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Archive film and chamber music come alive together at concert in Norwich’s Guildhall on Saturday 14th January 2012

Wednesday, 4th January 2012

 

12 concerts, 12 buildings, 12 months...

The third concert in Chamber Orchestra Anglia's (COA) 10^th anniversary series will take place on Saturday 14^th January 2012 at 7.30pm in Caley's Cocoa Café in Norwich's historic Guildhall.

 

The monthly concerts, taking place in each of the Norwich 12 buildings, are run in collaboration with Norwich Heritage Economic & Regeneration Trust (HEART), and this unique performance will be accompanied by a selection of archive films of Norwich, provided by HEART's Digital Heritage project. 

The archive film on display will show our fine city in the first half of the 20^th century, including rare footage of a tram ride through Norwich in 1902, a post-war funeral of a Norwich heroine and a look at the fashions on sale in 1920s Norwich.

Digital Heritage Project Manager, Jane Jarvis, said of this collaboration: 'Many of these early films would originally have been screened in local venues and accompanied by a live orchestra - so to repeat history once more bringing the films alive 100 years or so later is a special opportunity for HEART. For it all to happen in such a significant building as the Guildhall is the icing on the cake.'

The Chamber Orchestra Anglia will be playing music specifically selected to match the tone and time of the archive film, and will treat the audience to pieces from Elgar, Percy Grainger and Martino, as well as the monumental but rarely performed Kodály duo for violin and cello.

Sharon Choa, COA founder and Artistic Director, said: 'Caley's Cocoa Café is a very atmospheric venue; add to this the music and the fabulous archive film and we are going to have a truly memorable evening. This event fulfils Chamber Orchestra Anglia's ambition to celebrate Norwich's history and heritage. We hope our music will match the majesty and beauty of this unique city.'

Roger King, Director of Caley's said: 'Caley's are delighted to be hosting this concert. The Guildhall will provide a perfect venue for this event and with the ambience of the wonderful café, it is sure to be a pleasurable evening.'

There will be an opportunity for audience members to enjoy a tour of The Guildhall prior to the concert in Caley's Cafe, tickets for the free tour can be organised at the time of booking. The Guildhall was Norwich's City Hall from the 15^th century until it was replaced by the current City Hall in 1938. It is not fully accessible to the general public, but those who take part in the tour will get an exclusive view of The Guildhall's virtually intact Victorian courtroom, 15^th Century undercroft and magnificent Council Chamber.

Concert tickets cost £15 and are available from the Norwich Theatre Royal Box Office in person, by phone (01603 630000) or online (http://www.chamberorchestraanglia.co.uk)

This concert follows the first two performances in the COA 10^th anniversary series, which took place at The Forum & Surrey House in November & December respectively. The music at each concert is especially selected to match the venue's unique qualities, with further exciting performances set to take place at St Andrew's Hall in February with special guest Griff Rhys Jones and at Norwich's Georgian Assembly House in March.

This series of concerts forms part of HEART's SHAPING 24 project, a cultural heritage and tourism initiative which takes forward the Norwich 12 project with 12 heritage sites in the Belgian city of Ghent.

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Notes to editors

Chamber Orchestra Anglia (COA) founder and Artistic Director Sharon Choa and Digital Heritage Project Manager Jane Jarvis are both available for media interviews.

Screen grabs from the films are available upon request. For more information please contact Lindsey Roffe, Communications Manager at Norwich HEART on 01603 599570 or email lindseyroffe@heritagecity.org

For more information about COA please contact Paul Dickson on 01603 666011 or 07801 103737.

About Norwich HEART

Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART) is a private, charitable trust set up to act as an umbrella organisation for all of the heritage on offer in Norwich. We strategically plan, regenerate, manage and promote Norwich's heritage and act as a best practice model internationally for developing heritage as a social and economic regeneration vehicle. HEART receives core funding from Norwich City Council and further project funding from a variety of sources which has to date included the European Union, HM Treasury, the East of England Development Agency and Norfolk County Council.

Norwich 12 and SHAPING 24 are initiatives by HEART.

www.heritagecity.org

 

About Norwich 12

Norwich 12 is the UK's finest collection of individually outstanding heritage buildings spanning the Norman, Georgian, Victorian and modern eras, offering walks and tours; visitor attractions; exhibitions; music and performances; cafes and restaurants; and gift shops. It is a pioneering heritage concept that is developing 12 of the city's iconic buildings into an integrated family of heritage attractions which will act as an internationally important showcase of English urban and cultural development over the last 1,000 years.

Norwich 12 comprises: Norwich Castle, Norwich Cathedral, The Great Hospital, The Halls - St Andrew's and Blackfriars', The Guildhall, Dragon Hall, The Assembly House, St James Mill, The Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Surrey House, City Hall and The Forum.

Norwich 12 is an initiative by Norwich HEART, which secured £1 million from the Treasury's Invest to Save Budget for the project to initially run 2006-9. The ERDF funding allows this initiative to be developed until 2011.

www.norwich12.co.uk

 

About SHAPING 24

SHAPING 24 - Strategies for Heritage Access Pathways in Norwich and Ghent - is a new cultural tourism initiative that links together the 12 heritage sites in Norwich that make up Norwich 12, with 12 heritage sites in Ghent. The project seeks to promote and support the 24 sites, raise the profile of Norwich and Ghent as significant cultural heritage cities and increase awareness of the longstanding historical links between this part of England and the Low Countries. By working together, the two cities will benefit from the experiences and professional expertise in both cities, and will be able to apply innovative approaches to the challenges facing historic cities.

SHAPING 24 is being led by HEART with Ghent City Council as the partner organisation. The project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund from the European Union's INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013. The total value of SHAPING 24 is €4.5m, of which Norwich's share is €2.3m, which includes match funding from a variety of organisations.

www.shaping24.eu

 

About the Digital Heritage Project

Norwich HEART's Digital Heritage Project is currently working with the East Anglia Film Archive (EAFA) to digitise hundreds of archive films from Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire from as far back as 1896. With an aim of bringing the archive alive, the Digital Heritage Project is working with two major film archives from both sides of the channel, EAFA and Rouen based, Pôle Image Haute-Normandie.

 

In 2012, the Digital Heritage Project will launch its new website which will showcase a vast and impressive collection of East Anglian and French films which are an important part of our social history and heritage.  This project is made possible via EU funding from the Interreg IVA Channel Programme within the scope of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

 

Norwich HEART is partnering Pole Image Haute-Normandie as part of their Interreg Channel Partnership, Digital Heritage.

The East Anglian Film Archive is the moving image archive for the region. The Archive is owned and operated by the University of East Anglia (UEA) www.eafa.org.uk

Pôle Image Haute-Normandie is a non-profit organisation funded by the Region of Upper Normandy and The Minister of Culture and Communication for its missions in favour of cinema, audiovisual production and photography www.poleimagehn.com

Interreg IVA Channel Programme is funded by the European Union, within the scope of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The programme aims to promote emergence - between the French and English parties - of a space of common citizenship fostering a sense of belonging to a cross-border area, and endowed with a specific identity www.interreg3.com