91Èȱ¬

The Listen Up! Festival of Orchestras 2006 will showcase the talent, diversity and sheer vibrant energy of Britain's professional and amateur orchestras in a five-week extravaganza of broadcasts, concerts and educational events.

More than 450 events will take place in 275 venues, including shopping malls, schools, hospitals, and living rooms across the land - as well as in concert halls and on radio.

• This year's festival aims especially to promote the UK's treasury of dynamic and diverse contemporary British composers. For 36 consecutive nights, 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3 will broadcast concerts featuring more than 30 British orchestras and works by 22 living British composers. Performances will include five world premieres, by Sally Beamish, Jonathan Dove, Deirdre Gribbin, Michael Omer and Joby Talbot.
  Radio 3 Broadcasts
• For the first time ever, 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3 will dedicate a whole night to performances by amateur orchestras, as a celebration of amateur music-making's vital contribution to the UK's creative life.
• London's leading orchestras will give the public a unique opportunity to witness their rehearsals on the opening weekend of Listen Up! through Open Rehearsal, a Mayor of London initiative. Orchestras across the country will follow suit throughout the festival.
  
• Musicians from 30 orchestras will visit listeners' homes to play live concerts in their living rooms. The Musicians On Call scheme will enable members of the public to phone in to nominate a friend, neighbour or relative who is unable to attend a concert, for a performance in their own home - or workplace - no matter where they live. Over 100 visits will take place, including a special guest appearance by cellist Julian Lloyd Webber.
  Musicians on Call
• Education and outreach are increasingly significant to modern orchestras. Children from more than 30 schools are working in eight projects to compose new works in collaboration with British orchestras and composers. The projects, devised by Creative Partnerships, will feature on 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3 as part of Listen Up!
  
• To attract new audiences, orchestras will pioneer new ways to present their work. These include live video-mixing by 'VJs', large-screen projections, and even audience participation in an orchestral work that mimics a horse race.
• The Festival opens with a live broadcast of the 91Èȱ¬ Symphony Orchestra from London's Barbican Hall to celebrate Radio 3's 60th anniversary.

"Live music is a distinctive part of 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3's unique output and orchestral concerts are a vital part of the rich musical life of the UK. After the success of the first Listen Up! in 2004, I am delighted that this year's festival has such a strong focus on British music. It will play a magnificent role in celebrating Radio 3's 60th birthday."
Roger Wright, Controller, 91Èȱ¬ Radio 3

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