The 24 sites
The 24 sites that make up The Fragmented Orchestra have been selected for their inherent sonic rhythms to create a unique score that will be performed to thousands of listeners throughout the UK.
London
1. Roundhouse, Camden, London – here the neuron unit will be placed in the entrance area where it will be easily accessible for the public to play and interact with.
2. Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London – the largest academic community in Europe devoted to the study and prevention of mental health conditions. Alongside teaching, regular controversial debates drawing international world renowned speakers take place and are open to the public.
3. National Portrait Gallery, London – this acclaimed national museum will host a neuron unit on one of its landings where visitors can easily ‘play’ it and listen.
4. St. Andrew’s Church, Fulham, London – a Victorian parish church in a largely deprived area of North Fulham. The Vicar, The Revd Martin Eastwood, said ‘we are thrilled to have been chosen to host this exciting project in the church here. The neuron unit will be placed in the pulpit in the church and should pick up regular sounds of worship but also of the various sounds coming from our many community activities such as the Mums and Toddlers Group, the Fruit and Veg. Co-Op and the Homeless Project.’
5. The Stephen Lawrence Centre, Peckham, London – Opened in February 08 by Ken Livingstone, the Stephen Lawrence Centre is a place for community learning and social research and a hub for exchange regarding urban design and regeneration.
6. Rochelle School, Shoreditch – established by the A Foundation, the Rochelle School has been converted to provide studios for artists and creative industries plus a gallery and project space in Club Row.
South East
7. Pavilion, West Pier, Brighton Seafront – housed in the tiny mini pavilion that would have been at the beginning of the old west pier before it was left to slide into the sea, this is the only beachfront neuron unit in the Fragmented Orchestra.
South West
8. Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall – the old gallery will host a neuron unit in view of the sea in this old fishing town.
9. Roland Levinsky Building, University of Plymouth, Devon – the arts building which also houses a cinema and contemporary art gallery. The Director of Peninsular Arts will be programming music and sound performances incorporating the neuron unit plus ‘guerilla’ performances by students.
10. Watershed, Bristol – the neuron unit will be installed outside the Watershed using its massive pane of glass to capture the sound of visitors to the Watershed, the river and passing boats, inner city traffic, shoppers, buskers and late night revellers. Here The Fragmented Orchestra will be working with Hewlett Packard South West fellow and poet Ralph Hoyte to present various performances.
11. Landscove C of E Primary School, Landscove, Devon – here the Fragmented Orchestra reaches a remote part of the country and will capture sounds such as children playing, shouting, music lessons and rehearsals for their annual nativity play.
12. Gloucester Cathedral – The Dean of Gloucester, the Very Revd Nick Bury, said ‘this is a wonderful opportunity to be part of an innovative and imaginative arts project in a cathedral renowned for its magical acoustic. The unit will be placed on our great west doors where it will pick up all the wonderful sounds of a busy cathedral – stunning choral music, the great organ, the chatter of excited school-children visiting the shop, tourists speaking in every kind of language and the vergers hoovering!’
West Midlands
13. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham - The neuron unit will be located in the orchestra pit of the Barber Institute's intimate art deco concert hall. It will capture performances, rehearsals and classes with music students from the University, as well as recitals given by internationally acclaimed soloists and ensembles.
Wales
14. Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales – here the neuron will be placed in the tunnel where the players come out onto the pitch of this international sports venue.
15. Centre for Alternative Technology, Southern Snowdonia, Mid Wales – the neuron unit will be installed in this eco-energy centre’s woodland walk, capturing the sounds of the trees and other activity.
North West
16. Everton Football Club, Goodison Park, Liverpool – capturing fragments of the roar of victorious goals, the neuron unit will be placed on TV gantry and audible to people in the first row of that stand in this iconic football stadium.
17. FACT, Liverpool – FACT will provide a public space where people can interact with the orchestra and play the instrument at the site location and move quickly to Gallery 1 to hear the installation and their effect on it. Gallery 1 is the central hub for the 24 neuron units where visitors can hear the collective sounds of all of the sites around the UK and their interaction with each other, which will also be transmitted back to the 24 neuron units and to www.thefragmentedorchestra.com
18. Blueprint Studios, Manchester – this acclaimed recording and rehearsal studios, which plays host to sessions by the likes of Johnny Marr and Elbow, will have the only neuron unit as a wireless mic that can be carried around the studios and placed in different locations.
Yorkshire
19. Bronte Parsonage Museum, Haworth, West Yorkshire – the former home of the Brontes and home to the Bronte Parsonage Museum and Bronte Society in the beautiful West Yorkshire countryside. The neuron unit will be installed in the garden where it will capture the wind on the moors and visitors to the Museum can be part of the project.
North East
20. Kielder Observatory, Black Fell, Northumberland – recently opened by Sir Arnold Wolfendale, 14th Astronomer Royal, Kielder Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Kielder Forest. It is situated close to the Scottish border on Black Fell near James Turrell's Kielder Skyspace. In keeping with the surrounding forest the building is solar and wind powered.
Scotland
21. The Thainstone Centre, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire – one of oldest cattle markets in the UK, here the neuron unit will be placed on a staircase in the open market area in the centre of the building where a farmers’ market takes place every Saturday and the sound of cattle market all around will be captured.
The Hidden Gardens, Tramway, Glasgow – a leading contemporary art venue, the Tramway also features the Hidden Gardens, an award winning space in an inner city area with a mainly Muslim population.
Northen Ireland
23. Verbal Arts Centre, Derry – here the neuron unit will be installed in an educational charity founded to promote the language arts, celebration of commonality and diversity across all verbal art forms situated on the historic Derry city walls.
24. Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queens University, Belfast - a newly established and unique centre of excellence, dedicated to the research of music technology and part of Queens University Belfast.