A free outdoor concert is taking place at University Park this summer thanks to the generosity of University supporters through Cascade, which enriches the student experience and benefits communities across the world.

Cascade gave £24,500 to fund the first Summer Symphony in the Park, which will feature the University Philharmonia, ensembles from across the city as well as music from China and Malaysia via a large screen. The acclaimed guitarist Xuefei Yang will also perform.

Cascade also gave more than £12,000 to the student-run New Theatre to support a year-long skills programme and a production of Lysistrata at Lakeside Arts Centre from Tuesday 23 April to Saturday 27 April 2013.

Summer Symphony in the Park will take place on Sunday 16 June from 3pm on Jubilee Avenue Meadow near the Trent Building and will be open to students, staff and the local community.

Organisers hope concert-goers will bring a picnic and enjoy an afternoon of orchestral classics.

 

 

Over the last six years Cascade has raised over £1.2m to helped fund more than 130 projects as diverse as bringing history to life for local school children and maintaining a remote hospital in Sri Lanka.

Summer Symphony is one of 10 projects receiving up to £25,000 after impressing a judging panel of Nottingham graduates.

Among the students who will be performing with the Philharmonia are Jade Whymark and Daniella Blackford.

Jade said: “Summer Symphony in the Park will be a really unusual and exciting event. For me it will be an invaluable opportunity to learn how to organise such a complex event, which I can tell employers about. I think the most exciting part will be the audience’s reaction. To some, classical music is boring, so hopefully this will show them how much fun can be had.”

Daniella added: “Holding a concert outside is something really different and quite exciting. Without Cascade funding we wouldn’t be able to afford the staging and equipment needed. Hopefully they will be very proud of what they have supported!”

Cascade’s support of New Theatre will give the student theatre company the invaluable experience of working with a professional team on Lysistrata.

In the play, billed as the original battle of the sexes, the women of ancient Athens form a no-sex pact to force men to stop waging war. It is the first collaboration between Lakeside and the New Theatre.

An education programme will also give GCSE and A-level students the opportunity to explore the play, which is a set text, and even direct the cast.

Shona Powell, Director at Lakeside, said: “The Lakeside team are delighted to be working in partnership with The Nottingham New Theatre on this first collaborative venture, which has knowledge exchange at its core.  The company involved in Lysistrata will have direct experience of working with a professional director, lighting designer, company stage manager, education consultant, theatre designer and marketing team.

“We’re delighted with the response from schools from across the region and beyond — including one school travelling from Liverpool — who have been attracted by our acclaimed wrap-around learning programme.”

Almost £4,000 will also be given to 11 students who will be volunteering at the Meserani Education Centre in Tanzania this summer.

Other grants will help Journo Soc fund lessons from a second shorthand teacher; physiotherapy students’ travel to Borneo to help orphans with disabilities; veterinary students treat animals belonging to the homeless in Nottingham and the LGBTQ Society encourage equality in University sport.

Visit: http://nott.ac.uk/cascade