The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in Concert has confirmed the full line-up of conductors, choirs and vocal soloists for its 25th anniversary UK and Ireland arena tour, which opens in Dublin next month.
Peter Jackson’s 2001 film will play on a 60ft HD screen while Howard Shore’s Oscar winning score is performed live to picture. The production fields 239 musicians and singers, and is being billed as one of the largest film in concert shows ever staged in the UK and Ireland.
Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham will host the production for the first time. The London dates at The O2 will be the biggest UK staging of The Fellowship of the Ring in Concert to date, with each city using its own leading orchestral forces and major choral groups.
The tour runs from Sunday 11 October to Saturday 19 December 2026, with matinee and evening performances in every city. Tickets are on sale now, with more information at lordoftheringsinconcert.com.
Ludwig Wicki, who conducted the world’s first Lord of the Rings live concert performance in 2008, will lead the Dublin and London shows. Ben Phelps conducts in Glasgow, with Shih-Hung Young on the podium in Manchester and Birmingham. Vocal soloists Grace Davidson, Kaitlyn Lusk and Eleanor Grant complete the line-up.
Dublin pairs the Irish Philharmonic Concert Orchestra with Dun Laoghaire Choral Society and the Irish Institute of Music and Song Children’s Choir, with Davidson as soloist. London brings the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra together with Crouch End Festival Chorus and Trinity Boys Choir, and Kaitlyn Lusk as soloist.
Glasgow features the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the RSNO Chorus and RSNO Youth Chorus, again with Lusk. Manchester’s Hallé Orchestra and Birmingham’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra both appear with Trinity Boys Choir, with Eleanor Grant as soloist.
Shore’s score is widely treated as one of the defining achievements in film music. It has topped Classic FM’s Movie Music Hall of Fame for three consecutive years.
The film follows Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), enlisted by Gandalf (Ian McKellen) on a quest to keep the One Ring from the forces of darkness. Since its release in 2001, The Fellowship of the Ring has remained one of the most influential blockbuster films ever made, feeding fan culture, New Zealand screen tourism, The Hobbit films and further cinematic stories already in development.
A quarter of a century on, the arena tour is being framed as a chance to relive that first communal cinema moment, from the Shire to the depths of Moria, with a full orchestra and chorus accompanying every step.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in Concert dates
(matinee and evening shows on all dates)
Sunday 11 October, Dublin 3Arena
Conductor: Ludwig Wicki
Soloist: Grace Davidson
Irish Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Dun Laoghaire Choral Society, Irish Institute of Music and Song Children’s Choir
Sunday 29 November, London The O2
Conductor: Ludwig Wicki
Soloist: Kaitlyn Lusk
Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Crouch End Festival Chorus, Trinity Boys Choir
Sunday 6 December, Glasgow OVO Hydro
Conductor: Ben Phelps
Soloist: Kaitlyn Lusk
Royal Scottish National Orchestra, RSNO Chorus and RSNO Youth Chorus
Saturday 12 December, Manchester Co-op Live
Conductor: Shih-Hung Young
Soloist: Eleanor Grant
Hallé Orchestra, Trinity Boys Choir
Saturday 19 December, Birmingham bp pulse LIVE
Conductor: Shih-Hung Young
Soloist: Eleanor Grant
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Trinity Boys Choir
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