At the end of May 2009, Firebird's Executive Director, Simon Steptoe, travelled to the city of Chengdu in China, to meet with partners at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.
On 25th and 26th November 2008, musicians Jo Freya (vocals, soprano sax and whistles), Warren Jolly (bass), Pat McCarthy (jazz guitar), Liam Robinson (accordion) and Dave Tomlinson (keyboards), joined forces at Alford Manor House to explore the various musical worlds and traditions that they hail from, ranging from jazz, rock/pop through to folk and world music.
The result was a performance of new work on the evening of the second day, open to the public, and a fitting opportunity to air the fruits of two days of intense creative activity.
For a quick taste of the music, please click on the player below:
Led by Jo Freya and Freddie Kofi, two new community choirs from Ruskington recently came together to perform new songs from musical traditions as diverse as folk and gospel. The project was inspired by the wishes of people in the village to learn about new styles of singing and have the chance to work with inspirational choral animateurs.
Participants included children fron Chestnut Street and Winchelsea Primary School, Cotelands Secondary School and members of the Roundalay Community Choir and All Saints Church Choir.
On Monday 10th November, children attending Monks Abbey Primary School in Lincoln were treated to an east European musical tour-de-force in the form of Slovakian string band, Ponitrans. Hailing from Nitra in Slovakia, the band, led by Bernard Garaj, have been touring around the UK over the past month.
On Thursday 7th February 2008, Javanese dancers, Rianto and Rury Avianti, visited the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester to collaborate with a group of postgraduate composers on a day of cross-culturalexperimentation and improvisation.
Dance and Global Performance students at Lincoln University, took time out from their regular classes on Friday 8th February 2008 to work with Javanese dancers, Rianto and Rury Avianti, and choreographer, Maziah Omar, to learn about the classical forms of Javanese dance.
The following clip shows Javanese dancers, Rianto and Rury Avianti, demonstrating a short excerpt from the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, showing the capture of its main heroine, Sita.
On Monday 10th November, children attending Monks Abbey Primary School in Lincoln were treated to an east European musical tour-de-force in the form of Slovakian string band, Ponitrans. Hailing from Nitra in Slovakia, the band, led by Bernard Garaj, have been touring around the UK over the past month.
