Events
Grand Union's priority is live performance, and over the last 25 years we have toured all over the UK and to many parts of the world.
Programme 2013
We begin 2013 with a brand new touring project Trading Roots, which brings all the Grand Union Orchestra’s core musicians – leading artists from the world’s major musical traditions, all well-known in their own right – into a single ensemble. Upcoming dates in the UK and abroad are summarised below; more details will be added as the spring and summer go on.
Our other major project in this period is the immensely successful Bengal to Bethnal Green at Rich Mix, directed by Yousuf Ali Khan and showcasing the best of Bengali music and culture in London’s East End today. Taking place monthly on Sunday afternoons, the regular programme is:
- 2.45 music workshop for families followed by refreshments
- 4.00 a leading Bengali cultural figure talks about a topical theme
- 4.20 concert featuring a well-known singer with Bengali and Grand Union musicians
Full details of the Spring 2012 programme can be found here.
Yousuf introduces the project here.
A short biography and some of his performances with Grand Union can be found here.
2013 dates confirmed so far
Colchester – Trading Roots
Saturday 19th January, 8.00pm
Colchester Arts Centre, Church Street, Essex CO1 1NF
www.colchesterartscentre.com | 020 7613 7498 | tickets £5/£2.50
London – Bengal to Bethnal Green
Sunday 10th February, 2.00pm
Rich Mix Arts Centre, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
www.richmix.org.uk | 020 7613 7498 | Free Admission
London – Bengal to Bethnal Green
Sunday 10th March, 2.00pm
Rich Mix Arts Centre, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
www.richmix.org.uk | 020 7613 7498 | Free Admission
Cambridge – Trading Roots
Friday 22nd March, 7.30pm
West Road Concert Hall, 11 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP
www.westroad.org | 01233 357 851 | £12, £10 concs, £20 family ticket, £5 under 18s
London – Bengal to Bethnal Green
Sunday 14th April, 2.00pm
Rich Mix Arts Centre, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
www.richmix.org.uk | 020 7613 7498 | Free Admission
London – Grand Union Youth Orchestra
Saturday 20th April, 7.00pm
Brady Centre, 192 – 196 Hanbury Street, London E1 5HU
www.grandunionyouth.org.uk | 020 7375 1122 | £5, £2.50 concs
London – Trading Roots
Sunday May 5th, 7.30pm
Rich Mix Arts Centre, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA
www.richmix.org.uk | 020 7613 7498 | £12, £10 concs, £20 family ticket
Southampton – Trading Roots
Tuesday May 7th, 7.30pm
Turner Sims Concert Hall, Salisbury Rd, Southampton, SO17 1
www.turnersims.co.uk | 023 8059 5151 | £18, £17 concs, students £9
Portugal – Talking Drums, Exchanging Voices
May 14th – 17th at Setúbal Music Festival
May 18th, 9.30pm, Fundação Oriente, Lisbon
London – Spirits of Cable Street
Grand Union Orchestra
Friday June 7th, 8.00pm
Wilton’s Music Hall, London E1 8JB
www.wiltons.org.uk | 020 7702 2789 | £12, £6 concs
France – Échanges de Racines
Friday June 21st, Fête de la Musique, Alès
For further information email mail@grandunion.org.uk
Birmingham – Trading Roots
Saturday 29th June, 7.30pm
Arena, mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH
www.macarts.co.uk | 0121 446 3232 | £12, £10 concs, £20 family ticket
Leeds – Trading Roots
Saturday July 6th, 7.30pm
City Varieties Music Hall, Leeds
www.saa-uk.org | 0113 244 5523 | £12, £9 concs, £20 family ticket
Major Events from 2012
Liberation and Remembrance - Grand Union Orchestra and guests
Sunday 11th November, 7.30pm
Hackney Empire Theatre, 291 Mare Street, London E8 1EJ
www.hackneyempire.co.uk | 020 8985 2424 I tickets £15/£8 concessions
Grand Union Orchestra at full strength, with Eclectic Voices, the Grand Union Youth Orchestra and other guest performers from East London. Find out more about the music here.
The Golden Highway – Grand Union Orchestra and guests
Wednesday July 18th, 7.30pm
www.hackneyempire.co.uk | 020 8985 2424
Bringing together an astonishing range of performers, this epic show portrays in music the experience, heritage and culture of migrants to the East End of London and the globalised corporate world in which we now live. Listen to the title song.
What the River Sings – Grand Union Orchestra and Youth Orchestra with Water City Festival Orchestra, Hackney Voices, Hackney Empire Community Choir
Sunday March 4th, Trinity Buoy Wharf
Spectacular show, commissioned for the BBC’s Music Nation weekend, featuring East London performers celebrating 500 years of trade and migration in a historic location. Read Tony Haynes’s last blog posting for music and some background on the Portuguese elements in the show
11.11.11 – Grand Union Orchestra and guests
Friday 11th November, Hackney Empire Theatre
The music of the liberated and the most liberated of musics – celebrating jazz and the art of improvisation on Armistice Day.
Grand Union Youth Orchestra - The Battle of Cable Street
Sunday 2nd October, Wilton’s Music Hall
Commemorating the 75th anniversary of this historic East London event.
If Paradise - Grand Union Orchestra
Sunday 25th September, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre
Revival of classic Grand Union Orchestra show, launching a new CD.
Latest Reviews
- All About Jazz profile
- If Paradise at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
- 11.11.11 at the Hackney Empire
- If Paradise CD
Current shows
If Paradise
The Golden Road, The Unforgiving Sea
The Rhythm of Tides
Grand Union Bangla Band
Golden Highway
On Liberation Street
Grand Union Orchestra AllStars
Can't Chain Up Me Mind
Bengal Tiger, Shanghai Dragon
Bhangra, Babylon and the Blues
For full details of our available shows, the latest line-up of the Grand Union Orchestra and our current Learning and Participation programme, go to press and bookings.
