To celebrate International Music Day we will have a series of informal pop-up musical performances throughout the day with opportunities to share your love of music as a listener or performer.
Faye MacCalman (clarinet, tenor saxophone)/John Pope (electric bass)/Christian Alderson (drums) Faye MacCalman fronts Newcastle sax-bass-drums trio, Archipelago, drawing on garage rock, minimalism and free improvisation: riffs, silence, noise and grooves create a collage of hard-edged blocks of sound that evolve over the performance. A Manchester Jazz Festival event Free - please drop in (subject to availability)
Otto Willberg (double bass)/Harry Smith (tenor saxophone)/Alexander Tod (drums) A fiery take on the sax-bass-drums trio format, favouring short and snappy tunes in the spirit of punk: free improvisation delivered with humour, melody and fun. “The band has been described as “Imagine Eric Dolphy playing Stravinsky-esque circus music and you’ll get some inkling of the kind […]
Electrifying guitarists Alex Roth, Chris Montague and Chris Sharkey exploit the instrument’s full potential to create music of extremes, using extended techniques and expansive soundscapes. Advance: £8.50 (inc 50p bkg fee) / OTD: £10 A Manchester Jazz Festival event
Andrew explores the capabilities of the pocket piano – a tiny, hand-built synthesiser. He improvises sweeping soundscapes using both intricate textures and simple melodies. Bristol sax and drums duo, Run Logan Run strive for intensity within the moment - from quiet, bird-like noises to huge, monolithic sounds. Advance: £8.50 (inc 50p bkg fee) / OTD: […]
Clouds both celebrate and challenge the preconceived charm of this beloved instrument with new music embracing minimalism, folk and classical - interspersed with improvisation. Advance: £8.50 (inc 50p bkg fee) / OTD: £10 A Manchester Jazz Festival event
Tom Thorp’s new ensemble of nimble-fingered, northern talents subverts the roles within the saxophone quartet with experimental composition techniques: energetic and always musical. Advance: £8.50 (inc 50p bkg fee) / OTD: £10 A Manchester Jazz Festival event
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
From dedicated performance spaces to stairwells, screens, nooks and domes, Central Library might directly inspire your next event or intervention. Contact us to arrange a tour.
