The party is coming to you! BCO Summer Tour

The Brixton Chamber Orchestra Summer Tour 2024 will bring free live music – from Bach to Afrobeats – across two weekends of orchestral magic in Lambeth.

The BCO’s young and diverse 30-piece orchestra will perform in 11 tenement houses, alongside local singers, rappers and open-mic guests, in a one-hour set.

The program will include swing, waltzes and polkas, baroque dances, grime and hip hop, overtures and intermezzi, popular music from various traditions, symphonic movements, disco, musical theatre, samba, pop and rock songs and much more.

Local guests will include talented singers and rappers.

Audience participation is a huge element of a BCO event and, as always, the orchestra will invite residents to perform with it in open mic sessions.

Rappers, singers, dancers, poets and instrumentalists are invited to perform – sometimes to a backing beat they’ve prepared, and sometimes to their own material that the BCO will improvise behind.

So whether you’re a seasoned music lover or simply looking for a melodious and fun summer evening under the open sky, BCO’s Summer Estates Tour promises an afternoon or evening to remember.

“Grab a blanket, gather your loved ones and head down to your local estate – the party is coming to you!” says BCO.

Rising star vocalist on the tour will be B MELA, an Afro Pop and R&B singer and songwriter.

She appeared on BBC radio on BBC 1Xtra Song of the week and was the chosen artist on the station’s RnB number at Maida Vale Studios. She also headlined the BBC Music Introducing Stage at the Latitude festival.

Raised by Nigerian parents with her three younger siblings, she established her passion for music early and explored singing and performing, joining various choirs and musical ensembles in London.

MELA stands for “mastering expressing love always”. “This is exactly what she stands for and aspires to inspire people through her music,” says BCO.

She will be joined by a special guest rapper on the tour.

Weekend 1, July 19–21

Stockwell Hall of FameStockwell Park Estate, 7 Aytoun Place, SW9 0TT
Friday 19. 19–20

Cressingham Gardens EstateSW2 2NJ
Saturday 20. 15.30–16.30

Angell Town EstatePeckford Place, SW9 7BP
Saturday 20. 19–20

Moorlands Community Centre50A Corry Drive, SW9 8QT
Sunday 21 15.30–16.30 at

Kingswood ArtsKingswood House, Seeley Drive SE21 8QR
Sunday 21. 19–20

Weekend 2, July 26–28

China Walk EstateSE11 6BE
Friday 26. 15.30–16.30

Vauxhall Gardens Estate17 Jonathan Street, SE11 5LE (behind Carmelita Centre)
Friday 26. 19–20

Clapham Park EstateThe Cube, 116 Kings Ave, SW4 8EP
Saturday 27. 15.30–16.30

Deronda EstateLavender Hope Centre, 5 Jarrett Close, SW2 3DG
Saturday 27. 19–20

Palace Road EstateTulse Hill, SW2 3EB
Sunday 28. 15.30–16.30

St. Matthew’s ChurchBrixton Hill SW2 1JF
Sunday 28: 19-20

For more information, visit the BCO Summer Estates Tour 2024 webpage

BCO main website

The tour is supported by a number of donors including The Jerwood Foundation, Brixton Brewery and Lambeth Council Changing Lives Fund.

The Estates Tours is BCO’s flagship project and started in December 2018.

Every winter and summer the BCO brings a 30-piece orchestra to perform a varied program in the Lambeth properties.

Their Summer Tour shows take place outdoors in grassy gardens or amphitheater-like central spaces on estates surrounded by balcony tower blocks.

Where possible, performances are integrated into existing resident events, with the whole community coming together in celebration.

In this way, BCO ensures that it has as much impact as possible and can enhance the efforts of community leaders.

According to feedback from the last Summer Estates tour in July 2023, an estimated 20% of the audience (1,394 attendees over 12 performances) had never seen a live orchestral performance before.

The BCO is a registered charity dedicated to bringing live orchestral experiences to diverse audiences in Brixton and beyond.

It has four main aims: to bring orchestral music to new audiences, to provide a platform for Brixton musicians, to innovate orchestral experiences and to be a valued part of the community.

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