The Third Orchestra Foundation

by The Third Orchestra in Uxbridge, Greater London, United Kingdom

Total raised £16,338

raised so far

114

supporters

Supporting an inclusive orchestra and helping it share its values, practice and resources.

by The Third Orchestra in Uxbridge, Greater London, United Kingdom

We're still collecting donations

On the 14th April 2022 we'd raised £15,645 with 101 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

 New stretch target

We are delighted to reach our initial target, thank you so much to the many supporters!  We can now confidently create the charity. And now, with one day to go, we are stretching. This final target will enable us to add international think-tank consultations with colleagues in Germany, Belgium and Singapore building shared strategies and projects to develop the work. Thank you for all you can give on this last day, we are on the road!


The Third Orchestra is an inclusive, multi-cultural orchestra which sets out to dissolve boundaries between cultures and build acoustic bridges between style and genre. With a unique methodology, the sound of the orchestra is shaped by each musicians' vibrant background, embodying a futuristic step within contemporary music and live performance. After a series of thrilling and sold-out performances in their Barbican Centre residency in 2019, the orchestra are now preparing for the show on May 5th at Grand Junction.

The Foundation

In this appeal, we are asking you for support for our May show, but especially to help create a Third Orchestra Foundation. The foundation will support the growth and sustainability of the orchestra, its values, its way of working, its music. Working with artists, producers, industry partners, educators and thinkers – the goal overall is to expand the whole breadth of this work. Especially, to support these wonderful musicians and their music and their imaginations of a future music.

“A real united-nations, and a new approach to music. I just love the way that there's so many people who all find their place with so much freedom to play. 

We all know that music is the food of love, so help spread the love, and support this appeal” Benjamin Zephaniah

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What will the Foundation do?

  • Support the musicians and performances of the orchestra
  • Build the team to produce future projects and partnerships   
  • Develop links with partners across the music industry, in education, with     other arts and with leading cultural and social thinkers   
  • Make available the methods and practice of the orchestra to encourage a     kind of music-making that is available for all, across culture, across ability. Across educational and social borders   
  • Encourage different forms of musical practice and show how they can meet,     whether oral or written, improvised or learnt, groove-based, melody-based, sound-based   
  • Offer training in the skills of leadership, and the skills of  collaboration  
  • Create free online resources  
  • Create new Third Orchestras!

Orchestras are wonderful things! The stirring sound of many musicians coming together. But we think this is a new kind of orchestra. This is an inclusive body where, as well as that glorious sound together, each musician brings their individual story, their musical lineages from all over the world, their passions.

We do know that we live in unspeakably brutal times. Alina, our wonderful harpist, is from Ukraine, and her story suddenly completely changed the morning after we made this video. She has elderly parents there, and relatives who are taking part in the fighting. We send them love and courage.

The values behind the work of the orchestra have been evolving for a long-time. Early on in his career, Peter Wiegold diverted from his work in classical music to take time out and study the sound and method of music from across the world, fascinated not by just how music sounds, but how it is made, what it represents. He initiated exploratory workshops – for example with his ensemble Gemini - bringing creativity to young people and communities inviting them to actively participate.

"The inspiration of Third Orchestra is just what we need today: great musicians and great ideas brought together under an all-embracing generous-spirited banner called unity in diversity. A genuine example for the world." - Marshall Marcus, Secretary General European Union Youth Orchestra

Through The Third Orchestra, Peter continues to address boundaries and division, and how crossing these divides can produce exciting, new music.

Peter writes:

"We know these are very difficult times, but we do what we can, because through music we join together - as an orchestra, with our audience. We rise to better things. We leave just a little more kind, a little more compassionate, a little more mindful and intelligent.

The Third Orchestra thrives on difference, thrives on the spark across the gap. Gets energy on the depth of contact that comes from embracing and engaging with what can be the other.

And then, when we find those amazing moments of spontaneous contact, with one another, with the audience, we begin to feel we are one, in the end, we are one.

I’m privileged to spend time with this wonderful orchestra. And all of the musicians want to carry the work to more people, to create and play together, to converse. To discover new worlds. I much appreciate the spirit of the rewards they’ve offered here.

Above all, we all want people to feel the joy and passion of music-making, knowing it can transport us, and how it can deepen our souls, our humanity, our common humanity. Please help us share this."

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The orchestra’s first incarnation was generously hosted by the Barbican Centre in 2019, and the co-curator was the late John Cumming, for 25 years director of production house Serious and the EFG London Jazz Festival. John, sorely missed, had a special vision for the future of the orchestra – of it travelling with a core group then forming new Third Orchestras, working with the social and artistic ecology of a new place. That new orchestra could be 15, 30 or 70 strong! With children, local musicians, professional musicians. With your help, we will deliver this vision.

Club Inégales

The orchestra has evolved from the work of Club Inégales, the wonderful basement crucible at Euston, where, generously hosted by lawyers Hodge, Jones and Allen, in over 10 years and 200 events, Peter and band Notes Inégales collaborated with guest musicians from across world traditions, as well as with writers, poets, comedians and visual artists. Club Inégales produces the orchestra.

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We hope you will join The Third Orchestra at Grand Junction on 5th May. As Peter says, ‘all of our concerts are spontaneous – there are starting points – some powerful songs and words, but each performance is unique as I guide the orchestra, as it travels to new zones'. 

We can speak - and we can listen. Please support the creation of our Third Orchestra Foundation and help us take the work and the joy of it to the world in the next years.

Or enter custom amount

Rewards

This project offered rewards

£20 or more

Every amount however small really helps

thank you

£30 or more

'Envoi' CD

We will send you the most recent Club Inégales CD, 'Envoi' which got a 5* review in the BBC Music Magazine. A homage to Miles Davis, distributed by NMC Recordings

£40 or more

Colin Alexander. Zoom cello meditation.

A guided meditation with Colin, he will play along with his beautiful multitrack cello tracks Zoom out!

£40 or more

Personal Composition Masterclass

1 Hour Personal Composition Masterclass with word-class composer and multi-instrumentalist Shri Sriram.

£50 or more

Happy Birthday!

Max is offering an improvise on Happy Birthday for you, sending you a video, dedicating it to a person of your choice

£50 or more

Lullaby

Rouhangeze will record an enchanting Mauritian lullaby for you, with your child's name in it

£50 or more

Jazz Zoom

Pianist Matt will invite you to a jazz improvisation seminar, where you can ask questions, play, get feedback etc. Once more, you might want to donate this to someone you know

£50 or more

Harp Zoom

Alina is offering a Zoom tutorial with advice for composers on writing for the harp. For example, the ancient mystery of how the pedals work. She will demonstrate all those effects, and you can ask questions!

£75 or more

A creative consultation with Peter Wiegold

On composition, work strategies.. for yourself, or donate it, to a young composer, an emerging artist?

£100 or more

Ticket and come and meet us

For £100 we’d like to offer a ticket to the concert at Grand Junction on 5th May. And welcome you to rehearsals the day before. Come and meet us!

£200 or more

Two tickets, meet us - and a CD!

Two tickets - bring a friend - and a copy of the CD of the orchestra to be released in the autumn by NMC Recordings. And to welcome you to rehearsals the day before!

£500 or more

Sponsor a member

Make a friend. This is a special category – as well as tickets, CD and rehearsal, we propose that you might like to sponsor one of the amazing musicians of the orchestra – essentially their fees for this event – and then get to exchange thoughts with them – meet them at the rehearsals and reception, find out more about their lives and musical aspirations, and let them be your ambassador to meet the rest of the orchestra.

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