Music Nation

• June 2011

  

  BBC launches Music Nation - a celebration of the UK's live music community as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

  The BBC today (16th June 2011) announced Music Nation, a weekend of live music events taking place across the UK on 3 & 4 March 2012, with related performances and community activities in the week leading up to it.

  The six BBC Performing Groups will play a major role in the weekend.

  BBC Singers
  The BBC Singers, Voices Now and Making Music lead a weekend of choral music-making in London and throughout England, culminating in a large scale event in the Roundhouse in Camden.

  BBC Symphony Orchestra
  The BBC Symphony Orchestra and Rufus Wainwright present the UK premiere of Wainwright's setting of Shakespeare sonnets at the Barbican. Full details of these events and tickets will be available on bbc.co.uk/symphonyorchestra in mid July.

  BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
  The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra will be joined by, among others, Nicola Benedetti, members of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and the National Youth Choir of Scotland for a celebration of sporting and musical heroes in Glasgow, including the world premiere of a newly commissioned fanfare from James MacMillan.

  BBC Concert Orchestra
  The BBC Concert Orchestra celebrates musical life in the South West. Joining the Orchestra on stage at Plymouth Pavilions on Saturday 3 March, 200 participants from the Cornwall and Devon Family Orchestra & Chorus perform a specially commissioned piece. On Sunday 4 March, the Orchestra heads out into the local community to perform a range of concerts across the two counties.

  BBC Philharmonic
  Echoes - a celebration of Salford Quays is the culmination of a large-scale, celebratory creative project, involving the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Salford Family Orchestra and Chorus, Nottingham Family Orchestra and Chorus and local primary schools, premiering a new piece which celebrates the past and future of the Quays.

  BBC National Orchestra of Wales
  BBC National Orchestra of Wales in partnership the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, National Youth Brass Band and more than 250 young singers from Welsh county choirs present a concert inspired by Wales including a new commission for Music Nation by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. Across the weekend, BBC National Orchestra of Wales will work with music ensembles from across Wales to create a shared weekend of free music making activity.

• • Read the full press release
    

• More stories

  • June 2011: BBC Singers Blog posts
  • July 2011: BBC Singers Discovering Music: explore the archives