ensemble and Brìghde Chaimbeul
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
London Symphony Orchestra
with Sir Antonio Pappano and Sheku Kanneh-Mason
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
with Mark Wigglesworth and Boris Giltburg
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
2027 New Year’s Viennese Gala
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
BBC Concert Orchestra: Friday Night is Music Night
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
Manchester Collective - Glass Reframed I
Classical
Orchestral Season 2026/27
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
with Aziz Shokhakimov and Maria Ioudenitch
Select a date
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19:00