Build a Noise Machine Workshop
2017-08-31 10:30 - 15:30 UTC | Performance Space
Learn to build your own noise machine and explore graphical sound and performance.
Our Noise Machines are electronic musical instruments based on analogue synthesizer circuitry that respond to changes in light via a light sensor interface. Our DIY Kits are simple oscillator circuits with a light sensor that will introduce you to electronics and circuit building and the principle of working with light to create sound.
Morning session: BUILD A NOISE MACHINE 10:30 – 12:30
Using our new ‘DIY Noise Machine Kits’, build your own mini synthesizer with light sensor. Learn about electronic components, and how to make a fully working circuit. The kits respond to changes in light, once the circuits are built, you can play your new instruments.
Afternoon session: GRAPHICAL SOUND AND PERFORMANCE 13:30 – 15:30
Explore the principles of graphical sound, creating paper scores inspired by drawings thinking about pattern, visual rhythms and the sonic output of visual shapes. Using turntables and light Theremin circuits play, collaborate and listen to your paper scores in a live demo.
This workshop is open to everyone and is suitable for children aged 12+
This workshop is delivered on behalf of the Big Ideas Generators project by Noise Orchestra
Come and join in the fun with Noise Orchestra and make some noise!

It was 50 Years Ago Today - Scratch choir & concert
2017-09-23 09:30 - 16:30 | Performance Space
Join a choir for the day, to rehearse and perform a selection of songs from the ground breaking Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper plus other well-known songs from the era. As a choir, you will learn distributed material from scratch, rehearsed during the day by choral director Eleanor Mottershead with piano accompaniment from Tim Mottershead – and you will perform to a live audience later the same day!
Morning rehearsal: 9.30-12
Afternoon rehearsal: 12.45-3.15
Concert: 3.30-4.30ish
Full price: £22.50 (early bird discount) £25 on the day
Concession: £18 (early bird discount) £20 on the day
Additional siblings: £15 (early bird discount) £18 on the day
Informal enquiries: timmottersheadpiano@gmail.com 01457 856530
The final performance will be free for everyone to enjoy.

We Built This City: Retro Silent Disco Returns!
2018-02-16 20:00 - 2018-02-17 00:00 | Performance Space
You don’t need Romeo and Juliet in your life to enjoy our silent disco crazy crazy nights! Just grab your handbags and gladrags and discover a reason to believe. Whether you are an owner of a lonely heart searching for the power of love or a piano man desperate to fly away on a runaway train we’ll find the perfect song for you. Heaven is a place on earth. Oh yeah!
We can now announce that due to popular demand there will be a channel dedicated to ROCK BALLADS!
Our favourite DJ John Ryan from RETRO SILENT DISCO will be here to make your disco dreams come true.
Bar open till midnight.

Twelfth Day - Live
2018-03-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
In the wordless communication that passes between Orcadian fiddler Catriona Price and Peebles harpist Esther Swift as they perform, the strength of their decade-long musical partnership, friendship and shared humour is evident.
It’s this depth of connection, and tangible desire to have fun, that gives Twelfth Day its extra edge. This is not so much a duo, but a two person quartet. Their two distinctly different voices, the fiddle, and the pedal harp, build layer upon layer of a complex and ever-evolving sound, rich with rhythm, harmony and texture.
Twelfth Day are happy to be hard to define. Classically trained, they bring outstanding technical ability as well as an adventurous mix of folk, jazz and classical influences to their compositions and arrangements – blended with the folklore and inspirations of their respective Scottish Highland and Lowland upbringings.
“a boldly brilliant record, suffused with dark humour and wildly inventive musicianship” ★★★★★ fRoots
“genre-blending style that is both edgy and inventive. . . A bold, intriguing set.” ★★★★ The Guardian
“challenging, virtuosic music that is far more than the sum of its parts” ★★★★ The Skinny
“one of the most rewarding listening experiences to be placed before an audience this year.” Folk Radio UK

Keep the Faith Silent Disco
2018-07-20 20:00 - 23:00
Our favourite DJ John Ryan returns to Central Library with another Retro Silent Disco on Friday 20th July with a special summer treat.
This time you can dance the night away to –
The Best Northern Soul and Motown featuring Gloria Jones, Al Wilson, The Flirtations and all the biggest dance floor fillers.
Made in Manchester Stone Roses, The Smiths, Oasis, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, James, M People and possibly Herman’s Hermits!
Classic Summer Hits time to spice up your life and shake your booty with a celebration of the best 70’s to 00’s pop hits.

Over 50's Line Dance Extravaganza
2018-09-29 14:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
To Celebrate Valuing Older People’s Day, Manchester Libraries and Manchester Prairie Dogs present
A BEGINNERS LINE DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA

Age friendly line dance lessons
County and Western photo booth
Games and quizzes
Refreshments at the Watering Hole

Places are free but limited so please book early by calling 0161 234 1940 or emailing j.kettlety@manchester.gov.uk.

Both Sides Now International Showcase
2019-03-21 18:30 - 20:30
A bold, experimental and genre-spanning evening of new music created as part of a unique cross-European collaboration.
This free one-off performance will showcase new music and visuals by Laura Campbell (UK) and Mari Sainio (Finland) who have been mentored by multi-instrumentalist and producer LoneLady.
The event will begin with an in-conversation with the three artists where they’ll discuss their creative processes, the inspiration behind their new work and why international collaboration is more important than ever.
Campbell and Sainio were chosen by a panel of Brighter Sound and Manchester City Council’s Library staff following a public call-out across the UK and Europe in December 2018.
A Liverpool-based writer and musician, Laura Campbell creates sound and music compositions for installation and film, and was part of 90’s electronic band Mulu.
A native of Helsinki, composer and producer Mari Sainio combines classical music elements with cinematic melodies and electronic soundscapes and has previously worked with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic and Imogen Heap.
This is the first in a series of international commissions as part of Both Sides Now – a groundbreaking initiative to support gender equality in music. This event is brought to you by Brighter Sound and Library Live – a Manchester City Council & Manchester Central Library Development Trust initiative.
Free – booking required

Make Music Day 2019
2019-06-21 10:30 - 16:30 | Performance Space
This event celebrates the diverse and inclusive nature of music making in Manchester. Showcasing the musical talent of our visitors to Central Library, and demonstrating the range of musical instruments freely available to our library members, join us throughout the day for impromptu performances.
Free – just drop in

Peterloo in Sound
2019-06-22 15:30 - 18:30 | Performance Space
Sound as Being will present ‘Peterloo in Sound’ a 5.1 sound composition by Mark Pilkington inspired by a historical event that came to be known as ‘The Peterloo Massacre’, that happened in Manchester, England on the 16th August, 1819.
The sound material consists of location recordings captured from student protests held in Manchester 2010 and the rural the setting of Maccelesfield Forest, Cheshire in 2010. Historical transcriptions and archive sound recordings were gathered with the help of Prof. Robert Poole of the University of Central Lancashire, The Peoples History Museum, Manchester, The North West Sound Archive and the British Library. The text transcriptions provided a narrative framework to structure the electroacousitc sounds. The soundscape recordings were sonically transformed using a computer and spatially arranged within a 5.1 loud speaker array.
The spatial aspect of the composition considers the listeners position, reception and inclusion. Realised at NOVARS Research Centre, the University of Manches
Free – booking recommended

The Road to Peterloo
2019-08-01 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Musical concert performance of street ballads written around the time of the Peterloo Massacre, telling the story of the underlying circumstances, the events of the day, and the aftermath. Songs are performed by folk musicians Pete Coe, Brian Peters and Laura Smyth, with a variety of acoustic instruments.

Retro Silent Disco
2019-11-08 20:00 - 23:59
Hurrah. The next Retro Silent Disco is on Friday 8th November. The day the Christmas Markets open in Manchester! Spend the early evening soaking up the festive atmosphere in Albert Square, then dance the night away in the fabulous Central Library.
Don’t worry, we won’t be overdoing the Christmas songs that early in November. We’re planning to party with the best retro hits from the 60’s to the 90s!
8pm till midnight. Over 18’s only. Bar open all evening.

Tom Moore & Archie Moss
2019-11-13 18:30 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Accordion/Viola/Electronics duo debuting brand new material from their upcoming album to be released in 2020.
Widely regarded as two of the best players, innovators and performers in traditional folk amongst a precociously gifted generation, their finely-crafted arrangements wield a rare potency. Now, having toured with with some of the biggest and brightest acts in the British folk scene, they reconvene to perform as a duo.
Whilst intrinsically borrowing from English and other European Traditional Dance music, sonically Moore and Moss have their heads firmly in the present, understanding the values of contemporary music and art making.The distinct pulse, energy and group-intuition of trad-music haunts their playing as they continue to push the creative boundaries for English instrumental music, listening and responding to the world around them as much as their musical ancestors.
Doors: 6pm; Performance start: 6:30pm

Songs of Arrival
2020-01-27 16:00 - 17:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
As part of Holocaust Memorial Day, Manchester Jewish Museum’s song-writing group will present an initial performance of songs inspired by the moving stories of Jewish Refugees arriving in Cheetham in the 1930s and 1940s. We have been working with baritone singer Peter Brathwaite (originally from Cheetham) Israeli opera composer Na’ama Zisser and community composer and saxophonist Joe Steele for the past 6 months to bring to life the real life stories within our oral history collection, highlighting the experience of those arriving in Cheetham having fled their home countries.
Free – please drop in

Club Ceoil: Manchester’s Irish Traditional Music Archive
2020-03-19 17:00 - 18:30 | Henry Watson Music Library
THIS EVENT IS NOW CANCELLED
A celebration of Manchester’s traditional Irish music with young musicians, plus a presentation exploring the collaboration of the Club Ceoil Archive in partnership with the British Library’s ‘Unlocking Our Sound Heritage’
Free – please drop in

Hamdel Ensemble Concert
2021-07-17 14:00 - 16:30 | Performance Space
See a free LIVE gig by Iranian maestro musician Seyed Ali Jaberi and the Hamdel Ensemble on Saturday 17 July with two COVID safe repeated concerts at 2pm or 3.30pm.
Fans of world music get – at last – an opportunity to hear global music which is extremely limited due to the restrictions on international travel. The concert is presented by Community Arts North West (CAN) with Manchester Central Library and Crossing Footprints to celebrate Manchester Libraries’ award as a Library of Sanctuary, welcoming people seeking sanctuary and new migrants to the UK. The intimate (and COVID safe) performance is rooted in the life, poetry, and spiritual beliefs of the 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi, and connects audiences to the rich traditions of Sufism through music and whirling dervish dance. The performance is a ticket only with a limited capacity to keep audiences safe and tickets are selling fast. Seyed Ali jaberi has a huge worldwide following. His albums are hugely popular with both traditional Sufi music and world music fans. In 2019, he toured to UK venues and festivals including Birmingham Symphony Hall, The Sage, Gateshead, HOME, Manchester, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. In the autumn, there will be more Library of Sanctuary events in Manchester’s branch libraries and we’ll share news of the events soon.
Free – booking required

Dave Haslam 'All You Need is Dynamite' Book Launch
2021-09-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
In ‘All You Need Is Dynamite: Acid, the Angry Brigade, and the End of the Sixties’ – the latest in his Art Decades series of small format books – Dave Haslam explores the fading of Sixties dreams of peace and love, and the emergence of urban terrorist groups, particularly the Angry Brigade who carried out dozens of bomb attacks in Britain. Haslam tracks the political campaigns, the police repression, and Angry Brigade links to Manchester and the city’s underground paper ‘Mole Express’ (a bible for local acid-freaks, and fans of the Weather Underground and the Edgar Broughton Band); he uncovers a heady mix of left-wing politics, psychedelic music, police raids and political violence.
At this launch event Dave Haslam will be discussing this new book, and welcoming special guest Bruce Mitchell; a renowned musician who played regularly at venues including Roger Eagle’s club the Magic Village (1968-1970). Copies of the book will for sale; a book signing will conclude the event.
The event will also mark the launch the Manchester Digital Music Archive online exhibition of back issues of ‘Mole Express’.
Although Covid regulations have been relaxed, we have cut the capacity of the venue by 40% to allow more social distancing, and we would ask attendees to wear a mask at least on arrival at the Library.
Tickets are £6 (£3 concessions for unwaged, low-waged and NHS staff)

#Like Chopin – Mysterious Story in Manchester
2021-10-13 08:00 - 2021-12-31 17:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
#LikeChopin – The Mysterious Story of Chopin in Manchester
In August 1848 Fryderyk Chopin travelled to Britain.
During the visit he also gave a performance in Manchester.
The concert took place at the Manchester’s Gentleman Concert Hall on Peter Street. The Hall was demolished in 1887 and The Midland Hotel was built on the site. it is reported that his concert in Manchester was attended by the largest audience Chopin ever performed for!
Want to find out more? A brand new exhibition curated by the Polish Consulate is now on display at the Henry Watson Music Library in Manchester Central Library.
There is also an online exhibition celebrating Chopin’s visit to Manchester for you to view here.
“#LikeChopin concept has been devised to bring a closer look into the Fryderyk Chopin journey to The United Kingdom. By combining a plethora of interesting details associated with Chopin’s Manchester concert we have created an attractive visual identity which was applied both in online exhibition and to that which may be seen at Manchester Central Library. We are glad that so many people appreciated the concept and by the same token valued our creative approach. This means that creativity with a modicum of mystery is what binds us together around positive symbols..” Said. Patryk Gowin Vice Consul and Head of Public and Cultural Diplomacy Section at Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Manchester.

International Women's Day: Songbird
2022-03-08 13:00 - 14:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
Join us in the oculus area on the ground floor for this short concert by the RNCM Chamber Choir, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Inspired by birdsong, ‘Songbird’ is an all female composer programme. The programme will include works by Fanny Mendelssohn, Sarah Quartel and Roxanna Panufnik.
The RNCM Chamber Choir is an auditioned ensemble of 24 voices and is open to students of all Schools of Study. The Chamber Choir regularly participates in projects with the Hallé, recently as the semi-chorus in Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliet and alongside the chorus in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. They also have a close relationship with the Edvard Grieg Kor, a professional vocal ensemble based in Bergen, Norway. In 2019 the Chamber Choir travelled to Bergen to perform Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms with the EGK and Bergen Philharmonic under the baton of Thierry Fischer. The choir benefits from the involvement of David Hill, the RNCM’s International Chair in Choral Conducting, who visits several times a year, and Stuart Overington, who directs the ensembles.
Free- please drop in

MIRO Chamber Ensemble
2022-04-28 15:00 - 16:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
Join us for an intimate performance by a Manchester International Roots Orchestra chamber ensemble in the Hentry Watson Music Library on the First Floor of Central Library.
The Manchester International Roots Orchestra (MIRO) is a unique ensemble of musicians with roots from across the world including students from the RNCM. Our repertoire skilfully combines diverse musical influences from haunting Eastern European melodies, to the delicate textures of Middle Eastern percussion and vocals; through to soulful Sufi chants of South Asia, joyful African gospel – embracing rap, hip-hop, classical music and jazz along the way.
Free – please drop in

North West Mixtape
2022-05-30 17:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
Join us for this closing event ‘North West Mixtape’ in which selections of archive audio from the Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project are celebrated. We’ve spent the last three years digitising, cataloguing and clearing the rights for over 4000 recordings from archives across the North West region. This event pairs an audio-visual showreel of key recordings preserved during the project with live performances from two local artists. Gary Fisher and Freda Wallace will use and rework archive extracts from Kirkby Local History Society and Women Cotton Mill Workers recordings (respectively) to form new, live pieces of sound art. Gary Fisher is a sound artist and experimental composer whose work explores sound through processes of inquiry and experimentation with objects, actions, words, places, and technologies. Freda Wallace is a multi-disciplinary artist, one strand of which allows her to create industrial soundscapes using sewing machines.
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
https://northwestsoundheritage.org/
You can find out more about the national Unlocking Our Sound Heritage project at the British Library’s website. Unlocking Our Sound Heritage is supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
https://www.bl.uk/projects/unlocking-our-sound-heritage

'Musick' in Manchester 1744/45
2022-07-11 13:00 - 14:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
Musick in Manchester 1744/45 recreates the first ever public concert series known to have been given in Manchester, prefiguring the remarkable musical tradition that accompanied Manchester’s development into one of Europe’s leading industrial cities. Remarkable, and until now underrepresented, the series includes sixteen concert programmes, which survive in a literary transcript by John Harland written a century later in 1844. Through research by Dr Pauline Nobes, many works can be identified directly, but we also utilise Manchester’s archives, most notably the extraordinary collection of Cardinal Ottoboni, housed at Manchester’s Henry Watson Library, bringing to light a significant amount of neglected music. Join us for the third concert in our series, which recreates the original concert first performed on 9th July 1745.
Pauline Nobes, is recognised as one of Europe’s foremost Baroque vioiniists and specialists in historical performance practice. For many years she worked with period instrument ensembles such as The English Baroque Soloists, The English Concert and Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique playing in the most prestigious concert halls and festivals throughout Europe, the USA and Japan participating in over 100 CD productions. For many years Pauline was concertmaster for The Academy of Ancient Music, Das Neue Orchester and Musica Antiqua Köln. Now guest leading in European Opera theaters, she also continues her commitment to teaching, at home and abroad and is Artistic Director and leader for Manchester Baroque.
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

An Evening with Claire Mooney and Special Guests
2022-09-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Join Claire Mooney and special guests at Central Library for a night of music and poetry like no other.
Claire Mooney is a singer songwriter with numerous albums and international airplay to her credit. Described by NME as ‘a real talent’ and Music Week as ‘a people’s songstress’ Claire mixes the political with the playful and blends it all together into a performance of serious fun.
For personal reasons, Dave Puller is now unfortunately unable to perform at this event, but we are delighted to announce that Claire will be joined by award winning playwright and poet Alex Keelan and Manchester based writer and poet Marie Crook.

RETRO SILENT DISCO IS BACK!!!
2022-09-09 20:00 - 23:59 | Performance Space
You may have been living on a prayer that our super popular Silent Disco was ever going to return, but we were never gonna give you up!
If you’re desperate to strut your funky stuff to the best retro pop, rock and soul, Central Library is the place you wannabee. Since you’ve been gone, the fab DJ John has been creating some magic new mixes for you to get bootylicious to and reach for the stars!
So, don’t stop believin’ and get booking those tickets now.
Tickets range from £6 (+ booking fee) to ‘4 tickets for the price of 3’ bundles!
We can’t wait to see you on 9th September!

Tiki Black - EVENT CANCELLED
2022-11-30 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED
Award-winning musician and author Tiki Black released her sophomore album this year, which is entitled “The Sound Of The Broken Wand.” The Manchester-based artist, via Paris and Cameroon, has drawn inspiration from some of the best names in the industry worldwide to create memorable albums. The acclaimed second album received an Outstanding Legacy Award from The Akademia Music Awards as well as critical praise alluding to its timelessness, authenticity and quality. Entropy Mag (USA) underscores its “spellbinding beauty” and “grace.” Liverpool Sound and Vision (UK) calls it “influential,” “charming,” “uplifting,” and “outrageously cool.” Fatea magazine (UK) speaks of a “phenomenal album, full of soulful and haunting melodies that will capture your heart.”.
The author also bares her soul with her first book of the same name. This unique accompaniment to her second album is a collection of heartfelt poems and one essay. She weaves the wealth of her life into each line, from bouncing around the world to experiencing different peoples and settings, while evoking a sense of magic. Her unique voice blends Western and African cultures in a soothing way evoking both inner strength and fragility.
Tiki Black has been hailed as a true visionary for her writing and for her “bewitching” (Edgar Allan Poets), authentic and honest (The Next Gig – Netherlands, Entropy) performances. She now shares part of her innermost self as she launches her book and CD at Central Library.
Image credit: Lucy Ridges Photography

Big Fat Music Library Quiz; Eurovision Special!
2023-04-27 17:45 - 19:30 | Henry Watson Music Library
Geopolitical alliances at the ready!
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will be held just a stone’s throw from Manchester in lovely Liverpool. To celebrate this once is a lifetime (well 25 years anyway) event, we’re hosting a special edition of our Big Fat Music Library quiz on Thursday 27th April.
So if you think you know your Bucks Fizz from your Bardo or your Loreen from your Lorde, then please join us in the Henry Watson Music Library from 5.45pm for the Big Fat Eurovision Quiz

Teams of up to four people – Great prizes to be won!

Free entry. Just email alan.lynch@manchester.gov.uk to book a table.

Michael Burns
2023-06-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
Join us for this live performance by an experienced folk musician who draws inspiration from local and family history. Michael Burns’ repertoire incorporates music from a wide timespan and he is interested in music pertaining to social commentary and how it relates to the present day.
Click on the links to hear some of Michael’s music:
‘Mulespinners Cottrells We‘, tells the story of the Stalybridge Town Band and its involvement in Peterloo.
‘Tameside Lads’ tells of a sea rescue back in the 1800s.
‘James Keogh’ is about the role of people from Manchester in the Spanish Civil War.
‘Oh Marie’ is an impressionistic account of an Irish Traveller funeral in Gorton.
‘The Little Count’ is a waltz celebrating the music of a diminutive Polish musician who toured Europe in Georgian times before settling in Durham.
Free – just drop in – please consider making a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme if you can, either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

New Drum Kit!
2023-06-07 10:00 - 20:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
We have a new electronic drum kit, which will be available from this day! Our old kits have been popular features of the department and we’ve had lots of enquiries about when to expect a new one. It’s finally here, and bookings can be made at the Henry Watson Music Library desk or over the phone by calling 0161 234 1976, from 7 June. Please note that there are designated hour-long timeslots for this and events might affect availability.

MIRO - Performance
2023-06-11 14:30 - 15:30 | Henry Watson Music Library
Manchester International Roots Orchestra return, to perform on our Sunday Funday as part of the Festival of Libraries, bringing together musicians, instruments and musical traditions from all parts of the globe, to perform both original and traditional pieces, MIRO is always brilliant and offers a chance to experience something unique.
There will also be a brief talk on the Global Folk Instruments Heritage Project, a collaboration between MIRO, the Henry Watson Music Library and the Royal Northern College Of Music. This project explores and examines musical cultures and instruments from different times and locations and will yield documentaries, performances, educational sessions, written pieces and more over the coming years.
Free – just drop in – please consider making a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme if you can, either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Make Music Day
2023-06-21 10:00 - 19:30 | Henry Watson Music Library
The Henry Watson Music Library will again host a small festival as part of this international annual celebration of music. A variety of artists of many different styles will perform short sets (around 20 minutes) throughout the day, leading to a final full performance and presentation by Manchester International Roots Orchestra. It’s always a really good day of enjoying the joys of music!
Free – just drop in – please consider making a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme if you can, either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Paper Piano Presents: Opening Night
2023-07-13 08:00 - 17:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
This is the first “Paper Piano Presents” event to mark the exhibition in the Henry Watson Music Library. As part of the opening night visitors will have the opportunity to listen to Paper Piano’s back catalogue including rare tracks from The Oreoh!s, The Declining Winter and SPIRIT:level. There will be the chance to purchase limited art works by DJ Goalpost as well as picking up one of his free badges. Mark Hoyle (Dub Sex, Dumb, SPIRIT:level) will also be making an appearance to read some of his poems published by Paper Piano Press.
Free – please drop in
Please support our Library Live Programme, if you can, by donatng via the cash or contactless donation points in the venue or online
