Share the Stage: Tippett’s A Child of Our Time
Roof of The Glasshouse raised as over 300 musicians Share the Stage in one of the region’s biggest ever musical moments.
FREE TO USE IMAGES HERE
Royal Northern Sinfonia and Chorus shared the stage today with around 200 amateur players and singers for a rousing and emotional performance of Michael Tippett’s masterpiece A Child of Our Time at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music.
The occasion also marked the launch of The Glasshouse’s 20th birthday year, kicking off a season of celebrations that will unfold over the next 12 months and culminate in the 21st anniversary in December 2025. Highlights following today include three new digital commissions and a festival event celebrating young people’s music making.
Share the Stage celebrates community through the joy of performing music together. Over 300 vocalists and musicians squeezed onto the stage today. Two thirds of these being passionate locals between the ages of 18 and 85. The event marked one of the largest musical gatherings ever on the Sage One stage.
An incredible performance, Royal Northern Sinfonia, its chorus, and conductor Dinis Sousa and the local participants were joined by some of the world’s most celebrated singers – soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly, tenor Nicky Spence and bass-baritone Sir Willard White.
Share the Stage was imagined by Royal Northern Sinfonia’s Principal Conductor, Dinis Sousa, a dynamic young conductor who has recently made acclaimed debuts at Salzburg Festival; Musikfest Berlin; Carnegie Hall, New York; and Harris Theater, Chicago.
Conductor Dinis Sousa said, “I’m so proud of what everybody has achieved for Share the Stage. Over 300 musicians felt completely united in bringing this mission to life. Collectively, the performance was incredibly moving – everybody threw themselves into it. Someone afterwards told me they were teary when they were playing, and that’s the best way to do this: not to be perfect, but to be moved by the music. We all wanted it to be a huge success, and when you experience that energy together, it drives you to an amazing place.”
Margaret Dolin – a singer in Share the Stage said, “That was absolutely fantastic! I feel so emotional coming off stage. The atmosphere was electric; the crowd was brilliant. The singing, just what can I say? The music reached deep into me and grabbed my emotions. I’d definitely do something like this again.”
Isobel Grundy – daughter of a Share the Stage cello player said, “I’ve just watched my mum play the cello on stage today, and I’m so proud of her – she did such a brilliant job. I thought the whole production was very moving, especially as the music still feels very relevant today.”
/ENDS
Press contact: Susie Gray, Premier | Susie.gray@premiercomms.com | 07834 073795
Free to use images of the performance here. Please credit Thomas Jackson, Tynesight Photography
Other visual assets:
To view a selection of relevant photographs from passed large scale singing events at The Glasshouse use the link below.
Share the Stage: A Child of Our Time gallery | The Glasshouse (theglasshouseicm.org)
Dinis Sousa conductor
Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha soprano
Sarah Connolly mezzo-soprano
Nicky Spence tenor
Willard White bass-baritone
Tim Burke chorus director
Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia
Royal Northern Sinfonia
Massed Musical Forces of the North East
Richard Jackson British Sign Language interpreter
About The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
The Glasshouse International Centre for Music is a home for live music lovers.
It’s a place where you can hear rock legends or pop icons on the same night as folk trios or string quartets. Where new musicians are nurtured and showcased on the same stages as platinum-selling performers. And where youth choirs and tambourine-shaking toddlers practise in the same spaces as its acclaimed orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia.
Because as an international centre for music they’re focused on creating and celebrating outstanding music – whether that’s unearthing or growing talent from the region or bringing the world’s best artists to their stages. And as a charity they’re focused on making sure all of that is available to anyone – no matter where you’re from, how old you are, how much money you have, or what challenges you face.
Which is why every year more than 2 million people are able to join for top-notch gigs, concerts, and classes – in their venue at Gateshead Quays, out in communities across the North East, and through livestreamed performances and digital lessons.
Whether you’re making it up or taking it in, you’ll find music lives and grows there.
More about The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
- From global stars to artists starting out, The Glasshouse has hosted 10,022 performances, totalling 4.7m tickets. To have seen every performance would have meant seeing one show every day for 27 years.
- It’s hosted over 220,000 music lessons for North East folk. The region’s young people have learnt to play, sing or produce with us, on over 1.7m occasions.
- Royal Northern Sinfonia perform at The Glasshouse, tour the region, and have played to international audiences on four continents, with livestreams reaching people across five.
- Like stepping stones, artists like Ward Thomas have worked their way from their free stages to selling out its big hall and getting global recognition.
- The Glasshouse regularly opens its doors to a wide range of conferences and events. Since 2004, they’ve welcome over 400,000 delegates from the likes of Greggs, NHS and British Engines, and many, many more.
- The charity is one of Gateshead’s biggest employers, and so far it’s generated £500m of economic value to the region.
- The charity has been the proud guardians of The Glasshouse for almost 20 years, safeguarding it when live music was put on hold during the pandemic.
- The centre, standing 40 m tall, has 630 panes of glass on its exterior.