With tickets from just £5, this accessible performance proudly celebrated Black identity and music in Croydon, through the lens of a composer who helped shape Croydon’s cultural personality and remains part of the borough’s DNA today.

Two new musical works were commissioned for the concert:

1. Tongue Stew by young composer Ryan Morgan, winner of our first Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Prize in 2023 for young composers from underrepresented backgrounds.
2. Song of Ourselves by composer Tunde Jegede, whose unique approach draws on contemporary musical styles from both Europe and Africa, much like Coleridge-Taylor did.

In addition, Tunde Jegede was commissioned to produce new arrangements of four Spirituals for the Croydon SDA Gospel Choir:

1. I feel like a Motherless Child / Steal Away
2. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot / Down by the Riverside

We produced three new short films which were screened during the concert, introducing the composers and their new pieces. These video programme notes provided an accessible introduction to the composition process, the performers, and the instruments on stage.

We had some electric pre-show foyer entertainment provided by the Council’s Culture Team:

• International Man of Artistry Jon Hicks performed his artistic wizardry outside Fairfield Halls, producing a speed painting of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor.
• French street theatre brass band act, Les Grooms, brought a combination of music and comedy to the Fairfield foyer, interacting with audience members and bringing laughter to the evening.