The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has announced an extension of its corporate partnership with Tilney Smith & Williamson which will see the wealth management and professional services firm continue to collaborate with the orchestra until May 2023.

Tilney Smith & Williamson was formed in September 2020 from the merger of Smith & Williamson and Tilney. Prior to the merger, Smith & Williamson was three years ago announced as Platinum Partner of the CBSO . It is a relationship that has helped the firm to strengthen its connections with the city and has been important in showing its commitment and growing presence in the region’s professional services and wealth management sectors. In 2018-19 it sponsored the UK premiere of Roxanna Panfunik’s major new work Faithful Journey – A Mass for Poland. The orchestra also worked with the firm on a branded social media campaign titled Ask a Musician which reached 82,000 people on CBSO channels.

In its expanded form as Tilney Smith & Williamson, the group will be exclusive Corporate Sponsor of the CBSO’s 2022 season finale concerts on 22 & 25 June at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall featuring performances of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with soprano Janai Brugger, mezzo soprano Karen Cargill and the CBSO Chorus conducted by CBSO Music Director Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (22 & 25 June). The concert on 25 June will also feature the CBSO Youth Chorus and Children's Chorus joining forces with the orchestra to give the world premiere of Roxanna Panufnik’s CBSO Centenary Commission Five Polish Folk Songs (25 June).

Stephen Maddock, Chief Executive of the CBSO said: “It’s fantastic when, as an arts organisation, you are fortunate enough to have business partners like Tilney Smith & Williamson with whom you have a genuine connection because of your shared values and goals. We are of course delighted that, following their successful merger, they’ve chosen to continue their partnership with the CBSO at a time when support from the business community has never been so vital.”

Stephen Drew, Professional Services Regional Managing Partner, Tilney Smith & Williamson said, “It was extremely important to us to continue to work with the CBSO as a platinum sponsor. Our rapidly growing team here in Birmingham have enjoyed a wide range of concerts and events with clients and we all feel a great sense of pride in the CBSO and its rich heritage. We are delighted that we can play our part and we are looking forward to attending concerts and events again, as we continue to build on our great partnership alongside our new colleagues from the Tilney business.”