On the 23rd October, our 10 soundcheck artists gathered at The Met, Bury to work on their pieces for the programme. The day ran from 3-10, testing the soundcheckers’ stamina, stealth & skill. In groups of three, each had a designated 2 hours with Ed Kainyek & his talented band to practise, improvise &…JAM! For some this was their first time performing with a full band and we were so incredibly proud of not just their boldness but openness to the process.
The rest of the day was jam packed with workshops from not only our Artistic Director Steve Mead, but the accomplished cellist, Gary Washington & ‘hypnotic & heart skipping’ Jazz Artist & creative producer, Kirsty Almeida.
Follow our socials to see what these bright young musicians do next!
Talent Development Team; Nathan Bragg & Helen Goodman
Our Festival & Programmes Assistant Ola with soundcheck artists during one of the breakout sessions
AJ engaged in our workshop with Artistic Director Steve Mead
Bitez & Dragos jamming out
Bitez riffing on the mic
Dragos working out his smooth new guitar solo
The three first soundcheckers to take to the stage: Louis, Bitez & Dragos
A day of collaborative improvisation
Maria & Kitty
Kojo supporting his fellow soundcheckers
Our Ola
Dragos Colceriu during his solo
Jam leader Ed guiding the artists through the session
Ed’s wonderful bassist John Sandham playing with the soundcheckers
Our Ola supporting the soundcheckers
The second round of soundcheckers to start the jamming session: Maria, AJ & Jennifer
AJ jamming along with the band
AJ with her beautiful solo
Jennifer supporting on guitar
Ed & his sax
Artistic Director Steve Mead engaged in Gary Washington’s workshop
The joyous cellist Gary Washington leading his workshop
Kojo & Kitty experimenting with new sounds at Gary’s workshop
