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The Night Shift is the name given to a series of concerts run by the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...
. As a Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre, the first Night Shift took place on 22 May 2006 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Since then there have been fifteen further concerts at venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall,
The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhous ...
and the Corn Exchange,
Brighton Dome The Brighton Dome is an arts venue in Brighton, England, that contains the Concert Hall, the Corn Exchange and the Studio Theatre (formerly the Pavilion Theatre). All three venues are linked to the rest of the Royal Pavilion Estate by a tunnel t ...
. The Night Shift aims to "present classical music in a new way to attract an audience that rarely or never attends classical music". It is characterised by its lack of formalities traditionally associated with classical music and key features include the following: * Pre and post concert entertainment such as DJs,
Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
and
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
groups, VJs and dance * Drinks promotions and drinks allowed in the concert hall, * A relaxed atmosphere in the concert hall; the audience is encouraged to move, talk and clap as they wish. * The concert is presented from the stage and includes interviews with performers and questions from the audience. Ticket prices are kept low, typically £8 in advance, £12 on the door and £4 for students. To date there have been over 7500 attendances at Night Shift events, with a peak audience of 1,200 at
The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue situated at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhous ...
on 29 January 2010, where
Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (; born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life Born in Moscow, Jurowski began h ...
conducted
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
’s
Coriolan Overture The ''Coriolan Overture'' (german: link=no, Coriolan-Ouvertüre or Ouvertüre zu Coriolan), Op. 62, is a composition written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1807 for Heinrich Joseph von Collin's 1804 tragedy ''Coriolan''. The structure and themes ...
and Symphony No. 7. The one-hour concert was presented by
Alistair Appleton Alistair Appleton (born 12 February 1970) is a British broadcaster, psychotherapist and meditation teacher. Biography Born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to Peter and Sally (née Cooper) Appleton, the younger of two sons, Alistair was brough ...
, accompanied by live video projections. Other artists to have appeared at The Night Shift include
Robin Ticciati Robin Ticciati (born 16 April 1983, in London) is a British conductor of Italian ancestry. Biography Ticciati's paternal grandfather, Niso Ticciati, was a composer, arranger, cellist, and keyboardist. His father is a barrister, and his mother ...
,
Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...
,
Rachel Podger Rachel Podger (born 1968 in England) is a British violinist and conductor specialising in the performance of Baroque music. Career Podger was born to a British father and a German mother. She was educated at a German Rudolf Steiner school then ...
, Edward Gardner,
Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playing the violin and piano at the age of 6, and made his concert debu ...
, Eduardo Portal,
Stephen Hough Sir Stephen Andrew Gill Hough (; born 22 November 1961) is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality (his father was born in Australia in 1926). Biography Houg ...
and
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He ...
. On 13 August 2010 The Night Shift debuted at Wilton’s Music Hall in London’s East End, performing a programme of Handel and
Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...
, played on seventeenth-century instruments, with a support show from Nathan ‘Flutebox’ Lee, the
beatboxing Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.
flute player. In January 2010, independent research into The Night Shift was produced which revealed a number of trends. All Night Shift surveys showed a high proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds, followed by 19- to 24-year-olds and 35- to 44-year-olds, with few attendees over the age of 45, and approximately 30-40% of ticket sales attributed to students. Major motivating factors included ''competitive ticket pricing'', ''informal atmosphere'' and the ''influence of friends''. The research gave the following conclusion:
In short, The Night Shift is cool. The Night Shift succeeds in reversing all negative preconceptions of live classical music concerts: in the course of an hour or so attendees moved from expectations that the experience will be expensive, formal, long, middle aged, proper, strict and stuffy to an understanding that it can be accessible, comfortable, inclusive, informal, laid back, relaxing, spontaneous and studenty. The OAE is doing a service to the entire sector.
Another piece of independent research published in August 2010 highlighted the effectiveness of the use of embedded information in The Night Shift concert format. It found that the use of audience participation, verbal introductions, explanations from the stage and demonstrations of different ways of playing the same passage of music all helped create a more inclusive atmosphere and build a rapport with audience members, particularly those relatively unfamiliar with classical music. In October 2010 The Independent stated "concerts like this ensure classical music’s future".


References


OAE - The Night Shift
{{DEFAULTSORT:Night Shift 2006 establishments in England Concerts Recurring events established in 2006