Music for Youth (MFY) will present “The Future Is Now” at The Barbican Hall, a futuristic event marking a new era for the charity
“The Future Is Now” will be an impressive evening of compelling, cross-genre collaborations, presenting the sheer scope of diverse music-making from Britain’s talented youth today
Recognizing that young people today are a genre-free generation with a broad range of musical tastes, Music for Youth are mirroring this new shift by providing a platform for lively, explosive collisions between orchestral players, brass brands and choirs and rising stars across the R&B, indie, rap and electronic music
By pairing young artists with musicians from entirely different disciplines, Music for Youth aims to encourage audiences to consider the limitless opportunities with music-making
Electronic songwriter Talia, who has worked in the music industry since aged 7, will set the evening off with an electrifying force amidst trigger pads and beats, crossed with expansive ensemble sounds from Northamptonshire County Youth Concert Band, Cornwall Youth String Orchestra and Royal Northern College of Music Session Orchestra
Vivacious Jazz / soul pianist Rasida and her 8-piece band will fuse with Northamptonshire County Youth Concert Band and the Royal Northern College of Music Session Orchestra during the evening, producing exhilarating, swayable and evocative music. Previously, Rasida and her band have performed on the main stages of LOVEBOX, All Points East and the Royal Albert Hall
Elsewhere, Soul Songwriter Malunga will present powerful pieces with great washes of feeling supported by Cornwall Youth String Orchestra and Royal Northern College of Music Session Orchestra. Having previously released her debut EP ‘Exhibit A’ in 2015, Malunga will be releasing a new EP album this year
With a strikingly unconventional approach, the energetic and characteristically thoughtful Congolese-British rapper / hip hop artist Blue Saint will collaborate with Gwent Youth Brass Band and Royal Northern College of Music Session Orchestra to create an unexpected, diverse soundscape steeped in modernity
Charismatic Alt-Rock/Indie Songwriter, guitarist and singer Harry Marshall will next take to the stage, setting richly atmospheric, poetic indie ballads against bold sounds from Sheffield Youth String Orchestra, Gwent Youth Brass Band and Royal Northern College of Music Session Orchestra. Harry’s music has peaked within the top 40 of the Indie Music iTunes chart on several occasions, with his 2018 album ‘Nowadays’ reaching #38 on the iTunes international alternative chart
The 4-piece indie band Elephant Trees will close the night in an awe-inspiring way, lurching from mellow acoustics into thunderous rock riffs with the aid of Sheffield Youth String Orchestra, Gwent Youth Brass Band, and Royal Northern College of Music Session Orchestra. Stirred by themes of ‘growing up’, mental health and sexuality, Elephant Trees released their experimental debut EP ‘Monachopsis’ in 2019 and performed last summer at a variety of festivals including Isle of Wight Festival, Dot to Dot and Liverpool Sound City
Sound artist, Beatboxer and Composer, Jason Singh will lead a specially commissioned site- specific finale piece involving all performers in the concert, which Jason will compose in response to ideas workshopped by the young artists. The piece will be arranged by a young arranger overseen by Composer and Arranger Katie Chatburn
The programme for the Celebratory Event is an expansion of Music for Youth’s innovative ‘Frequencies’ Events, which the charity established in 2014 to enrich young people’s experiences of music-making with opportunities to work with Professional Artists and meet Industry Experts
Each of the Artists involved in the event have all come through the ‘Frequencies’ Events and are all at pivotal points in their careers, having already played their first festival shows and tours
Each Artist will work with an emerging Composer/Arranger from the RNCM’s Popular Music degree course to prepare for the upcoming collaborations with contrasting Musicians. This process will be overseen by Katie Chatburn
Tickets on sale now – https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/event/music-for-youth-the-future-is-now For more information, please visit mfy.co.uk
