Sound Links performance: three new works reflecting the past, present and future of a community

Sound Links was a project by the Ulster Orchestra, Zeppo Arts and Townsend Enterprise Park as part of Belfast 2024, which celebrated the past, present and future of Townsend Street, Belfast, the site of the Orchestra's new home.

The project culminated in a Block Party on the street on 21 September 2024 featuring live music, street performance, food and craft markets, kids’ activities and more, and concluded with the premiere of three newly-commissioned works by local composers Úna Monaghan, Rory Friers and Jamie Thompson, which were performed by the Ulster Orchestra.

Over the past few months, several consultation workshops were held in the local area where members of the public came to share their memories and stories of Townsend Street and offer their hopes and aspirations for the future. Visits were also made to local schools, care homes, day centres and community groups, where our facilitators – writers Natasha Geary, Emily DeDakis, Fionnuala Kennedy, Maria McManus and the Ulster Orchestra’s own Jonathan Simmance and Stephanie Elliott – worked with pupils, residents and attendees over several weeks to talk about their memories and ideas. These stories and ideas were gathered together and given to the three composers to inform the music they wrote. Visuals relating to the past, present and future of the street were projected during the performance, creating an atmospheric, immersive experience.

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