This summer the world-renowned Multi-Story Orchestra’s Young Creatives return with another series of profound performances at Bold Tendencies car park in Peckham. They are delivering three fresh performances to their community. The season will culminate in September with a stirring headline performance of the award-winning THE ENDZ at the Southbank Centre.
Renowned for their innovative and boundary-pushing approach to music-making, Multi-Story Orchestra’s Young Creatives are recognised for broadcasting the first ever BBC Proms from a car park. Recently, the Orchestra received a Royal Philharmonic Society award for their original work––THE ENDZ. Following the heartbreaking death of a fellow student in 2019, the young creatives and students came together to create rap, spoken word and other musical compositions that shed light on the impact of social inequality on young people.
VERIFIED (Thursday 8th, Friday 9th June 19:00 – 20:00)
Bold Tendencies, 95A Rye Lane, Peckham, London, SW154ST
A contemporary piece about social media. Tackling the search for authenticity and acceptance amidst growing pressures of living in a digital age. A vibrant, new and large-scale work for choir and orchestra, Verified blends orchestral instrumentation with contemporary styles such as R&B, reggaeton and rap under the musical leadership of songwriters Abimaro Gunnell, Frances Lobo, trombonist Yusuf Narcin and composer Kate Whitley. The Orchestra will be joined for the performance by internationally acclaimed soloists from The Borletti Buitoni Trust – Ruby Hughes, Hyeyoon Park and Simone Rubino, as well as soprano Francesca Chiejina.
ROUTES (Thursday 6th, Friday 7th July 19:00 – 20:00)
Bold Tendencies, 95A Rye Lane, Peckham, London, SW154ST
Spoken word and music piece set around a first date. Opening with the question, ‘So, where are you from?’… The performance celebrates culture and community through the narration of personal journeys that unite us. Conceived and directed by Abi Falase with music by our young artists led by singer-songwriter Frances Lobo and composer Kate Whitley. Routes is set in Peckham and inspired by our own personal experiences through a story of legacy and the marks we leave in our wake as we continue our life’s journey.
INTO THE DEEP (Thursday 24th, Friday 25th August 19:00 – 20:00)
Bold Tendencies, 95A Rye Lane, Peckham, London, SW154ST
A fresh composition from the Multi-Story Orchestra. Get swept away by Multi-Story’s electrifying Into the Deep––a piece following the journey of water devised by the Multi-Story Young Creatives, with music led by singer-songwriters Fran Lobo and Abimaro Gunnell, composer Kate Whitley and percussionists Joe Richards and Elsa Bradley. Featuring a chamber choir alongside a brass and percussion ensemble, this piece explores the changing states of water – from the very first raindrop to the vast depths of the ocean. To be performed in Bold Tendencies’ phenomenal space.
THE ENDZ (Saturday 23rd September 17:00 & 20:30)
The Southbank Centre Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX
Created by the Multi-Story Orchestra’s Young Creatives, Kate Whitley, Abimaro Gunnell, Fran Lobo, Abi Falase and Kerry Skidmore and went on to win a Royal Philharmonic Society award in 2023, THE ENDZ is an original piece created by incredible young artists from south London who are members of The Multi-Story Orchestra. It’s an authentic story of the friendship between young people in Peckham and the realities of living in an unequal society. THE ENDZ celebrates our power to come through anything stronger and to care for each other––even when things are at their toughest. Celebrated as one of the most exciting young ensembles in the UK, they’ve made a name for themselves giving extraordinary performances, telling stories and unleashing creativity in unexpected places; including multi-storey car parks.
Bold Tendencies:
Verified 8th & 9th June (19:00 – 20:00)
Routes 6th & 7th July (19:00 – 20:00)
Into The Deep 24th & 25th August (19:00 – 20:00)
The Southbank Centre:
THE ENDZ 23rd of September (17.30 & 20.30)
THE SOUTHBANK CENTRE TICKETS HERE
The New York Times – “They play heroically, they play loudly and they’ll play anything… the response was ecstatic and it deserved to be”
The Times: “Forget fusty concert halls, The future of music is emerging in a municipal car park”
Artists Biography:
Multi-Story Orchestra’ Young Creatives transcends the boundaries of a traditional orchestra and embodies something greater. It is a community of professional musicians and young people who create remarkable performances, tell stories, unleash creativity and perform in the most unexpected spaces. Together, they breathe life into music with a sense of empowerment, fuelled by the belief that creating the best art means involving and valuing absolutely everybody. Since their first performance in Peckham ten years ago, the Orchestra has also performed in Gloucester, Birmingham, Ipswich and East Riding, and broadcast the first ever BBC Proms production from a car park.
The ‘Young Creatives’ involved are a group of talented young artists from Peckham. The story began a few years ago when some of Multi-Story’s young members started composing music in response to the tragic death of a fellow student from their school. This led to the creation of an incredibly touching piece called ‘THE ENDZ’ and led them to start creating music in ways that allowed their stories to be heard through. THE ENDZ won a 2023 Royal Philharmonic Award.
About Bold Tendencies
Since 2007 the rooftop spaces at Peckham Multi-Storey Car Park have been home to not-for-profit organisation Bold Tendencies which is unique in terms of the rich mix of what it does, and where and how it does it.
Bold Tendencies supports artists to develop their ideas and realise site-specific projects. We commission new visual art — 114 works have been shown here to date — and produce a live programme of music, dance and opera. The Live Programme takes place in our covered spaces, deliberately preserving 42,000 sq ft of raw concrete floors and ceilings with panoramic London views.
Bold Tendencies has also commissioned new architecture for the site — Frank’s Cafe in 2009, the Straw Auditorium in 2010, and the Peckham Observatory in 2017.
Bold Tendencies is for everyone. We have welcomed more than 2 million people in 13 summer seasons since 2007. We animate the programme and the site for the neighbourhood through standalone education and community initiatives that take culture and civic values seriously.
Support
The Multi-Story Orchestra are grateful to Bold Tendencies, The Borletti-Buitoni Trust, Arts Council England, Cockayne Grants for the Arts, London Community Foundation, Arts Council England, Austin, Hope & Pilkington, Garfield Weston, D’Oyly Carte, Arts Council England, Garfield Weston for supporting Multi Story Orchestra’s Young Creatives.