Lunchtime Workshops, Evening Concert, Late Night Caribbean and Salsa Dance Party - all online on June 12th

HALTON MILL, GLOBAL LINK AND A.C.E., LANCASTER present an event in the Musical Journeys series of online international music extravaganzas, hosted on Halton Mill’s Zoom account.

Kicking off Lancaster and Morecambe’s Refugee Week activities – and open to everyone internationally – this event, like the last two, has the threefold aim of bringing great music and performance to the world, providing payment for performerswho have lost their live gigs due to the pandemic AND raising funds for two essential Lancaster charities. They are Global Link, which is setting up a new centre for refugees and asylum seekers, and A.C.E. (Achieve, Change, Engagement) which supports the increasing numbers of young people in the Lancaster and Morecambe area who are facing mental health challenges.

Two previous Musical Journeys events raised a total of £6000 which was split between the performers and the two charities. Now things are opening up it’s hoped people will invite their friends to join in with ‘Musical Journeys 3’ in their gardens or their homes and raise even more money. The organisers are even providing a themed international menu to help set the scene.

EVENING CONCERT from 7.30 p.m.

- Sevilay Gök - Dr Sevilay Gök is a Turkish Baglama player, singer and lecturer.  Her playful yet introspective melodic and playing styles reflect her love of Turkish folk music and culture.    

- Solana Trio, a fabulous Bristol based world music trio who play rhythmically complex and harmonically rich music, inspired by folk traditions around the world

- Boom Bike Bourrée, a four piece lineup of hurdy-gurdy, beatbox, accordion and trombone, centred around Lancaster UK, who bring a mix of mediaeval dance music and hip hop beats! 

- A pre-recorded video of the Yandong Grand singers from South West China who are doing our lunchtime harmony workshop (the time difference means they can’t join us live)

LATE NIGHT DANCE PARTY 

From 10pm till late - A Caribbean and Salsa dance party led by Phil Kaila

LUNCHTIME WORKSHOPS

12 noon: Arabic Body Percussion: percussionist Ali Hassan - with cameo performances from dancers Medhat Aldaabal and Mouafak Aldoabl. Syrians Ali, Medhat and Mouafak studied music and dance at the Institute for Performing Art in Damascus and are now based in Berlin.

1 p.m. Chinese Harmony: Mu Qian (musicologist) with singers from the Yandong Grand Singers group from Guizhou province, China, a group which specializes in the galao (grand song), a form of polyphonic song through which the Kam people transmit much of their history, culture, and knowledge

2  p.m. Beat Box workshop with Ashley Murphy,  a music leader from Lancaster. He has worked in community music for over 10 years running workshops in lyric writing and beatboxing.  This workshop will cover the basics of beatboxing and some techniques to equip you to go away and write your own beats. 

3 p.m. Caribbean/Salsa dance: Phil Kaila from Salsa North West will get everybody dancing, on your own, in pairs or in a group.  

The original idea for the series came from Fiona Frank, a resident of Lancaster Cohousing at Halton near Lancaster, who wanted to help raise money for Global Link’s projects. She realised that lots of her musician friends had lost all their gigs, and reached out to some musicians who were very happy to take part in the first Musical Journeys event at New Year. The third event is the most ambitious so far, with live hook-ups to China, New York, Berlin and Turkey as well as a Bristol-based band Solana, and Boom Bike Bourree, a Lancaster-based band who will be streaming from an empty hall in Halton near Lancaster! The organisers are hoping to continue the unbroken run of glitch-free technology but of course nothing is guaranteed and it all makes for an exciting event.    

TICKETS: £10 (standard), £2.50 (concessions), £25 (supporters) and free for refugees, asylum seekers and others with no spare funds who want to join us. 

On Zoom and streamed to Facebook Live.  

For more details and to book, see http://tinyurl.com/musicaljourneys3