Rochdale Music Service join The Bridgewater Hall and Metrolink for musical celebration

Tram Tracks, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Metrolink and The Bridgewater Hall’s 21st Birthday

Rochdale Music Service Folk Group and Fanfare Team along with The Cantare Ladies Choir joined with Transport for Greater Manchester and The Bridgewater Hall to deliver a project, Tram Tracks, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Metrolink and The Bridgewater Hall’s 21st Birthday.

Tram Tracks is a large-scale creative music project which aims to reflect the diverse communities across Greater Manchester and how those communities’ lives have been changed by the tram.

Over 900 adults and children are expected to take part in the creation of 93 new pieces of music - one for each stop on the vast Metrolink network.

Groups participating from the Rochdale area include: The Cantare Ladies Choir, (Rochdale Town Centre), Rochdale Music Service Folk Group and Fanfare Team (Kingsway Business Park and Milnrow), and composer Caro Churchill will be interviewing commuters at Rochdale Railway Station (Rochdale Railway Station) to help create a new track.

Song writing sessions and rehearsals for this massive initiative are already underway with groups of 10 or more working alongside professional musicians and facilitators from The Bridgewater Hall.

Created by and with members of the community, each track will reflect the area and activities around each individual stop.

Groups have been selected by The Bridgewater Hall and TfGM and include schools, community groups and arts organisations crossing a wide range of diverse cultural groups.

Tram Tracks will culminate with two epic gala concerts at The Bridgewater Hall on Sunday 9 July, featuring many of the groups.

Metrolink passengers will be able to enjoy a series of pop-up performances on the network on 17 July, Metrolink’s 25th anniversary.

On Monday 17 July, all 93 tracks will be available to listen to and download online. 

The Bridgewater Hall will turn 21 on Monday 11 September 2017 and will celebrate with an Open Doors birthday weekend on 9 and 10 September.