Sound Histories

On Friday 5 July 2013, 200 musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music will gather at the British Museum to present Sound Histories. From 6pm to 9pm visitors will be able to wander round the galleries and listen as the young musicians create an epic sonic journey inspired by the museum's objects and galleries. There will be over 100 pieces of music including 50 new works, performed all over the ground floor. The event will be the largest yet in the RNCM's series of site-specific installations created to animate iconic public spaces with music. They previously collaborated with the Imperial War Museum North, Manchester Piccadilly Station and Victoria Baths.

The pieces chosen for Sound Histories span over 600 years, from the 14th century to the present day, and animate collections from Ancient Egypt, Assyria, Ancient Greece, Africa, North America, Mexico, China and South Asia. Music by Handel, Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn in the Enlightenment Gallery will reflect the music familiar to the Museum’s founders at the time the room was completed in 1828. Music for the Parthenon Gallery will tell the stories of the complex history of the Parthenon. And there will be a large-scale performance in the Great Court featuring all 200 musicians directed by double bassist and composer Steve Berry.

The event is free, just drop in - further information from the British Museum website.