St John's Smith Square goes 24 hours with music marathon

St John's Smith Square

This weekend (17/18 September 2016) is London Open House Weekend, and St John's Smith Square is helping celebrate by opening its doors. But visitors will not only be able to appreciate the stunning baroque architecture, but will be able to hear music performed as the concert hall is running a 24 hour music marathon. From 10am on Saturday 17 September to 10am on Sunday 18, there will be a continuous programme of performances, open rehearsals and workshops. All the events are free and people are encouraged to drop in at any time.

There will be a wide variety of performers, including pianist Cyril Ibrahim, and pianist Frances Wilson (who runs the Cross-eyed Pianist Blog) performing Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Toru Takemitsu, and Leonard Bernstein. Ensembles include the Coldlight Jazz Ensemble performing new works inspired by visual art by the trio’s pianist James Woodhall, the Wallbrook String Quartet in Beethoven and Shostakovich, the Mila Trio in Schumann, the Ligeti Quartet, Joo Yeon Sir, Palisander, Matthew Scott of Ensemble Mirage, North Downs Community Orchestra in a selection of film scores, and The Iken Scholars of Victoria’s Requiem Mass. Singer/songwriter Katherine Christie Evans performs her unique blend of classic rock 'n' roll, medieval troubadour song, folk ballads, and original material, Sam Cave performs guitar works by George Holloway and Tristan Murail, and Mimi Doulton tackles the challenge of Judith Weir’s King Harald’s Saga.

Alongside the marathon, St John's is also running a Pay-per-Note: The People's Piece challenge. This gives members of the public the opportunity to purchase as many of the notes in the 12 note scale as they like, to be included in a piece composed by St John's Director, Richard Heason. The sale of the notes will be open before the marathon but Heason will only start composing at midnight on Sunday 18th September using the exact number of each note that has been purchased. This piece will then performed at the end of the marathon by Palisander with every contributor credited and receiving a copy of the score as a thank you for their generous donation. All money raised through this challenge will go towards supporting music outreach projects delivered by the St John’s Smith Square Young Artists.

Further information and a full schedule of events on the St John's Smith Square website.