Members of GUYO to perform with the BBC Concert Orchestra in “Trading Roots”, March 6th
Members of GUYO to perform with the BBC Concert Orchestra in “Trading Roots”, March 6th
24 January 2011
The Grand Union Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra are joining forces on March 6th 2011 in a one-off multicultural musical collaboration, called Trading Roots.
Nearly 100 of the UK’s best classical, jazz and world musicians will be gathered on the historic Hackney Empire stage to celebrate the power and beauty of our musical migrations across continents and through the ages. Indian and Chinese classical virtuosos mingle with African rhythms and percussion and the symphonic brilliance of Concert Orchestra strings to create a magical sonic cocktail. Four sublime singers paint revealing pictures of the rise and fall of empires, ancient and modern, and their trading routes by sea and land.
Trading Roots will also showcase the cream of young talent from the Grand Union Youth Orchestra and young stars picked by the BBC CO, performing as the Fusion Group. Concerts don’t come much more original or entertaining than this!
Grand Union Orchestra & BBC Concert Orchestra present
‘Trading Roots: a musical journey across borders’
Hackney Empire, March 6th 2011, 7pm
Imagine a journey through space and time - by land to the Orient, by sea to the East Indies and beyond – from that taken by the spice and silk traders a thousand years ago, to the high speed, transglobal communications of today, dealing in questionable commodities and uncertain futures.
Now let the music of the Grand Union Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra carry you along that route, exploring many musical cultures with virtuoso performers from Africa, India and China, with all the richness and passion that these two brilliant, but utterly different, orchestras can muster.
With a narrative driven by the power and beauty of songs ancient and modern, this one-off special, Trading Roots performance showcases the versatility of the BBC Concert Orchestra and the global spirit and exuberance of Grand Union’s unique world/jazz collaboration. The evening also offers a unique opportunity for young musicians to perform onstage at the Hackney Empire, when members of the Grand Union Youth Orchestra join forces with other young musicians selected by the BBC Concert Orchestra to form the Fusion Group, an extraordinary multicultural collective of youthful talent, performing a piece specially created for the event.
Another highlight of the night will be the première of The Golden Road, The Unforgiving Sea, a new work commissioned especially by BBC Radio 3 from Tony Haynes, GUO composer/director. Relishing the sumptuous textures that the BBC Concert Orchestra’s symphonic strings, wind and sonorous brass will add to the GUO’s own rich jazz patternings, Tony’s new work features four fine vocalists from around the world as well as the superlative musicianship of Zhu Meng Xiao on gu zheng (Chinese harp), Baluji Shrivastav (sitar and dilruba) and Yousuf Ali Khan (tabla). In combination, this host of internationally-renowned jazz soloists, classical and world musicians that make up the two orchestras will ensure it’s an evening to remember!
And where better to host it than the Hackney Empire, a theatre that carries its own indelible flavour of past imperial splendour, but now with a strong commitment to celebrating the richness and diversity of its local East London heritage. Both GUO (as Associate Artists) and the BBC Concert Orchestra have a long-established special relationship with this legendary venue. True to the Empire’s artistic mission statement, on March 6th, all of life – and all the globe – will be represented on stage.
The concert is being recorded for broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Tickets: £8, £12, £16.
Online: www.hackneyempire.co.uk | By phone: 020 8985 2424 | In Person at Hackney Empire box office
