“One of the best things about London is how much is going on around every corner, and in each and every community. Festivals like The Streets are doing excellent work to highlight some of the capital’s local gems.” Sadiq Khan (Mayor of London)
After its successful launch last year, The Streets returns this summer with weekends packed with performances, workshops, parades and pop-up events. This year features an ambitious programme showcasing the local streetscapes of outer London, engaging and surprising residents with unexpected performances aiming to revitalise the high street for local communities and businesses. On Saturday 16 – Sunday 17 July, the event reaches Ilford where a diverse and exciting range of events and artists singing from a variety of genres will take to the streets. The event will showcase a stunning selection of featured and local artists who will perform in a Choir Clock – a performance on the hour every hour.
Local artists include the City Gates Choir, who are based in City Gates Church in Ilford, and have been in existence for over 20 years. They are a diverse group of people of all ages and carry a unique sound of passionate and colourful harmonies! Glade Community Singers are an adult community choir established in April 2013, and are an enthusiastic group who perform regularly at local events. Their varied and eclectic repertoire includes gospel, multi-cultural, contemporary, jazz and folk. Inspiring and animated, the Spare Tyre Band will get your toes tapping to their driving rhythms and impulsive beats. This inclusive band, featuring performers with learning disabilities, create their own instruments made from recycled materials. The Fullwood Primary Choir are our youngest performers at the event. The ever-growing group of spirited and enthusiastic 8 – 11 year olds love a challenge and tackle all songs thrown at them with an impressive tenacity. The Streets will provide them the opportunity to showcase highlights from their performance of the musical ‘Oliver!’ Dhruv Ensembles, Shadja & Panchama, have been present since 2004, and have nearly offered 120 concerts to date. Shadja, the tonal note in Indian classical, comprises of children featuring Indian classical music choir singing of young children. Panchama is the 5th natural note in Indian music and features young people playing the violin. Both Shadja & Panchama help build team spirit and other soft skills alongside the main theme, Indian classical music. Equal emphasis is laid on classical Carnatic and contemporary genres.It is both an audio and visual delight to see the children on stage with some of the orchestra members are as young as 6 years old!
Our featured artists include The Spinettes, a glamorous, vintage inspired trio formed of London West End and International performers. These beautiful starlets are sure to have those toes tapping, hips swinging and voices singing, with hits from the 40s, 50s, 60s and more. Travel back in time and experience these timeless classics. The House Gospel Choir are famous for delivering a live show that’s epic in every sense of the word. Performing house hits in true gospel choir style, the choir bring together outstanding voices and musicians and take them to a place where spirituality and euphoria meet. The Beatbox Collective is formed of the leading beatbox artists in the UK. Each credited for their respective styles and statuses, they have merged to form incredibly high impact and energetic shows, ranging from live music production of all genres, physical theatrics and crowd participation. The London Gay Men’s Chorus has over 200 members, and is the largest gay choir in Europe. The Chorus entertains, inspires and educates through song – performing a diverse range of music to the highest technical standard and regularly playing to sell-out crowds. If you want song delivered with unfettered enthusiasm, alongside vibrant and original arrangements, then LGMC are not to be missed!
Along with a host of amazing live performances, The Streets is a chance for families to get involved and brush up their singing skills in our very special Disney workshops! Fun for the whole family, you will have a chance to learn and perform songs from Disney’s Frozen and The Jungle Book. The workshops will be run by Katy Seath, an experienced choir leader and singer, working with both children and adults for over 10 years. Everyone can enjoy singing songs they know and also have fun with things they don’t – all connecting them to the wonderful worlds from each story. Rhythm, movement and voices will bring the whole group together in perfect harmony!
If you would like to find out more about the event and locations, please visit The Streets website.
For more on The Streets, including the schedule of performances visit our website.
Visit The Streets website for more on the event.
Posted by Nida Hussain
Do More 