Thursday 25 June 2026, 9pm

Hepworth Lawn, Snape Maltings, Snape, Suffolk, IP17 1SP

Tickets: Free; no need to book

Mesmeric sounds behind the Concert Hall at twilight: prepare to be enthralled by guitarist Sean Shibe, one of the most visionary and creative musicians working today.

This recital channels the divine, and the dark. Shibe’s characteristic eclecticism embraces pieces from centuries and continents apart, yet which share the ability to stir the soul. A guitar arrangement of Messiaen’s choral piece O sacrum convivium preserves the original’s contemplative atmosphere, but also sounds like slow jazz. Julia Wolfe’s Lad, written for the immense wall of sound made by nine bagpipes, is reimagined in epic style for guitar and backing track. As Shibe puts it “there’s something really destructive and terrible about it, but it also has a redemptive element too”.

At the more peaceful end of the scale, an arrangement of Hildegard’s O Coruscans lux stellarum is suitably sparkling, while Meredith Monk’s Nightfall finds bliss in meditative stillness. In between is Steve Reich’s seductively rhythmic Electric Counterpoint. Finally, Eastman’s Buddha pulses and swells according the player’s will. 

Sean Shibe guitar

Messiaen: O sacrum convivium (4’)
Julia Wolfe: LAD (17’)
Hildegard: O Coruscans lux stellarum (5’)
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint (15’)
Meredith Monk: Nightfall (10’)
Eastman: Buddha (5’)

Main image: The Family of Man (1970) © Barbara Hepworth

General booking opens Saturday 31 January at 10am.

Advance booking for members begins from Thursday 8 January – view our full schedule of priority booking dates.

Find out how becoming a member both supports our work and enables you to enjoy priority booking.