Apollo’s Jukebox

In 1672, violinist John Banister kicked off a real revolution by inviting paying guests into his own home, offering a simple but radical deal: you choose the music, we play it. For a shilling, the audience picked the programme. This was the birth of a new, democratic way of experiencing music – direct, personal, and connected. The idea caught on fast, shifting music from palace halls to pubs and city streets. This programme picks up that spirit today: with a musical menu in one hand and a shilling in the other, expect rowdy street songs, lively dances, moving arias, and gossip fresh from Georgian London’s tabloids. It’s about good music, great stories, and the audience calls the shots

The finer details…

‘Behind the Music’ FREE pre-concert talk: 6.45pm

Interval: 20 mins

Estimated finish: 9.30pm

Tickets
Front Nave: £28 full price | £3 child/student
Middle Nave: £18 full price | £9 under-35s | £3 child/student
Sides: £13 full price | £3 child/student

Tickets and Info

A birthday party for the king - Music at the court of Frederick the Great 

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion. Works by Germany's most gifted composers are being performed and didn’t the late Johann Sebastian Bach once consecrate a "musical offering" to the king, in which he transformed a theme given to him by Frederick to all the rules of his art? With Georg Philipp Telemann, the flair of the big wide world comes from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. But music isn't everything: there's dancing, laughing and playing, as befits a royal party. And Frederick's revered flute master and musical father figure Johann Joachim Quantz leads the celebrations as maître de plaisir.

More info: https://www.favershammusicclub.co.uk/events/

A birthday party for the king - Music at the court of Frederick the Great 

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion. Works by Germany's most gifted composers are being performed and didn’t the late Johann Sebastian Bach once consecrate a "musical offering" to the king, in which he transformed a theme given to him by Frederick to all the rules of his art? With Georg Philipp Telemann, the flair of the big wide world comes from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. But music isn't everything: there's dancing, laughing and playing, as befits a royal party. And Frederick's revered flute master and musical father figure Johann Joachim Quantz leads the celebrations as maître de plaisir.

More info: https://www.keele.ac.uk/about/events/2026/january/apolloscabinet/apollos-cabinet-1.php

A birthday party for the king

Berlin, 1758. It’s Frederick the Great’s birthday party, and Germany’s most gifted composers perform their latest works (some specially composed for the occasion), with musicians from Frederick’s court orchestra. The celebration concert is presided over by court composer and Master of Ceremonies, Johann Joachim Quantz.

Join Apollo’s Cabinet as they recreate this sparkling evening of music, dancing, laughter and games, as befits a celebration for a King.

Apollo’s Cabinet Jukebox Menu – Christmas Edition

Following their prize-winning successes over the past year, and the launch of their debut album, Apollo’s Cabinet returns to the NCEM stage for what promises to be an evening of pure entertainment and joy.

Forget stuffy concerts with velvet seats and polite applause. Apollo’s Jukebox takes you back to the 18th-century music rooms where tunes weren’t just played — they were ordered.

Back then, there was no unlimited streaming or public concert halls where anyone could pick what they wanted to hear. In the early 1700s Paris, Vienna, or Rome, unless you were royalty or a wealthy patron, new music was pretty much off limits. The idea that anyone, no matter their background, could choose the music was revolutionary — and it all started in Britain.

Forget concert formality — it’s about good music, great stories, and a proper pint. A musical menu of Baroque delights, bawdy ballads, toe-tapping dances & streetwise scandals

And the best part? The audience call the shots.

more info soon!

more info soon!

A celebration for Frederik
This young top talent from the United Kingdom won the jury prize of the International Van Wassenaer Competition during the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024. They are celebrating with King Frederick II of Prussia, who received a unique musical birthday present from his court musicians in 1758: a princely playlist with works by Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz. And of course with music by Johann Sebastian Bach, who gave the monarch a piece of music history with Das Musikalische Opfer.

Tickets here

A celebration for Frederik
This young top talent from the United Kingdom won the jury prize of the International Van Wassenaer Competition during the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024. They are celebrating with King Frederick II of Prussia, who received a unique musical birthday present from his court musicians in 1758: a princely playlist with works by Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz. And of course with music by Johann Sebastian Bach, who gave the monarch a piece of music history with Das Musikalische Opfer.

Tickets here

A celebration for Frederik
This young top talent from the United Kingdom won the jury prize of the International Van Wassenaer Competition during the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024. They are celebrating with King Frederick II of Prussia, who received a unique musical birthday present from his court musicians in 1758: a princely playlist with works by Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz. And of course with music by Johann Sebastian Bach, who gave the monarch a piece of music history with Das Musikalische Opfer.

Tickets here

A celebration for Frederik
This young top talent from the United Kingdom won the jury prize of the International Van Wassenaer Competition during the Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht 2024. They are celebrating with King Frederick II of Prussia, who received a unique musical birthday present from his court musicians in 1758: a princely playlist with works by Graun, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Joachim Quantz. And of course with music by Johann Sebastian Bach, who gave the monarch a piece of music history with Das Musikalische Opfer.

Tickets here

The Elements is an immersive concert experience reflecting the wonder of our planet – and the accelerating threat it faces. Music from French opera forms the foundation of four elemental suites. Interwoven with narration and evocative video projections, the performance captures the splendour, beauty, ferocity and destruction of the planet we live on.

Apollo’s Cabinet is an award-winning ensemble known for their imaginative and theatrical approach to early music to create powerful concert experiences. The Elements reflects the group’s passion to using early music to speak to contemporary issues. Centered around Baroque depictions of the natural world, including dramatic portrayals of the elements by Jean-Féry Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches and Michel Richard Delalande, the programme captures both the awe-inspiring beauty and the destructive power of nature. What drew the ensemble to this repertoire was its startling relevance: music that once expressed wonder and awe still resonates in this time of environmental crisis. By incorporating narration, videography and a new commission by Orlando Gough, Elements offers an immersive and urgent reflection on our relationship with nature and what we do to protect it.

Tickets

Generously supported by Kirckman Concert Society and Continuo Foundation. Thank you!

The Elements is an immersive concert experience reflecting the wonder of our planet – and the accelerating threat it faces. Music from French opera forms the foundation of four elemental suites. Interwoven with narration and evocative video projections, the performance captures the splendour, beauty, ferocity and destruction of the planet we live on.

Apollo’s Cabinet is an award-winning ensemble known for their imaginative and theatrical approach to early music to create powerful concert experiences. The Elements reflects the group’s passion to using early music to speak to contemporary issues. Centered around Baroque depictions of the natural world, including dramatic portrayals of the elements by Jean-Féry Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches and Michel Richard Delalande, the programme captures both the awe-inspiring beauty and the destructive power of nature. What drew the ensemble to this repertoire was its startling relevance: music that once expressed wonder and awe still resonates in this time of environmental crisis. By incorporating narration, videography and a new commission by Orlando Gough, Elements offers an immersive and urgent reflection on our relationship with nature and what we do to protect it.

Tickets

Generously supported by Kirckman Concert Society and Continuo Foundation. Thank you!

The Elements is an immersive concert experience reflecting the wonder of our planet – and the accelerating threat it faces. Music from French opera forms the foundation of four elemental suites. Interwoven with narration and evocative video projections, the performance captures the splendour, beauty, ferocity and destruction of the planet we live on.

Apollo’s Cabinet is an award-winning ensemble known for their imaginative and theatrical approach to early music to create powerful concert experiences. The Elements reflects the group’s passion to using early music to speak to contemporary issues. Centered around Baroque depictions of the natural world, including dramatic portrayals of the elements by Jean-Féry Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches and Michel Richard Delalande, the programme captures both the awe-inspiring beauty and the destructive power of nature. What drew the ensemble to this repertoire was its startling relevance: music that once expressed wonder and awe still resonates in this time of environmental crisis. By incorporating narration, videography and a new commission by Orlando Gough, Elements offers an immersive and urgent reflection on our relationship with nature and what we do to protect it.

Tickets

Generously supported by Kirckman Concert Society and Continuo Foundation. Thank you!

more info soon. https://festribalt.com

Hoch soll er leben! König Friedrichs Geburtstagsfeier
Musikalische Krimis, Trinklieder, barocke Partyspiele, singende Instrumentalist*innen, heitere Polyphonie und Rituale bei Kerzenschein: Apollo’s Cabinet ist kein gewöhnliches Barockensemble und seine Programme gehen weit über das historisch informierte Spiel hinaus. Die Musiker*innen, die sich 2018 an der Guildhall School of Music in London zusammenfanden, möchten Alte Musik jedem zugänglich machen und interaktiver gestalten. Gesagt, getan: In seinen Konzerten begeistert Apollo’s Cabinet nicht nur mit erstklassigen, profunden Barockinterpretationen, sondern verbindet diese mit Texten, Schauspiel, Tanz, Gesang und szenischem Augenzwinkern. Mit originellen Twists, einem unvergleichlichen Drive und garantiert ohne Staub und Langeweile nimmt Apollo’s Cabinet das Bad Imnauer Publikum mit auf eine Reise ins 18. Jahrhundert zur Geburtstagsfeier von König Friedrich dem Großen. Verwoben mit Anekdoten, Ständchen und interaktiven Partyspielen verspricht der Konzertabend ein unvergesslicher zu werden.

Tickets

Award-winning group Apollo’s Cabinet showcase music from the Baroque period, deconstructing it and reassembling it with other works to create something new, contrasting Handel, Bach and Telemann with songwriters like Carole King and Paul Simon. Watch this exciting group in action here. 

Tickets £20 (£17 concessions) from www.trybooking.com/uk/FDNU or £25 (£22) on the door

Heard it through the grapevine
Do you like fine wine? If so, you’re in good company. Baroque superstar Johann Sebastian Bach once asked to be paid in barrels of wine, Georg Frideric Handel owned his own vineyard and Henry Purcell was so fond of the beverage, he created a whole collection of tunes dedicated to the sweet drink.

Heard it through the grapevine explores these connections and offers a unique concert experience, by pairing exciting wines with relevant Baroque music all performed by the brilliant Apollo’s Cabinet, 2024 ROSL Annual Music Competition Mixed Ensemble Winners.

ROSL Members £25| General Admission £32

Tickets: https://rosl.org.uk/product/heard-it-through-the-grapevine-with-apollos-cabinet/

A birthday party for the king - Music at the court of Frederick the Great 

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion. Works by Germany's most gifted composers are being performed and didn’t the late Johann Sebastian Bach once consecrate a "musical offering" to the king, in which he transformed a theme given to him by Frederick to all the rules of his art? With Georg Philipp Telemann, the flair of the big wide world comes from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. But music isn't everything: there's dancing, laughing and playing, as befits a royal party. And Frederick's revered flute master and musical father figure Johann Joachim Quantz leads the celebrations as maître de plaisir.

A birthday party for the king - Music at the court of Frederick the Great 

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion. Works by Germany's most gifted composers are being performed and didn’t the late Johann Sebastian Bach once consecrate a "musical offering" to the king, in which he transformed a theme given to him by Frederick to all the rules of his art? With Georg Philipp Telemann, the flair of the big wide world comes from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. But music isn't everything: there's dancing, laughing and playing, as befits a royal party. And Frederick's revered flute master and musical father figure Johann Joachim Quantz leads the celebrations as maître de plaisir.

A birthday party for the king - Music at the court of Frederick the Great 

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion. Works by Germany's most gifted composers are being performed and didn’t the late Johann Sebastian Bach once consecrate a "musical offering" to the king, in which he transformed a theme given to him by Frederick to all the rules of his art? With Georg Philipp Telemann, the flair of the big wide world comes from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. But music isn't everything: there's dancing, laughing and playing, as befits a royal party. And Frederick's revered flute master and musical father figure Johann Joachim Quantz leads the celebrations as maître de plaisir.

A birthday party for the king - Music at the court of Frederick the Great 

On January 24, 1758, Frederick II celebrated his 46th birthday – and we are joining!

Musicians from the Royal Court Orchestra perform, and of course Johann Gottlieb Graun, who played music with Frederick when he was still crown prince, is concertmaster for the special occasion. Works by Germany's most gifted composers are being performed and didn’t the late Johann Sebastian Bach once consecrate a "musical offering" to the king, in which he transformed a theme given to him by Frederick to all the rules of his art? With Georg Philipp Telemann, the flair of the big wide world comes from the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. But music isn't everything: there's dancing, laughing and playing, as befits a royal party. And Frederick's revered flute master and musical father figure Johann Joachim Quantz leads the celebrations as maître de plaisir.

Music at the court of Fredrick the Great

On 24 January 1758, Frederick the Second celebrated his 46th birthday – and we’re there! Johann Joachim Quantz leads through the celebrations as master of ceremonies and musicians from Frederick’s court orchestra, as well as Germany’s most gifted composers, perform. But music is not everything: there is dancing, laughter and games, as befits a celebration for a king.

More info soon

Travels with Burney - A Baroque musical voyage

This programme is a Baroque musical voyage following Burney on his journey: a kaleidoscope of European Baroque music with compositions from each of the countries he visited, interspersed with readings of his original 18th century diary entries. The programme includes seldomly heard pieces by Austrian composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Czech composer Frantisek Tuma, a new arrangement of the folk song "Kraut und Rüben" based on Dietrich Buxtehude's "La Capricciosa" and Bach’s Goldberg variation “Quodlibet”, music from one of Georg Philipp Telemann’s operas (yes, Telemann also wrote opera!) and a Cantata written by Charles Burney himself called "The despairing shepherd".

The Comic Muse: The Theatrical World of Kitty Clive

Tickets and Info: https://lichfieldfestival.org/event/apollos-cabinet-the-comic-muse/

The Comic Muse: The Theatrical World of Kitty Clive

Apollo's Cabinet will mark the release of their new recording all about 18th century soprano Kitty Clive - a real celebrity of her time, but then defamed by male colleagues and long forgotten by historians - with a concert tour across the south of England and Cornwall. The programme will be semi-staged and features lots of English theatre music of the time as well as some of the arias she would have performed.

Music at the court of Fredrick the Great

On 24 January 1758, Frederick the Second celebrated his 46th birthday – and we’re there! Johann Joachim Quantz leads through the celebrations as master of ceremonies and musicians from Frederick’s court orchestra, as well as Germany’s most gifted composers, perform. But music is not everything: there is dancing, laughter and games, as befits a celebration for a king.

Travels with Burney - A Baroque musical voyage

This programme is a Baroque musical voyage following Burney on his journey: a kaleidoscope of European Baroque music with compositions from each of the countries he visited, interspersed with readings of his original 18th century diary entries. The programme includes seldomly heard pieces by Austrian composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Czech composer Frantisek Tuma, a new arrangement of the folk song "Kraut und Rüben" based on Dietrich Buxtehude's "La Capricciosa" and Bach’s Goldberg variation “Quodlibet”, music from one of Georg Philipp Telemann’s operas (yes, Telemann also wrote opera!) and a Cantata written by Charles Burney himself called "The despairing shepherd".