Hello!
Welcome to the May edition of our Bridgewater For All Playback, where we look back at the highlights of the Learning and Participation programme at The Bridgewater Hall for this month. From stunning Spanish operas to flower festival flash mobs, we’ve been bursting with activity at the Hall this month.
We hope you enjoy reading what we’ve been up to in May.
The L&P Department
Live at Lunchtime
May saw the return of Live at Lunchtime our annual free, relaxed Friday concerts featuring local performers in our Stalls Foyer – perfect if you’d like to discover some new music during your lunchbreak or trip into town! Beautiful vocal ensemble, The Mancunium Consort, kicked off the series on the 3 May with a bang, performing stunning choral repertoire to a packed-out audience. Next up on 10 May we had students from Chetham’s School of Music. The young talent blew everyone away as Claire (French horn), Elizabeth (vocals) and Lily (flute) performed a range of music from Strauss to Schumann. On 17 May, RNCM graduates, NOMAD brought their extremely moving original piece ‘The Gardener’s Daughter’ to Live at Lunchtime. Through a combination of viola, violins, cello and opera this piece explored themes of grief, love, and loss in an immersive performance. Moving onto 24 May, Mali Hayes delivered a stunning soulful performance, bringing a setlist of beautiful original songs to the Hall. Last Friday 31 May, we were treated to an extra special performance from Ricardo Gosalbo (pianist) and Julieth Lozano (soprano). In collaboration with Instituto Cervantes Manchester, as well as offering amazing music, the duo took us through a fascinating history of Zarzuela – a unique lyrical genre with its roots in 17th Century Spain. Live at Lunchtime is back on Friday 14 June with a performance from Milap’s Kousic Sen and Giuliano Modarelli.
To find out more about Live at Lunchtime click here.
Manchester Midday Concert Percussion workshop – 28 May
On the 28 May we welcomed a group of KS3 students to the main stage to take part in a percussion workshop led by the World Percussion Ensemble ahead of their Midday concert at the Hall. It was a great opportunity for young people to ask questions and develop skills from leading musicians!
Manchester Flower Festival Flash Mob – 24 May
To celebrate the launch of Manchester Flower Festival, our Bridgewater Hall Singers took to New Cathedral Street and performed an amazing flash mob and pop-up performance to the unsuspecting public. There was lots of laughs and smiles despite the drizzle. Well done to everyone who took part!
Community Members Day – 20 May
On Monday 20 May, we welcomed over 100 of our Community Members to the Hall for a day of singing workshops, sound seeing art sessions and building tours. The singing workshop took place on the main stage in the auditorium, amongst the backdrop of a dramatically lit organ! Alice and Louise took us through lots of breathing and warm up exercises then moved on to a joyful rendition of ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ that had all our Members taking part. Meanwhile in the Sound Seeing workshop, Lilli led the session in which Manon (harpist) and Will (percussionist) played contemporary music whilst Lilli took us through how to draw textures and sounds. It was a peaceful meditative session. After lunch and a bit of mingling, our Members went on a building tour of the venue, getting access all areas, and learning some facts about the building along the way.
Charities, CICs and voluntary groups working with communities in Greater Manchester can now register for our Community Membership programme. Community Members benefit from free and discounted tickets for several concert series, reduced price tours of the building, invitations to participate in activities and special events at the Hall. It’s free to join, and there are no obligations. To register contact Learning & Engagement at learning@bridgewater-hall.co.uk
Thank you to all our workshop leaders and everyone who came – we really appreciate your support!