A performance by one of the UK’s top Bhangra bands and the premiere of a new piece for orchestra and electronics will be among the musical highlights of a weekend of festivities at Plymouth University.
The Big Festival Weekend, incorporating the Plymouth Respect Festival, is taking place on the university campus on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June.
It will feature a range of events for all the family, while aiming to give visitors a flavour of life at the University and the role it is playing in transforming lives locally and globally.
2015 marks the second time the Plymouth Respect Festival has been held at the University, and it will feature a range of entertainment from across the world.
The live music element of the festival will include a performance by RSVP Bhangra, one of the UK’s favourite live bands in the genre and nominated for a National Bhangra Award.
Other confirmed acts, with more to be added to the roster in coming weeks, include international musical collective The Turbans, energetic Eastern European brass band Fanfara, eight-piece African high life and funk act Yaaba Funk!, with support from , Cornish folk rock group Haunt the Woods, The Independent Flying Orchestra and Acoustic café and many more.
Dan Thompson, Artistic Director of the Plymouth Respect Festival, said:
“RSVP Bhangra mix traditional Punjabi folk songs and rhythms with Western influences of rock, reggae and gypsy guitar meaning they have a unique sound, the ultimate in celebratory music. With sell out gigs across the South West on a previous tour and a European tour coming up RSVP’s show is a performance not to be missed. They will add to the festival spirit at Plymouth Respect this summer, alongside a line-up that will captivate audiences from the city and beyond.”
Also during the weekend, Plymouth University’s £7million performing arts centre – The House – will play host to a stunning concert by the Ten Tors Orchestra.
Conducted by Peninsula Arts Director of Music Simon Ible, the event on Saturday 20 June at 7.30pm will feature works by Barber, Boyce and Mozart as well as the premiere of a piece by the University’s Professor of Computer Music Eduardo Reck Miranda.
Shockwaves is designed to be played by orchestra, percussion and electronics, with the solo violin part performed by PhD music research student Pierre Largeron, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music.
The Big Festival Weekend will include opportunities to tour cutting edge University research facilities and there will be showcases of prominent partnerships, while university graduates are also invited to return for a ‘Back to Plymouth’ alumni events programme. Innovative artwork will be showcased at HOT’15 – an exhibition of works by final-year students across a range of art and design disciplines – while events will also be staged in Drake’s Place Gardens and Reservoir, and there will be a host of family activities, such as campus trails and treasure hunts, a fun park, craft fairs and performances.
