World premiere of choral work inspired by Malala in London on 28th October

Malala: A Child of Our Time – Tuesday 28 October 2014, 7.30pm | Barbican, London

             Now a musical tribute to Malala

 

A new choral work inspired by Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for female education, is to have its world premiere in London on October 28.

Malala, now 17, currently living and studying in Birmingham after receiving medical treatment in England two years ago, was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, the youngest ever recipient. Music for the new work, to be performed on October 28 at London’s Barbican Centre, is by young British composer James McCarthy. The words are by Pakistan-based writer and journalist Bina Shah.

It has been commissioned by the Crouch End Festival Chorus, one of the country’s leading symphonic choirs based in north London.  The 120-strong choir will be joined by several dozen girls of Malala’s age from local schools.

Other works by McCarthy, 34, include “17 Days”, based on the 2010 Chilean mining accident, premiered in 2012, and “Codebreaker”, on the life of Alan Turing who unlocked  Nazi Germany’s Enigma Code, performed earlier this year. The forthcoming concert includes Michael Tippett’s “A Child of Our Time”, begun in 1939, the composer’s  response to the assassination of a German official the previous year by a young Polish Jew, which was swiftly followed by the Nazi pogrom against the Jews known as Kristallnacht.

The concert is presented in support of The Malala Fund which campaigns to promote free access to education for girls across the world.

Tuesday 28 October 2014, 7.30pm, Barbican

Tickets: £12.50 – £28.00

20% off: CEFC Friends, Crouch End Card holders and Barbican Members

50% off: 18 and under

 

PERFORMERS

Erica Eloff soprano

Jennifer Johnston mezzo-soprano

Andrew Staples tenor

Ashley Riches baritone

 

Crouch End Festival Chorus

City of London School for Girls Senior Choir

Hornsey School for Girls Choir

St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School Choir

London Orchestra da Camera

David Temple conductor