Free Lunchtime Concerts at The Bridgewater Hall in 2017 Escape from the bustle of the city and relax with our series of free, informal concerts. Enjoy a bite to eat or simply sit back and enjoy the music. With a mix of jazz, world, folk, classical and more, there’s something for everyone.
A Little Bite Music is The Bridgewater Hall’s series of free lunchtime concerts, running from May to September. Join us for all or part of each performance, whether to enjoy a leisurely lunch in the Stalls Café Bar or to hear some great music in a short break from the office. Most concerts take place in the Stalls Foyer and do not require a ticket. For events in the Barbirolli Room, advance booking is highly recommended. This year we are delighted to be working in collaboration with leading music organisations Manchester Jazz Festival, Brighter Sound, Milapfest, Chetham’s School of Music and Jazz North to bring truly outstanding musicians to The Bridgewater Hall; both those starting out in their careers as well as more established artists.
The Magic Beans Friday 5 May 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer The Magic Beans are a band with an ear for a quirky cover and the imagination to take it in a completely new direction. Their rootsy originals draw influence from folk, jazz and world music traditions. They’ll be playing music from their second album Anything You Can Dream.
Mickey Van Gelder Friday 12 May 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer Mickey Van Gelder who is of Ukrainian and Polish heritage, grew up in Ilford, Essex. He has always loved jazz and blues but underpinning all his musical influences, were the Hebrew and Yiddish songs from his childhood. Mickey’s show at the Bridgewater combines all these genres as he performs and discusses the Jewish influences on the songs of Great American Songbook.
Henry Fung & Tong Peng Monday 15 May 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer Two of the north west’s most prominent Chinese traditional music performers, Henry Fung and Tong Peng perform together at A Little Bite Music for the first time. A highly regarded erhu player, Henry is the Musical Director of the Manchester Cantonese Opera Club and Tong Peng holds a Masters in Gu Zheng Performance from the prestigious China Music Conservatory in Beijing.
The Tebu Project
Janileigh Cohen
Friday 2 June 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer
Friday 9 June 1.00pm to 2.00pm Stalls Foyer
Two of the integral members of The Tebu Project, Cameroonian Tagné Tebu (percussion) and Kinshasa-born Eddy Tshepe Tshepela (piano), first appeared at the 2015 Manchester Jazz Festival as Afrika Jazz. Today they are joined by Congolese bass-player, Job Kayembe. Expect classic jazz tinged with African and Latin rhythms, along with some of Tagné Tebu’s own compositions.
A performance by singer songwriter and Brighter Sound alumni, Janileigh Cohen, described by Beth Orton as ‘a star in the old fashioned sense of the word’ following a recent residency. Janileigh’s musical influences include contemporary folk artists Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.
Musicians from Chetham’s School of Music Wednesday 28 June 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer
Roth Duo classical guitar Friday 16 June 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer The Roth Duo formed in 2014 through a shared love of chamber music and quickly developed a strong following, performing at festivals throughout the UK including Lake District Summer Music and Buxton Festival and at venues such as The Bridgewater Hall, St Martin in the Fields, De Montfort Hall, The Pavilion Arts Centre, St Giles Cathedral and Edinburgh Castle.
Chetham’s singers and pianists perform a concert celebrating their youthful talents, revisiting some of the finest performances of their school year and previewing the end of term performances. With a music programme embracing classical, opera and contemporary jazz, their performance promises a treat for all audience members and a chance to say you saw them here first.
Louise Thomson harp Friday 7 July 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer Hear the lyrical sound of the classical harp with a performance by versatile and experienced harpist, Louise Thomson whose career highlights include performing for HRH Queen Elizabeth II and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at The Royal Variety Performance and performing live on BBC 1 for the Heaven and Earth show with soprano Katherine Jenkins. Louise takes great pride in her harp teaching and has built up a highly vibrant harp community around the north of England.
How Monkey Found His Swing
The Rheingans Sisters
Friday 28 July 12.30pm to 1.30pm Barbirolli Room
Friday 1 September 12.30pm to 1.30pm Stalls Foyer
Join us for a fun, interactive concert experience for the young and the young at heart. Join acclaimed storyteller Ursula Holden Gill and musicians from Hillary Step Saxophone Quartet on a musical adventure through the jungle as a jazz loving monkey loses his swing and vows to get it back. Free, ticketed event. Advance booking highly recommended.
Wandering Monster Friday 4 August 11.30am to 12.30pm The winner of the current Jazz North Introduces scheme, which helps young bands tour across major northern jazz festivals, Wandering Monster is Sam Quintana’s outlet for his inventive, energetic compositions: intense melodies and electrifying off-kilter grooves, passionately played by these accomplished young instrumentalists from the Leeds jazz scene. In association with Jazz North Introduces & MJF
The Rheingans Sisters are fiddlesingers, composers, innovators of traditional music and are described by Songlines magazine as ‘a duo of considerable abilities and imaginations to match’. Both have studied fiddle music in Scandinavia and their music reflects influences from both northern and southern European fiddle traditions.
Portmanteau Friday 8 September 12.30pm to 1.30pm Barbirolli Room Highly danceable funk/soul/hiphop with dynamic vocals, a tight horn section and an in-the-pocket rhythm section, Leeds-based Portmanteau will bring infectious grooves to The Bridgewater Hall in this high energy live show. Brought to you in collaboration with Jazz North. Free, ticketed event. Advance booking highly recommended.
Milapfest Jasdeep Singh Degun sitar Kousic Sen tabla Monday 11 September 12.30pm to 1.30pm Barbirolli Room Rising star of the classical Indian music scene, Jasdeep Singh Degun, takes to the stage alongside tabla maestro, Kousic Sen, in a concert which will delight audiences with a traditional Hindustani Afternoon Raga. Brought to you in collaboration with Milapfest. Free, ticketed event. Advance booking highly recommended.
Don’t miss Manchester Jazz Festival’s series of free late morning concerts taking place in The Bridgewater Hall Stalls Foyer.
Toco Madera Tuesday 1 August 11.30am
Treppenwitz Wednesday 2 August 11.30am
Alexander Bone Quartet Thursday 3 August 11.30am Alexander Bone
Make a difference to the local community by joining The Bridgewater Hall Community Education Trust’s membership scheme, Friends of Bridgewater For All. Membership is just £30 (or £50 to join with a partner) and in return you’ll receive an exclusive membership card giving you access to a range of discounts and benefits. Gift Memberships are also available.
How to join You can join today at the Box Office. Alternatively, call 0161 907 9000 or email learning@bridgewater-hall.co.uk for further details.
No ticket is required for performances in the Stalls Foyer, although we recommend arriving in good time to avoid disappointment. Performances in the Barbirolli Room are also free to attend, but you will require a ticket, for which advance booking is highly recommended.
A Little Bite Music is funded by The Bridgewater Hall Community Education Trust (Registered Charity 1058495) and SMG Europe Holdings Ltd (operators of The Bridgewater Hall). There will be a collection for The Bridgewater Hall Community Education Trust at the end of each performance and we thank all our donors for their generous contributions.
Other events in the building – such as tours, lunch groups and conferences – help to maintain our concert programme and Bridgewater for All activity throughout the year. Occasionally a small amount of sound transfer will arise as part of a busy, working building.
OLDHAM
NCP
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STOCKPORT & BUXTON
SALE & ALTRINCHAM
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M56 MANCHESTER AIRPORT & WILMSLOW M56 CHESTER/M6 BIRMINGHAM
Box Office: 0161 907 9000 www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk
ASHTON UNDER LYNE
M61 BOLTON/WIGAN/M6 PRESTON M602 & M60/M62 LIVERPOOL SALFORD QUAYS & ECCLES
M66 BURY/M62 ROCHDALE, LEEDS