Spitalfields Music Summer Festival

Hawksmoor's glorious Christ Church in Spitalfields and an array of other local venues combine to host a fortnight's worth of classical music for Spitalfields Music Summer Festival in June. Music by old and new contemporaries - from Monteverdi to Xenakis, Allegri to Clementi - spills into churches, galleries, streets, houses and markets in the heart of the East End for this annual event. Highlights include Harry Christophers and The Sixteen, the UK premiere of James MacMillan's Miserere, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group in David Sawer's acclaimed Rumplestiltskin, profiles on Aldo Clementi and Chris Newman, and a selection of Renaissance and Baroque music. Alongside the delightful 1729 Christ Church (pictured), the festival stages events in venues including the Whitechapel Gallery, 18th Century Fournier Street, Old Spitalfields Market, Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the Palladian-style Shoreditch Church, the century-old bandstand at Arnold Circus and new arts spaces, The Rag Factory and Village Underground. Alongside the musical backdrop, the festival is also a celebration of one of London's best-loved neighbourhoods, offering the chance to explore Spitalfields' historic houses, its vibrant market, galleries and open spaces. In addition, the festival showcases the talents of young ensembles, bands and soloists in two special platform concerts, and a popular walk series returns with downloadable walking tours of the area, and a Magical History guided coach tour. For more information and to book tickets online go to www.spitalfieldsmusic.org.uk.