Glasgow Cathedral Festival’s 10th year runs 17–20 September
Glasgow Cathedral Festival returns to Glasgow Cathedral from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 September 2026, opening with an 8pm performance. Booking is open, ticket prices vary by event and most of the anniversary talks are free.
Held at Glasgow Cathedral, Castle Street, Glasgow G4 0QZ, the four-day festival is aimed at the general public. Its programme combines live music, art, silent cinema and talks under the theme “Rooted in Discovery”, with performances developed around the architecture, history and acoustics of the city’s oldest building.
Creative Scotland News published the 10th-anniversary programme on 14 August. The festival is operated by the charitable, non-religious Society of Friends of Glasgow Cathedral.
Six performances across four September evenings
| Date and time | Event |
|---|---|
| Thursday 17 September, 8pm | Echoes in Stone and Brass |
| Friday 18 September, 5.30pm and 9pm | Lullaby—Sonic Cradle |
| Friday 18 September, 7pm | Bach and Blood |
| Saturday 19 September, 8pm | The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
| Sunday 20 September, 5pm | Eternal Song |
| Sunday 20 September, 7.30pm | Ellen Arkbro: Sculptures |
The opening commission, Echoes in Stone and Brass, places RSNO Principal Trombone Dávur Juul Magnussen alongside the Choir of Glasgow Cathedral and brass players from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Inspired by improvised brass traditions from the Faroe Islands, the promenade performance traces Glasgow from the buried Molendinar Burn and its industrial past towards an imagined future.
Friday begins with Lullaby—Sonic Cradle, an installation-performance by Supriya Nagarajan and Duncan Chapman. Audience contributions of lullabies, songs and family memories become part of a soundscape combining South Indian Carnatic music, electronics and environmental sound.
Later that evening, Scottish Ensemble and singers from the National Youth Choir of Scotland present Bach and Blood. The programme includes J.S. Bach’s Chaconne, Arvo Pärt’s Greater Antiphons and David Fennessy’s Blood, which brings ancient chants together with strings.
Silent cinema meets the cathedral’s historic organ
Saturday’s performance pairs the 1923 silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame with a live, improvised soundtrack by organist Richard Hills. He will perform on Glasgow Cathedral’s 147-year-old pipe organ, connecting the film’s Gothic setting with the building in which it is being screened.
Sunday shifts towards slower, contemplative work. Soprano Rose Stachniewska and pianist Dylan Perez curate Eternal Song, spanning music by Bach, Olivier Messiaen and Josephine Foster. The festival then closes with Sculptures, a rare Scottish appearance by Swedish composer Ellen Arkbro featuring gradually evolving organ harmonies.
Ten anniversary talks explore Glasgow’s past and communities
The performance programme is accompanied by 10 Talks for 10 Years, produced with Glasgow Life, Historic Environment Scotland, St Mungo Museum and Soul Food Sisters. The informal sessions cover conservation, local history, food, culture and community, and most are free to attend.
Details of individual talks and tours are being released through the festival programme. They extend the anniversary beyond concerts by examining how Glasgow Cathedral relates to the city around it.
Booking, prices and accessibility arrangements
Booking is already open, although individual ticket prices vary between events. The festival offers reduced-price wheelchair seating with a free companion ticket, while BSL interpretation and a programme-reading service can be requested.
All performances are described by the organiser as accessible. Additional arrangements for talks and tours will be made wherever possible, so visitors with specific requirements should raise them when arranging attendance. The next practical update will be the release of further details for the 10 Talks for 10 Years programme.
Source: Creative Scotland News
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The dates, venue, schedule, booking status and accessibility details were checked against the published festival announcement.
- Confirmed the festival runs from 17 to 20 September 2026 at Glasgow Cathedral.
- Matched the six listed performances with their published dates and times.
- Checked that booking is open and that most anniversary talks are free.
- Reviewed the stated wheelchair seating, companion ticket, BSL and programme-reading arrang...
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- 2026-08-14 19:15
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