The Grand Union Orchestra announces its latest production: Uncharted Crossings

The Grand Union Orchestra announces its latest production: Uncharted Crossings

 

Shoreditch Town Hall, Sunday 9th December, 8pm

The backstory of the Windrush generation

 

  • The event is the culmination of the Grand Union Orchestra’s Autumn/Winter programme supporting Black History Month in Hackney
  • Featuring twenty internationally-acclaimed musicians and singers

The Grand Union Orchestra has announced its latest performance, Uncharted Crossings, which concludes its Autumn/Winter programme supporting Black British Music in Hackney. The programme aligns with Hackney Museum’s current exhibition on the same topic.

Uncharted Crossings will tell the backstory of the Windrush generation, of a journey that began over five hundred years ago on the shores of West Africa, with millions transported to Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean and southern USA in the transatlantic slave trade.

Grand Union Orchestra composer Tony Haynes leads twenty internationally-acclaimed musicians and singers – soaring voices, roaring brass, fiery jazz solos, hypnotic drums – in celebrating the music and contribution of the African heritage diaspora to British culture today.

The Grand Union Orchestra is a pioneer and leading advocate of cross-cultural music-making in the UK. Described as ‘making cultural diversity an art-form’, for over 30 years it has been bringing together singers and instrumentalists from all over the world – many of them first generation migrants themselves – to create spectacular music.

Among the performers appearing in Uncharted Crossings are great jazz players such as South African trumpeter Claude Deppa and saxophonist Tony Kofi, singers Jumoké Fashola and Jonathan André, and an all-star drum section led by Francis Fuster, the late Hugh Masekela’s percussionist.

Tony Haynes says: “Exploring what lies behind the Windrush story with such great musicians is set to be our most powerful show yet, honouring the remarkable legacy and profound influence of Black music and its history.”

He writes all about the project here: https://tonyhaynesmusic.wordpress.com

Uncharted Crossings will be performed at Shoreditch Town Hall on Sunday 9th December at 8pm. Tickets at £16 / £12 concessions are available via:
Web: https://shoreditchtownhall.com/whats-on/grand-union-orchestra-uncharted-crossings
Phone: 020 7739 6176