Bradford celebrates with 'magic' weekend of music
A celebration of music made in Bradford took place in the city over the weekend. Songs and sounds from all over the world were performed by musicians based in the city at a variety of locations.Starting in Ilkley and finishing in the city centre, the Bradford Progress was billed as an unbroken 36-hour long musical parade.Jonathan Harper, CEO of the Paraorchestra who helped create the event, said: "It's just been such a lovely thing working in Bradford on this project."
"The musicians, the audiences, the people on the street, they have welcomed us with open arms," Mr Harper said."There has been interest, there has been confusion, there has been that bit of magic where people get it and get really excited by it."
Starting at 05:00 BST on Saturday in Ilkley, musicians travelled along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to the Roberts Park bandstand before heading to Bradford Industrial Museum and on to Undercliffe Cemetery.On Sunday the performers moved from the cemetery to The Broadway shopping centre before reaching The Mirror Pool for the finale.
The music played ranged from Qawwali, jazz, Bhangra and brass bands.Hundreds of musicians took part in the project that was free for people to attend and was part of the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Music played originated from different parts of the world, including Africa and South Asia, to celebrate Bradford's diversity. The Bradford Progress has been two years in the making and was organised by artist Jeremy Deller and conductor Charles Hazlewood.They both help run the Paraorchestra, described as "a fearless collective of disabled and non-disabled musicians".Musicians from the Paraorchestra, who also took part in Bradford Progress, told BBC Look North that it was "great fun" to be part of the weekend of music.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
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