NONCLAXXICAL

A bold expression of what classical music can be, NONCLAXXICAL sees pioneering promoters of the best new music, Nonclassical, combine forces with the LSO.

For one night only Nonclassical – the record label, promoter and charity focused on cross-genre music – will transform Hackney Empire into a club, with music from some of the leading new music composers. Expect electronics, unexpected instruments and world-class playing from the LSO, conducted by Darren Bloom.

Sound artist and musician Beatrice Dillon presents her first commission for orchestra. Following on from her 2020 album Workaround (‘Album of the Year’, The Wire Magazine), Dillon translates her distinct vocabulary of synthetic sound and generative systems into the acoustic realm of the orchestra.

The concert features tracks from some of the leading artists of today, all of whom celebrate musical crossovers. LSO collaborators Sasha Scott (Panufnik Composers Scheme) and Tonia Ko (Soundhub) bring electronics and bubble wrap respectively, whilst leading composers Tansy Davies and Gabriel Prokofiev present twisty modernist funk.

The first ever Concerto for Drum Machine and Orchestra celebrates the Roland 808 drum machine – heard on tracks by artists including Run-DMC – and fuses it with classical techniques, with music by composers Josephine Stephenson, Laurence Osborn, Max de Wardener and Beni Giles.

Nonclassical is grateful for the support of the Cockayne Foundation.

Header image © Nick Rutter