The Brixton Chamber Orchestra 2024 summer estates tour will bring free live music – from Bach to Afrobeats – over two weekends of orchestral magic in Lambeth.
BCO’s young and diverse 30-piece orchestra will perform at 11 housing estates, alongside local singers, rappers and open-mic guests, in an hour-long genre-bending set.
The programme will include swing, waltzes and polkas, baroque dances, grime and hip hop, overtures and intermezzi, folk music from various traditions, symphonic movements, disco, musical theatre, samba, pop and rock songs, and more.
Local guests will include talented emerging singers and rappers.
Audience participation is a huge element of a BCO event and, as always, the orchestra will invite residents up to perform with it in open-mic sessions.
Rappers, singers, dancers, poets and instrumentalists are invited to perform – sometimes on a backing beat they have prepared, and other times with their own material which BCO will improvise behind.
So, whether you are a seasoned music aficionado or simply seeking a melodious and entertaining summer evening under the open sky, the BCO’s Summer Estates Tour promises an unforgettable afternoon or evening.
“Grab a blanket, gather your loved ones, and head down to your local estate – the party’s coming to you!” says the BCO.
Rising star vocalist on the tour will be B MELA, an Afro Pop and R&B singer-songwriter.
She has featured on BBC radio on BBC 1Xtra’s Track of the Week and was the chosen artist on the station’s RnB cypher at Maida Vale Studios. She also headlined the BBC Music Introducing Stage at the Latitude festival.
Raised by Nigerian parents with her three younger siblings, she established a passion for music early on and explored singing and performing by joining different choirs and musical ensembles in London.
MELA stands for “mastering expressing love always”. “This is exactly what she stands for and aspires to inspire people through her music,” says BCO.
She will be joined by a special guest rapper on the tour.
Event details
Weekend 1, 19–21 July
Stockwell Hall of Fame, Stockwell Park Estate, 7 Aytoun Place, SW9 0TT
Friday 19. 7–8pm
Cressingham Gardens Estate, SW2 2NJ
Saturday 20. 3.30–4.30pm
Angell Town Estate, Peckford Place, SW9 7BP
Saturday 20. 7–8pm
Moorlands Community Centre, 50A Corry Drive, SW9 8QT
Sunday 21 3.30–4.30pm at
Kingswood Arts, Kingswood House, Seeley Drive SE21 8QR
Sunday 21. 7–8pm
Weekend 2, 26–28 July
China Walk Estate, SE11 6BE
Friday 26. 3.30–4.30pm
Vauxhall Gardens Estate, 17 Jonathan Street, SE11 5LE (behind the Carmelita Centre)
Friday 26. 7–8pm
Clapham Park Estate, The Cube, 116 Kings Ave, SW4 8EP
Saturday 27. 3.30–4.30pm
Deronda Estate, Lavender Hope Centre, 5 Jarrett Close, SW2 3DG
Saturday 27. 7–8pm
Palace Road Estate, Tulse Hill, SW2 3EB
Sunday 28. 3.30–4.30pm
St Matthew’s Church, Brixton Hill SW2 1JF
Sunday 28th: 7–8pm
For more information, visit BCO’s Summer Estates Tour 2024 webpage
The tour is supported by a number of donors including The Jerwood Foundation, Brixton Brewery and the Lambeth council Changing Lives Fund.
The Estates Tours are BCO’s flagship project and began in December 2018.
Each winter and summer, BCO brings a 30-piece orchestra to perform a varied programme on housing estates across Lambeth.
Their Summer Tour performances take place outdoors, in grassy gardens or in the amphitheatre-like central spaces on estates surrounded by balconied tower blocks.
Where possible, performances are integrated into residents’ existing events, with the whole community coming together in celebration.
This way BCO makes sure it has as large an impact as possible and can enhance the efforts of community leaders.
According to feedback from the last Summer Estates Tour in July 2023, an estimated 20% of the audience (1,394 attendees over 12 performances) had never attended a live orchestral performance before.
BCO is a registered charity dedicated to bringing live orchestral experiences to diverse audiences in Brixton and beyond.
It has four core aims: to bring orchestral music to new audiences, provide a platform for Brixton’s musicians, innovate orchestral experiences, and be a cherished part of the community.
Find out how to become a BCO supporter
Follow @brixchamber
