GRAND UNION OPEN WORKSHOP

A practical music workshop exploring and playing music from around the world, led by Grand Union Orchestra's highly acclaimed world musicians at St John at Hackney.
 
If  you are 12 years or older and have a musical instrument of any kind, then dust  it off and bring it along to join in this celebration of music from different  cultures.

Date: 24 July 2010
 
Time: 2:00pm – Short participatory performance by Grand Union musicians – all  welcome
2:30-4:00 – Workshop
4:00-4:20 – Break
4:20-5:20 – Workshop  
5:30-5:45 – Question and answer time with the musicians
5:45-6:00pm –  Public Sharing of music created.
 
Ticket information: Please book your place on the workshop by contacting:
Hannah@grandunion.org.uk, 020 7375 1122
 

Website: www.grandunionyouth.org.uk

Phew! What a Scorcher!

Aficiandos of fetes in Hackney - or right across the South of England for that matter - know that the St John at Hackney Church Fete is great for bargains, great for fun for all the family and great for weather as well.  

This year was different.  Different because it was our best fete ever.  The weather was in the mid 80s, loads of people from St John's helped out, giving their time, energy and goods, and we raised a record £4000 towards our seating appeal.  It was a great day for St John's and good fun for the many hundreds of people who visited us.  

There were some especial highlights.  Hackney Voices - a local choir who practice in our hall - gave a lovely full first public performance, we enjoyed storming performance from Brass Roots and the Tiny Wallops, the huge barrel organ was a great hit and we even had the chance to spout water from the hose from the fire engine that visited us from Homerton - although nobody got as wet as the Rector who was well and truly soaked in his "Drench the Rector" stand.  Everyone enjoyed the high quality goods on sale in the 30 or so stalls dotted around the churchyard.  

A lovely day for everyone. Hats off to Hackney and roll on next year!

Friday 17th September 2010
St John At Hackney Church, London
(NB: Unaccompanied Acapella performance)
This show is to raise funds for new seating at St John At Hackney Church and all profits will go to charity
Lower Clapton Road, London, E5 0PD
E-Tickets £15 + Booking fee (non reserved) BUY TICKETS

Saturday 18th September 2010
Ely Lady Chapel, Cambs
(NB: Unaccompanied Acapella performance)
This show is to raise funds for new seating at St John At Hackney Church and all profits will go to charity
Ely Cathedral Lady Chapel
The College, Ely, Cambs CB7 4DL
E-Tickets £15 + Booking Fee (non reserved) BUY TICKETS

The Mediaeval Baebes’ exquisite storybook opened its pages in 1996, when a group of friends broke into a North London cemetery and sang together, clad in flowing white gowns and crowns of ivy.

Pulling lyrics from medieval texts and setting them to original scores using mediaeval and classical instruments, whilst singing in an impressive array of long forgotten languages, the Baebes offered a unique musical beauty and outstanding talent. Their choice of mediaeval texts were dramatic, obscure and dark in topic and remarked upon the inevitability of death, the pointlessness of material possessions, the horror of unrequited love or the dangers of imbibing too much alcohol. Some themes are timeless!

Twelve years later, these fair maidens have placed three albums into the top of the classical charts and their contribution to the BBC production of The Virgin Queen (composed by Martin Phipps) resulted in a deserved Ivor Novello award 2007 for best television soundtrack.

Mediaeval Baebes have performed before enthusiastic audiences in the UK, United States, Canada and Europe in venues ranging from castles and caves to nightclubs and Renaissance Fayres. They have toured with Jools Holland and played at The Royal Albert Hall, Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall, The Frick Museum in Pittsburgh, Jersey Opera House, Tewkesbury Abbey, supported Michael Flatley in Hyde Park, and performed at the legendary Lilith Fair.

Catch the Mediaeval Baebes at their purest and experience their fairytale whimsy, otherworldly enchantment, and supernatural allure when they perform a series of rare intimate unaccompanied shows in September 2010.

NEW TO ST JOHN'S - HACKNEY VOICES
Cleo and Jo teach songs from the rich and varied local traditions of Africa, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece and Spain as well as British/Celtic folk songs. They also teach their own arrangements of classic soul and pop songs.

The sessions are friendly and informal and everything is taught by ear so don’t worry if you don’t read music. They welcome everyone from ‘only in the bath’ singers to ‘would be performers’.

If you’ve every wanted to sing a-cepella,

THIS IS IT!


Cleo Bayley
Cleo Bayley is a singer song-writer once signed to Warner Chapel Publishing and having performed with various bands, she has gone on to set up a variety of community music groups in and around London since the early Noughties. Projects have included MAKE SOME NOISE music workshops for parents and toddlers in Jackson's Lane Community centre and teaching singing and song writing skills to excluded children through the Children's Fund in Wandsworth schools and play shemes.

In 2002 Cleo co-founded CREATIVE INCLUSION and has managed and taught on a variety of exciting projects with young people and adults combining the mediums of poetry, art, musicianship and voice to produce original material in and of local communities.
 
Cleo currently runs the Parent and child Group at St Paul’s Steiner school 3 days a week and is working with Maya Waldman........ and MUSIC FROM THE MOUTH engaging with young people and their voices in local schools and community centres. Cleo lives in Dalston with her long suffering (!) husband and 2 beautiful kids.

Joanna Foster
Joanna Foster has been leading choirs in and around London for over 10 years.  She co-founded world a-capella group KITE with Helen Chadwick and Venice Manley......... and is a regular singer in the Helen Chadwick Group (recently featured on Radio 3 and regulars in The Linbury Studio at The Royal Opera House.) 
 
In 2007 Jo formed  ANIMA a four piece a-capella group to show case her remarkable performance piece VISIONS OF SEVEN a mystical blend of jazz, poetry and folk which has performed to great acclaim in art centres, festivals and charity events across the country. Jo also sings in local Eastern European Folk Band BESKYDY often found raising the roof in Islington Folk Club.
 
As well as singing and composing music Jo enjoys a successful acting career including work with the RSC, NATIONAL THEATRE and a variety of TV works. She lives in Clapton, Hackney with her lovely husband and son.