Cultural heritage and pop music culture will soon collide as Sheffield Cathedral and Leeds based Paradox Orchestra announce a ‘reyt’ special Yorkshire musical collaboration.
On 16 May, our ancient walls will reverberate to the classic sounds of music legends Pink Floyd when Leeds based Paradox Orchestra bring their nationwide sell-out tour ’50 Years of Pink Floyd’ to Sheffield. This will be the first of four concerts this year to be performed at the cathedral by the string orchestra, with a percentage of the proceeds being donated to the Cathedral Archer Project, a charity offering life-changing support and assistance to homeless and vulnerable people.
Paradox Orchestra is a leading 21st century orchestra made up of the finest professional musicians in Yorkshire, many of whom have performed with some of the world’s leading orchestras, global stars and brands. The orchestra was founded by Leeds Conservatoire graduate Michael Sluman and its concert series celebrates a diverse range of music genres, from classic rock to RnB: “I’m thrilled to be bringing the orchestra to Sheffield Cathedral, a building steeped in rich musical heritage. Performing at such an iconic Yorkshire music venue will help the orchestra to elevate itself to a much wider audience within the Yorkshire region,” said Michael. “We aim to overcome orchestral stereotypes through collaboration, diversity, innovation and increasing access to music, a vision I know we share with the cathedral. This partnership will allow us to continue our work in the wider community whilst supporting and raising funds for local charities and education services.”
Emma Gittins, our Events and Operations Manager Emma Gittins added: “This beautiful building has wonderful acoustics, so it is a great place to play and listen to music. Also, with their commitment to community and education, the partnership ticks many boxes for us. I’m sure it will be a great success. We hope this will be the start of a lasting relationship with Paradox Orchestra.”
On behalf of the Cathedral Archer Project, CEO Tim Renshaw said: “We’re very grateful to be part of this event with Paradox Orchestra and Sheffield Cathedral. This is a real opportunity with professional musicians who are interested in how music can be part of somebody’s growth and development, particularly coming from experiences of homelessness, addiction, or other disadvantaged situations. We know that music can be incredibly therapeutic, and a collaboration like this linking classical with Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac, I think will appeal to a lot of people we support. The fact that they can go along and look at how those instruments work together with a chance to engage and play, it’s really good to have this interaction between high quality music and people recovering from homelessness.”
Tickets for ‘50 Years of Pink Floyd’ on 16 May, are already on sale with a second concert, ‘Orchestral Tribute to Fleetwood Mac’, in the calendar for 12 July. Two more performances, one in the autumn and a Christmas concert for the family are also being planned.
Tickets for ‘50 Years of Pink Floyd’ can be sourced here.