The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is one of the world’s most respected orchestras. We caught up with its CEO Emma Stenning, who made the move from Toronto in 2023, to chat about plans for the orchestra as well as some of her favourite and not-so-favourite bits of Brum

Emma came to the CBSO from Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre where she landed after spending a decade as chief executive of the historic Bristol Old Vic. She was also head of theatre at Arts Council England and cultural programme advisor at the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games as well as executive director of Battersea Arts Centre among other roles.  Now she has bold ambitions for the CBSO.

She says her vision is to connect with people who live here: “Classical repertoire will always be at the heart of what we do, however today’s Birmingham is immensely multicultural and young. We need to be bold enough to explore what to become. We need to be adventurous and brave enough to find something distinctive and step into new kinds of music.”

In April, the orchestra is putting on a concert in partnership with Punch Records titled Legacy which is surely the CBSO’s first foray into grime. Emma adds: “The musicians love the breadth. They’ll be playing Beethoven No9 at Symphony Hall one day and film music for a Halloween event the next.”

NUTS BUT FUN

Last summer the orchestra brought musical magic to the city by popping up and performing 27 free concerts in places like Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the library and New Street station among others. Emma says: “It was sort of nuts but the best fun ever. I would arrive at the office and it was like mission control. A string quartet would be off to play in a café, brass in the park. It was magic.”

Emma describes her role as CEO as a curious one. She says: “Internally my job is to care for the company. Do we have enough money and resources? There’s a strategic side too, so what we play and where as well as pushing us to think about the future.” She adds: “Externally, I represent the company and talk to partners and collaborate with cultural colleagues such as the ballet and internationally, represent the CBSO on the world stage. We’re in Europe in May, Japan in July. We take the city’s name with us.”

COMPLETELY MAGICAL

Just as Emma joined the orchestra, so did chief conductor and artistic advisor Kazuki Yamada who she works closely with and describes as ‘completely magical’ and who shares her love for the CBSO. Kazuki says: “It is a great orchestra with a very special connection, almost like telepathy. They have the ability to know in advance everything I want them to do. For me, it’s exciting just to think about how much fun it is to make music with them.”

Emma’s first impressions of Birmingham were positive. “I love being in the city. There’s a vibrancy and a happiness and so many different cultures. I found it welcoming.” Emma’s top foodie haunt is the unassuming Indian Racer. She says: “It’s my favourite restaurant. I take everyone. It’s in the back of a pub and such an improbable looking place. You go through a curtain and there it is. I absolutely love it.” The only issue with the city for Emma, and one we agree with, is the public transport provisions after dark. She says: “Public transport needs improving to stop the 9.30pm transit out of the city. It’s terrible for the night time economy. The mayor could sort it.”

VIOLIN BY ZOOM

It’ll surprise you to learn that Emma isn’t very musical but thought she’d have a stab at the violin during lockdown. She says: “I made various attempts as a child. I reached grade 2 on the piano. I spent my time dancing – ballet and tap.” She adds: “During lockdown in Toronto an oddly shaped package arrived from a friend which turned out to be a violin. I started a weekly Zoom class – poor neighbours! I got to a point where I could play Amazing Grace. It was really enjoyable.”

Emma headed up the Soulpepper Theatre throughout the pandemic so worked a lot from the kitchen table. A salary subsidy scheme kept the theatre’s staff employed. She says: “It was the opposite of the furlough scheme. Here people were paid not to work and in Canada the salary subsidy paid people to stay employed. We did all sorts – radio plays, sorting out the archive, sign language lessons.”

Emma says Birmingham is like Toronto in some ways, but she’s not looking back. She’s looking ahead to a packed programme for the rest of 2025 and ensuring that the CBSO continues to thrive. She says: “It has an incredible history, and I feel a profound responsibility.”