Stone Flowers Project

Every Thursday

Freedom from Torture NW Centre, Manchester

Stone Flowers music and song-writing project with 25 torture survivors living in the UK.
We are working towards creating a music video and performances to celebrate peace.

Workshop Presentation

Canterbury Christ Church University,

Faculty of Health and Social Care,
Weds 15th Feb 2012, 5.30 - 7pm

About the work of Musicians without Borders at Canterbury University for students health professionals, faculty members and the general public

Award-winning Serbian Accordionist Miloš Milivojević performed in Manchester at the Bridgewater Hall on Friday 18 November

We enjoyed an amazing musical treat in the foyer of the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester with the well-known accordianist Miloš Milivojević joined by Romanian double bassist Michael Cretu and singer Lis Murphy. The performance was followed by The Sixteen Choir & Orchestra concert of works by Handel & Purcell.

Miloš and guests took the audience on a journey of lyrical and moving classical and folk music through Russia, Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Romania. We would like to thank the Bridgewater Hall and DAC Beachcroft LLP for their generous support who made this event happen!

The introductory session begun in September to celebrate International Peace Day, which involved ten women from WAST Nightingales singing songs from around the world for refugees and asylum seekers as well as supporters from the local area. Gail from Ordsall Community Arts worked with attendees to create origami birds following a singing workshop delivered by Lis Murphy (MwB) using songs in Urdu, Farsi, Arabic, French and English. Lis performed with two volunteers to everyone at the drop-in centre and all attendees received a peace lily to take home.

Emmanuela Yogolelo continued to deliver four singing workshops (with support & training from Lis Murphy) every Wednesday with around 10 - 15 refugees & asylum seekers (men, women & children) and 5 local people leading towards a performance for Black History Month on 19th October. By the end of the project, the group were singing in 5 different languages in 3 part harmonies and all participants requested the project to continue with others asking for individual tuition on instruments and for support in creating new songs.

We are planning more singing workshops for 2012 as well as recruiting volunteers to teach music instruments to our new participants!

Rainbow Haven Singing Workshops:

This autumn, Musicians without Borders delivered five singing sessions and two performances with refugees, asylum seekers & local people from Salford's Rainbow Haven drop-in centre at Emmanuel Church.

Peace without Borders Festival Review

Busking without Borders

To launch our brand new Peace without Borders festival, we hosted a day of busking around Manchester and Salford!

A host of musicians took to the streets and played songs of peace and justice. From jazz saxophonists to our finest singer-songwriters, the musicians played throughout the day to raise money at Salford Quays, Salford Central Station and Academy One, Oxford Road. Many people stopped and donated cash and gave us the opportunity to chat about what Musicians without Borders do across the North-West and beyond.

Working for Peace Expo

Taking place at Imperial War Museum North, we were able to host a stall to display our previous and ongoing project work to expose our charity to new faces. All organisations present were ‘working for peace’ in relation to armed conflict, including Amnesty International, Médicins San Frontières and Warrington-based Foundation for Peace. Musicians without Borders really enjoyed meeting new people and gaining supporters to chat and talk to in more depth about the aims and objectives in both our UK and International offices.

Chiasmus, Carrie Mason and Aidan Jolly
The modern classical ensemble Chiasmus, lead by composer and conductor James Stephenson played alongside folk musicians Carrie Penty Mason and Aidan Jolly in an exchange between classical and folk music on a theme of Peace. The performance showcased original compositions from all performers, as well as traditional folk ballads from the British Isles brought to life by the heavenly acoustics of Sacred Trinity Church, Salford.

Singing without Borders
To celebrate International Peace Day, we joined together at Rainbow Haven drop-in centre for refugees, asylum seekers and new migrants. WAST Nightingales choir sang inspiring songs from around the world, Ordsall Community Arts created origami birds and we delivered a free music workshop, led by Congalese Gospel Singer, Emmanuela Yogolelo. The atmosphere was fantastic and everyone received a peace lily to take home. This was an Exodus Live event supported by AGMA, Community Arts North-West and Salford Health Improvement Team.

Concert for Peace
Organised by one of our most loyal supporters, Mary Anderson hosted a varied programme of tuneful classical music, including Schubert's Celebrated Octet in the wonderful Cross Street Chapel in central Manchester. Aside from MWB, this event supported CND and Stop the War, raising awareness of the importance of peace in the world.

Extra Love, Dr Mahogany’s Goat Circus + Guest DJs
This was an incredible night at Islington Mill where dancing shoes were a must! With a loyal local following, Extra Love proved to be the young, cool and eclectic group of musicians they promised to be. The 9 musicians, successfully fused jazz, soul and reggae, resulting in an upbeat, hi-energy performance! Support was in the form of Dr. Mahogany’s Goat Circus, a multicultural musical group from different cultural backgrounds. The night reflected the beauty of melodies, beats, imagination, body movement and creativity, with extra support from DJs who guided us willingly through the special evening.

John Ellis & Rick Weedon
Taking place in the magical Royal Exchange Theatre with a fantastic audience, MWB presented a beautiful evening of relaxing music by Zimbabwean composer Pascal Makonese played by talented keyboardist John Ellis (Cinematic Orchestra) and percussionist Rick Weedon.

Juba do Leao and WAST Nightingales Choir

Kicking off the Friday evening in the Friend’s Meeting House, our support came in the form of special guests WAST (Women Asylum Seekers Together) Nightingales choir. They sang uplifting songs from around the globe and raised awareness about the issues women asylum seekers face in the UK.

Inspired by the floor-shaking rhythms and vibrant dances of North-eastern Brazil, Juba do Leão took the venue by storm! We were taken on an enlightening tour of the intoxicating grooves of Brazil and beyond. Drawing influence from the natural elements (fire, earth, wind, and water), the Orixás (deities) of the Candomblé tradition, and the meeting of cultures within Brazil and Africa, Juba do Leão shone a light into the enticing bottomless depths of Brazilian folkloric music and dance, whilst reaching into the contemporary treasure chest of uplifting modern Western styles. For more information on this amazing musical collective, visit the website at www.jubadoleao.com.

Samson and Delilah and The Voice Collective

The Whitworth Art Gallery hosted two spectacular music groups. Samson & Delilah, a dynamic 5 piece Australian/British folk-pop group based in Manchester, led by the song-writing partnership of husband and wife Sam Lench and Anna Zweck. They were supported by The Voice Collective, a unique group who united to perform interpretations of a wide variety of musical styles. They have captivated the audience performing popular songs by David Bowie and songs by nu-folk artist Sufjan Stevens

Earthdance Salford 2011
Silky Productions, Salford Music Festival & Ordsall Community Arts presented a free and family-friendly day of world music and dance. Held at the Old Pint Pot, this was a wonderfully good old multi-cultural mix of global vibes including a nature walk and dance party!

Drastic Measures and Musicians without Borders Presents…
With That Knife + special guests
Taking place in the very cool KRO bar, post-punk noisy boys With That Knife played host at which hectic big, electronic and rock-fuelled night!

Stone Flowers Album Launch

Our special finale event was the culmination of a 9 month collaborative project between Musicians without Borders and Freedom from Torture NW. 11 torture survivors created a high quality, moving and personal musical account of their experiences and have recorded an album Stone Flowers. Their music has been described as “A moving and truthful journey with expressions of protest, peace, love and hope. An original song-cycle in English, Lingala, Farsi, Kurdish, French and Kikongo, influenced by folk, jazz, classical, spoken word and hip-hop music.”

This was an amazing performance from each musician in the group and a magical atmosphere within the audience of the Imperial War Museum North. As celebration of the project, members of Stone Flowers wrote peace messages onto Chinese lanterns and released them into the sky.

The Stone Flowers CD is available to buy online now, or become a regular supporter of MwB by joining our Friends scheme and receive a copy absolutely FREE!

Stone Flowers performance was an amazing ending to a wonderful week of music highlights and collaborations across genres, cultures and languages… we cannot wait to plan Peace without Borders festival 2012!

If you would like to be part of Peace without Borders 2012, get in touch with your suggestions

photos: Sebastian Matthes