In video: Summer Festival 2012 Highlights

So unfortunately Summer seems to be fast-fading… Three-and-a-half days left of the Paralympics, children back to school soon, and it seems to be dark by 9.00pm.

However, we’ve just put the finishing touches on a 2 minute round-up of this year’s Summer Festival, giving you a flavour of what we got up to during 16 crazy days in June. Press play below to find out more (and to enjoy snippets of footage from The Opera Group, Gabrieli Consort & Players, Matthew Barley, La Nuova Musica & Vignette Productions, Alan Gilbey and more)

(And if that’s whet your appetite, we’ll being announcing full programme details for our Winter Festival 2012 on Monday 10 September, with booking opening on Monday 24 September at 10.00am)

Spitalfields Speaks with Inspiration

Hopefully many of you will be familiar with our ongoing audio exploration project inspired and generated from the local area, Spitalfields Speaks. (If you aren’t, you can find more information here on the blog, and also on our website.)

Toynbee Hall’s Inspire group (image by Joanna Moore)

This year’s incarnation saw three dynamic individuals take us on journeys around their own lives, working with Duncan Chapman. The fourth journey asked for members of the public to contribute their own sound suggestions alongside sounds gathered by young people from Toynbee Hall’s Inspire group at our Midsummer Street Party on Saturday 23 June. At the end of the day, these sounds were gathered together and transformed into a final collective journey in a live mixing session at the Water Poet’s Underground Cinema.

You can hear the outcome below and find further details about the project (including the other three journeys) on the Spitalfields Speaks page on our website.

Phoenix Memories

You may remember reading Rus Pearson’s blog (and if not you can here!) about working with pupils at Phoenix School earlier this year. With the project over and the performance done, Programme Manager Cathy Birch went back to school to talk over their memories and experiences – a visit from which has emerged this audio blog.

In it you’ll hear comments from students, workshop leaders & audience members; all accompanied by a piece Rus put together from recordings of our sessions.

Midsummer Street Party – the main stage

A riotous collection of artists representing the variety of colourful cultures in and around the Spitalfields area will be gearing up to take to the main stage at our Midsummer Street Party.

The performances kick off with a veritable gaggle of schoolchildren from local schools showcasing their singing talents. Next up brass group is the Gold Digger’s Brass Band who’s musical arrangements are completely original and not necessarily of tunes you would expect a brass band to play. The band draws its influence from legendary pop and soul artists such as Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson, performing in the style of some of today’s outstanding ‘second line’ and ‘street’ brass bands such as Youngblood Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band and The Hackney Colliery Band. Expect quirky pop and funk covers with a New Orleans infused brass band twist!

She’Koyokh then takes to the stage in a stampede of sound – hailed as “Britain’s best klezmer and Balkan music band” (Songlines) and winners of the Netherlands’ International Jewish Music Festival competition, the band’s evolution spans the humble origins of busking at East London’s Columbia Road flower market to performing in the famous concert halls of Europe. She’Koyokh is a Yiddish expression meaning “nice one!”

Spitalfields Music’s very own vocal group Spitalfields Singers will sing highlights from their repertoire – a busy day for them as you will also be able to see them perform later in the evening in our final event in Bishop’s Square. A huge event aptly named Fire involving 150 singers, fire artists and a new work by David Bruce – definitely an unusual spectacle not to be missed!

Just as you think you should be winding down Rhythms of the City blaze onto the stage in a riotous explosion of sound and energy. One of the UK’s premier samba percussion squads the group perform not only authentic carnival samba, but many other funky styles (salsa, soca, reggae, funk, hiphop…) with the same passion and energy. Rhythms of the City is the beating heart of London’s multi-award winning jazz community the F-IRE Collective. Drummers, singers, dancers, horns and guitars combine in a unique spectacle to get you up and moving!

Our final event of the day is Street Dance the Maypole, produced by East London Dance. It’s a swirling, twirling, funky maypole fusion – you’ll be able to learn a funky street dance routine, mix it with folkie maypole moves all to the sound of an English bagpipe player and a beatboxer. Sound intriguing? We look forward to seeing your fancy footwork!

Kate Kelly
Programme Director: Festivals 

A ‘Fire’ starter

If you passed by the Attlee Youth & Community Centre last week you may have wondered – as did the guys who turned up for their usually quiet Tuesday evening football match – what was going on as scores of people poured in through the door. This was the first gathering of the “Fire choir”, coming together for some fun singing, to meet the composer David Bruce, and to give a section of his new commission Fire a whirl.

Sam Chaplin and the 'Fire' singers

The 96 amateur singers in attendance were in fine voice and quickly built up into part singing under the direction of chorus leader, Sam Chaplin. After a break to catch up with faces old and new it was time to tackle Fire. This they did with admirable ease, the section worked on coming together quickly and sounding very fine – which bodes well for the performances in June and July!

The more experienced in the group ably supported those new to choral singing, including one young woman who’d turned up for something else but got gathered into the fold. Her parting remark was “I never thought music could be fun; but I’ll be back!”

If you’d like to join her in giving at a whirl there are still places available, especially for male voices. To find out how to get involved contact Natalie Ellis on 020 7377 0287 or send an email.

Cathy Birch
Programme Manager: Learning & Participation