On Sunday 3 September, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) returned to perform in Wembley Park and joined with local artists and performing groups for Wemba’s Dream: Join the Journey, a festival performance of music, dance, poetry and carnival arts that celebrated the unique and diverse communities of Brent, two years after the first instance of Wemba's Dream.
Read on to see photos and videos of the day.
All photos (c) Chris Winter.
The performances started with Fanfare for Humanity by Libby Larsen at the Undercroft by twelve members of the RPO's brass section including trumpets, horns, trombones and tubas.
Members of Mahogany Carnival Arts were dressed to impress and led a festival procession around Wembley Stadium from the Olympic Steps Undercroft to the Green Parking space, where the rest of the performance took place.
The 55-player strong RPO started the next part of the performance with the exuberant Celebration by British composer Richard Rodney Bennett, conducted by Patrick Bailey. The spoken word group Word Up entered the scene to introduce the audience to the journey ahead.
The Sujata Banerjee Dance Company performed a piece choreographed by the company's leader, Sujata, which was inspired by migrating birds and the vast murmurations (or moving formations) that flocks of birds make in the sky.
Word Up then led us into an original song, Journeying Home, written by Trevor Brown and orchestrated by Dani, with the Orchestra accompanying Trevor.
Ending the performance, St Michael and All Angels Steel Orchestra performed Lord Kitchener's Sugar Bum Bum (orchestrated by Dani) live with the RPO and Mahogany Carnival in a fantastic finale to Wemba's Dream: Join the Journey.
"Wemba’s Dream: Join the Journey was the second iteration of a colourful celebration of multiculturalism, which first took to the streets of Wembley Park two years ago. And given its success, it’s unlikely to be the last."
Watch highlights from the day on the RPO Instagram
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Relaxed Performance in Brent Civic Centre, Saturday 14 October