What started with a networking mixer quickly turned into a packed night of live music, conversation and introductions. People moved between the two performance spaces throughout the evening, and our live room was full most of the night.

This year’s showcase focused largely on vocal-led projects, each approaching classical music from a very different angle. Artists performing on the night were Les Itinérantes, Hanakiv, Entropies, Blossom Caldarone, Joe Harvey-Whyte, Carolina Cury & Kostako, and Hana Amaya.

Today, Martin Cullingford, Editor of Gramophone Magazine, described many of the artists as working in a space where “classical techniques and instruments interact with other styles – classical the touching point perhaps, and a stepping stone to elsewhere too.” It was great watching people respond to the artists without worrying too much about genre labels.

The room was a great mix of artists and industry, with labels, publishers, agents, managers and creatives packed in together.
That’s what excites us most. Not just the performances, but the possibility of building a stronger ecosystem around this music. More showcases. More opportunities. More spaces where classical artists can be discovered, supported and connected to the wider commercial music industry.