Ahead of the opening of this year’s Norfolk and Norwich Festival on Friday 9 May, organisers have announced that they are on the lookout for local musical talent to be a part of the two spectacular events marking the beginning of the 17 day long festival.
Presented by Speak Percussion and All The Queen’s Men, March Static reimagines the concept of a marching band and will herald the opening of the festival in the centre of Norwich with a composition by composer Thomas Meadowcroft. The festival is seeking around 50 brass, woodwind and percussion musicians, with a Grade 3 qualification or above, from across Norfolk and Suffolk to join performers from Speak Percussion. The search for musicians will be assisted by the festival’s partners, Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub and Contemporary Music for All (CoMA).
The performance of March Static will be followed by another mass musical participation event. In Joseph O’Farrell (JOF) and Sam Halmarack’s High Voltage everyday electric guitarists are given the opportunity to perform in the middle of the city to an audience of thousands. In an exhilarating celebration of rock music, an enormous ‘garage band’ from across the region will be assembled for an exhilarating one-off performance. Again, working in partnership with Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub, the festival will recruit around 150 guitarists to bring a little rock ‘n’ roll to the opening of this year’s event.
The festival’s Artistic Director, Daniel Brine said “We always like to kick off the festival with something truly memorable but this is a big departure for us, with around 200 local people being at the very centre of our opening event. The notion that anyone can play a part in the festival is important to us and we’re excited to celebrate that in a modern-day mash-up of dance, music and performance that will start the festival with a bang!”
Participants for both events would need to be available for a number of rehearsals in advance of the festival as well as for the final performance on Friday 9 May.
For more information and to sign up, visit the show pages on Norfolk and Norwich Festival’s website at nnfestival.org.uk.
One of the oldest arts festivals in England, having been established in 1772, Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2025 continues the tradition of presenting world-class international performances alongside trail blazing local artists and emerging new talent.
The full programme for Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2025 includes many more unmissable dance, performance, music, visual arts and literature – visit nnfestival.org.uk for full listings and to filter events by genre and dates.
