Alternative concert promoter, through the noise, celebrated its second birthday last night revealing details of its new season in partnership with record label Warner Classics.
The season, starting this September, will see the organisation’s popular ‘noisenights’ spread to 22 venues across the UK, including Camden’s live music venue KOKO and Invisible Wind Factory in Liverpool’s dockside.
The concerts form part of its mission to rebuild classical music to be more positive and inclusive. Over 25,000 people are predicted to attend a ‘noisenight’ by the end of the year.
Artistic director Jack Bazalgette told Polyphony: “We’re passionate about classical music as a positive and uplifting part of our cultural life, so we want it to have the broadest reach possible. It feels like we’re well on the way to fulfilling that mission today as we see our grassroots classical gigs begin to join the mainstream UK gig scene in the best possible way.”
Through its partnership with Warner Classics, artists singer Fatma Said, cellist Abel Selaocoe and guitarist Thibaut Garcia will perform sets from their latest albums in dedicated launch events throughout the season.
Sean Michael Gross, director of Warner Classics UK, said: “through the noise is doing incredible work breaking down barriers in classical music by making it exciting and accessible to young, enthusiastic music lovers. I’ve been a fan of noisenights since attending my first one more than a year ago, and we at Warner Classics are thrilled to be partnering with them.”
Created in 2020, when the first lockdown brought the classical concert scene to a halt, co-founders Bazalgette and Jack Crozier noticed demand through the pandemic sore. The pair decided to reinvent the traditional concert, bringing it into more unconventional settings.
The community-led organisation works purely on a crowdfunding basis with concerts only confirmed when the target has been achieved. Over the two years, its ‘noisenights’ have a sell-out rate of 95%.
In addition to the concerts, through the noise is expanding on its previous successes to involve more community-based projects including school outreach and mental health projects in collaboration with various London charities.
“We are committed to giving as many young people around the country the chance to experience great live classical music,” says Bazalgette. “It feels like a no-brainer to add in early evening concerts for children as part of what we do. We’re hoping that as of this autumn our tours will regularly feature early-evening interactive concerts for children.”
The season starts 17 September with Fatma Said performing at Lafayette, London. Book your ticket here