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100 Year Celebrations begin for Park and Dare Theatre in Treorchy |
The Park and Dare Theatre in Treorchy celebrates its centenary this year and the first of the commemorative events will be Song Of The Building/ Cân Yr Adeilad with public performances at theatre on March 13 and 14. The Song Of The Building/ Cân Yr Adeilad project has been a collaboration between Rhondda Cynon Taf Music Service and RCT Theatres/Cultural Services and is a musical celebration created to echo the crucial cultural role in the community and region the building has played, whilst looking forward to its future. The chosen composer Jack White has been given the opportunity to create a large scale work; without restriction on either the number or mixture of instrumentalists and singers. This new piece of music, whilst being contemporary, will reflect the rich history of the building and area and will engage a whole range of members of the community including schools, students, special school students, instrumentalists and singers through a series of workshops and open rehearsals both in the creation and the performance of the work. The project participants will record the finished piece for the production of the CD ready for it to be available at the live performances on March 13 and 14. Composer Jack White said "This project is a fantastic opportunity for me to work with local music groups to create an enjoyable and accessible experience. I have been recording interviews with local people and school children. From these I have selected vocal samples to give the piece a sense of 'voice'. These excerpts will form the electronic sections of the piece and will be heard alongside the ensembles. I would like the piece to be an entertaining, multi-media 'immersion' into the past, present and future of this iconic building." Geoff Cripps Artistic Director of RCT Theatres adds “The Park & Dare Theatre centenary demands an exciting cultural response and Song of the Building/Cân Yr Adeilad will signify the building’s creative existence, connectivity and importance to both new and regular users of this theatre.” Rachel Kilby, Head of RCT Music Service said. “The Music Service is delighted to be working with Cultural Services again on an exciting, professional, creative project. We see this as an ideal setting to develop our young musicians, engage our schools and provide a setting for professional development for class teachers and music tutors, through the opportunity to work with a composer in the creation and realisation of a new work. We are conscious that such an opportunity provides our young participants with a real-life experience that has a longer term impact than the final performances and recording experience alone.” Tanya Walker Brown, Coordinator from The SONIG Youth Music Industry programme concludes “We are delighted to be involved with this project. It will provide the young people of the borough with an opportunity to work with professional musicians, exemplary in their field, to create a commemorative song celebrating the past, present and future of one of the South Wales Valleys iconic buildings. We want to encourage young people to engage with the building through song, whilst learning new skills; and developing their musicality through composition, song writing and performing.” Song of The Building/ Cân Yr Adeilad has been made possible by additional funding from Arts Council of Wales, PRSF and Arts & Business Cymru and supported by Vattenfall. Building History The Park and Dare Hall was built in 1892 to the designs of architect Jacob Rees, and began its life as a working men's library and institute. The workers of the Park and the Dare Collieries funded the building by donating a penny from each pound of their wages. It was a place where the miners could meet and socialise and featured a bar and a library. In 1975, the theatre was donated to the then Rhondda Borough Council and has become a thriving community venue for arts and film and hosted entertainers such as Max Boyce, Ken Dodd and the Kinks' Ray Davies over the years. It has also been a venue for filming including theatre stage scenes in BBC's revived Doctor Who series and become home to many amateur dramatic companies and the highly renowned musical organisations Treorci Male Voice Choir and the Park & Dare Band. Celebrations at the Park and Dare will continue with arts projects and collaborations throughout the year in song, dance and theatre. www.rct-arts.co.uk |
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Monday, February 18, 2013 |
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