San Francisco Opera announce their 26/27 season…

February 3, 2026

San Francisco Opera recently announced their program for season 2026-27, featuring a new production of Thea’s modern classic Mary, Queen of Scots among several staple works from Tosca and The Marriage of Figaro to Das Rheingold which features as a warm up ahead of the company’s planned performance of Wagner’s full Ring Cycle in 2028. Mary, Queen of Scots will take the stage from Sept. 20–Oct. 4, 2026, conducted by Clelia Cafiero and featuring soprano Heidi Stober, who also starred as the tragic royal figure in the English National Opera’s 2024 production.

Shortly after its composition, Mary, Queen of Scots made its West Coast premiere with San Francisco Opera affiliate Spring Opera Theater, marking the first time the company presented a work by a female composer. Returning now in an updated production, SF Opera’s general director Matthew Shilvock says of the work:

“It is also an extraordinary privilege to present Thea Musgrave’s Mary, Queen of Scots on our mainstage. When I saw this work in London last year, I was awed by the power of Thea’s dramatic writing. She brings the Tudor queen into vivid relief, revealing both the fierce determination and the profound vulnerability of an 18-year-old woman fighting to retain her agency against overwhelming odds.”

“This production updates the action from the Tudor period to contemporary Scotland, in which we feel the tension of sectarian violence playing out in a regular town," Shilvock said. “We are reminded of how sectarian violence can rip apart neighbors, families, communities — and we see Mary’s heroic struggle to hold onto her power amidst the fight for power, faith and identity.”

Discover the full season announcement here.

Phoenix Rising Received warmly in London and Bristol

December 16, 2025

Last week the LSO and Maestro Antonio Pappano performed Thea’s 1997 work Phoenix Rising in London and Bristol in performances which have gone down a treat with the UK audiences. Get a snapshot of the performances and a summary of reviews we’ve spotted here!

In a little over 20 minutes it enacts a journey from darkness to light, from turbulence to peace: the disruptive timpanist (shades of Nielsen’s Fourth) and four percussionists batter away at drums of various sizes, transferring – as the phoenix rose – to mostly tuned percussion and sounds of the utmost delicacy. There was a theatrical element, decorous rather than dramatic: the hero (the principal horn) began offstage, while the villain (the timpanist) ruled the roost; when the horn appeared on the stage the rest of his section stood (a briefly Mahlerian moment); and as he joined them the timpanist retreated offstage the other side of the platform, his distant drums reduced to a desultory muttering.

Musgrave’s music is never less than interesting, and often compelling, as it moves from jarring dissonance via romantic intensity to shimmering calm. It is skilfully written – even in the loudest passages we could always hear what the strings were doing – and there were telling solos for flute and piccolo, cor anglais and contrabassoon, violin and cello. Timpanist, percussionists and solo horn – virtuosos all – richly deserved their ovations.

Chris Kettle - Seen and Heard International
15/12/2025

A 23-minute rollercoaster, it pits a blackguardly timpanist and his stick-wielding allies against a devil-may-care hornist and his brassy backup band…
…Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra gave it a thorough workout with marimba, vibraphone, glockenspiel, xylophone and tubular bells creating a magical aura. The musicians certainly revelled in its prickly harmonies, though the theatrical elements might have been pushed further.

Clive Paget - The Guardian
13/12/2025

Phoenix Rising is one of Thea Musgrave’s most electrifying and adventurous scores, blazing an incandescent trail at the start of this concert of British music.

The Hackney Gazette

Musgrave to feature at RNCM International Brass Band Festival

December 1, 2025

The 2026 International Brass Band Festival hosted by the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester features an exhilarating line up of bands and composers including Thea’s wonderful Variations. Taking place on the weekend of the 23-25th January 2026, the festival features a great array of elite performers including the recently crowned Danish National Champion, Concord Brass Band directed by Stig Maersk, as well as Black Dyke (Prof. Nicholas Childs), Brighouse & Rastrick (Dr David Thornton), Cory (Philip Harper), Foden’s (Michael Fowles) and Tredegar Town (Ian Porthouse) alongside the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band (Richard Marshall), the RNCM Brass Band (Katrina Marzella-Wheeler) and RNCM Junior Brass Band (Mark Bousie).
This year’s festival pays homage to composer Philip Sparke in celebration of his 75th birthday, as well as featuring many top composers in the Brass Band sphere. Thea is programmed alongside Richard Blackford, Dame Errollyn Wallen, Philip Wilby and many more.

Variations was Thea’s first work for Brass Band, originally written as a result of a commission from the Scottish Amateur Music Society. It was written for the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland who gave the first performance in Scotland in 1966.

“The composer was intrigued by the unusual colouring which the brass tones offered, and in her Variations for Brass Band she uses the brilliant possibilities of these to full advantage, achieving fascinating effects. The work is based on an original theme, on which there are five variations.”

Black Dyke Band perform Variations on Saturday 24th January at 7.30pm in the RNCM Concert Hall. Get your tickets here or find out more about the festival here.