The Exploring Classical Music Group has been running for many years. We meet online to explore music. That is to listen to and discuss classical (and not only classical!) music of a composer we have never heard before, an unknown piece of a well-known and loved composer, or a performance that is worth listening to. These days we enjoy the practically unlimited resources that are available on various websites. To join our group you do not have to play a musical instrument, be well-informed about music or read music. All you need is to like classical music and have the patience to listen to it for about 90 minutes.

In the best democratic tradition of U3A we take turns in presenting the music in our meetings. From time to time we have a Desert Island Disc meeting, usually dedicated to a specific topic: the members are asked to select an appropriate piece of music (up to 15 minutes long) that we then listen to in the meeting.

Before COVID-19 we met at member homes for a cup of coffee, a cookie or piece of a cake, and listened to classical music. Now we meet on Zoom. We have overcome the technical problems. For best results, you need an average-quality PC and a decent internet connection. However, a tablet or even a mobile phone can provide a reasonable quality of sound and picture.

For each meeting members receive the playlist with links to the compositions, so that they can listen to the music presented again at their leisure.