The Nine Elms Sessions Launched by World Heart Beat
Showcasing the Wandsworth area and community and new concert venue
Academy students perform their version of Lenny Kravitz's Fly Away
to showcase local Wandsworth area and community, and the arrival of its new concert venue and music academy
World Heart Beat Music Academy has commissioned six music videos filmed across Nine Elms to celebrate the local community and past, present and future of area
The Nine Elms Sessions are a series of six music videos reflecting on the area’s heritage, present identity and promising future. They have been developed with support from Wandsworth Council and Developer EcoWorld Ballymore’s Embassy Gardens
From summer 2022, World Heart Beat will be welcoming some people to its new concert venue and music academy in advance of its official launch in October this year.
The six music videos, featuring the next generation of musical talent from World Heart Beat, will be released on designated dates over the following five months.
Starting with the academy’s version of Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz, the video celebrates (what would be) Hilda Hewlett’s 158th birthday – the Vauxhall-born early aviator, aircraft manufacturer and flying instructor. Born on 17 February, 1864, Hilda was the first British woman to earn a pilot’s licence. She also ran a successful aircraft manufacturing business in Battersea (which built more than 800 aircraft during the First World War) as well as building the first flying school in the UK (Weybridge, Surrey). Hilda was an icon of her time, and loved all kinds of speed: bicycles, motorcars and airplanes.
In honour of Mardi Gras (or Carnival Tuesday), the Samba Parade, which will be released on 1 March, celebrates the vibrant Latin communities living in and around ‘Little Portugal’, in South Lambeth. The video features Year 5 students from Griffin Primary School, Nine Elms who took part in weekly Latin samba workshops led by Brazilian percussionist, Xande Oliveira as well as headdress-making sessions using recycled materials with TARU Arts. The session culminates with a parade through the school and local Patmore and Carey Gardens estates.
With further recognition to the region’s past, Irish Settlers on the Thames highlights the importance of the River Thames and this section of London’s South Bank as a popular destination over the centuries for Irish settlers seeking long-term employment and seasonal work, particularly in the construction industry. Irish Property Developer EcoWorld Ballymore’s Embassy Gardens co-supported these sessions, and developing a new business and residential quarter which is also the location for World Heart Beat’s second venue. Nine Elms is one of London’s last remaining former industrial districts undergoing a huge transformation, with the delivery of 20,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs by 2030. The session will be released on St. Patrick’s Day, 17 March.
The fourth session celebrates the UN's International Day of Happiness (founded in 2012) on Sunday 20 Mach. Young musicians take part in communal marimba playing of Sarura Wako, a traditional Zimbabwean children’s song with the direction of African band, Otto and the Mutapa Calling. This session is filmed on Thessaly Road featuring the Happy Street railway bridge installation of brightly coloured panels designed by Yinka Ilori for Wandsworth Council with the London Festival of Architecture.
The fifth session which will be released on 19 May pays homage to rock band The Who, who in the early 1970’s converted the old church on Thessaly Road into Ramport Studios specifically to record its Quadrophenia album. It was also the recording studio of choice for other bands such as Supertramp (Crime of the Century) and Thin Lizzy (Jailbreak). My Generation was the song of the mid-60s rebellion and was all about finding a place in society, written for rebellious British youths known as ‘mods’. Written by The Who’s Pete Townshend on his 20th birthday, the video today celebrates his 77th birthday. The building is now a medical practice (corner of Thessaly Road and Corunna Road) with iconic murals by the late Battersea resident and artist Brian Barnes MBE, who campaigned in 2011 for a green plaque to commemorate this historical site of interest. This session is dedicated to the memory of Brian who died on 28 November, 2021, also aged 77 years.
The Nine Elms Sessions finishes on 2 June with young Heart Beat talent performing Handel’s The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, to coincide with the Queen’s Jubilee Weekend (marking the 70th anniversary of the Queen's ascension to the throne). Musicians are seen performing the lively and ceremonial piece in and around Nine Elms landmarks, including the U.S Embassy, Battersea Power Station, New Covent Garden Flower Market, The Black Cab Coffee Co. (Riverlight Quay) as well as a sneak preview of the soon-to-open new music academy and concert hall space to open to the local community this summer, with its official launch in October 2022.
The new music space was awarded to World Heart Beat by the London Borough of Wandsworth and EcoWorld Ballymore, from a competitive field of 42 cultural organisations. The space will extend the work at its existing Kimber Road music academy, providing a centre for musical excellence and doubling its current teaching capacity per year. The charity will be a ‘cultural anchor’ alongside other arts organisations including Theatre503, Matt’s Gallery and Chocolate Films, and benefitting thousands of young people particularly welcoming those living in the adjacent communities on the Patmore, Savona, Carey Gardens, Doddington and Rollo Estates.
Sahana Gero, MBE, Founder and Artistic Director at World Heart Beat said, “The Nine Elms Sessions, kindly supported by Wandsworth Council and Embassy Gardens has given us the perfect opportunity to celebrate our local community and showcase our musical talent through exploring the past, present and future of our soon-to-be new home, Nine Elms.”
Sahana adds, “Nine Elms has so much to offer. While the past reflects on its commerce and industry, the future promises arts, culture and opportunities. Our new music academy and concert hall will provide inspiration and joy through learning music, as well as career opportunities for young people, and a music venue offering an exciting programme across a diverse range of music.”
Cllr Ravi Govindia, Leader of Wandsworth Council said, “We’re delighted that these music sessions herald the countdown to opening World Heart Beat’s new premises in Nine Elms.
"It has been the council’s priority to support cultural organisations as they make their home in Nine Elms, so we worked hard to help the charity secure this space and get it right for the future. The Levelling Up funding that we were awarded with World Heart Beat is helping to create a state-of-the-art music education facility and London’s newest concert venue – providing unrivalled opportunities for our young people from all backgrounds.”
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
February 16, 2022