The evening allows you to watch the film of the Cantata project, to discuss it with its creators and to hear the music performed live. Cabot Circus Cantata came into being as a result of Neville Gabie’s appointment as artist-in-residence on the construction site of Cabot Circus. When he noticed the number of different languages coming from under the hard hats around him, he was intrigued and began to ask questions. He was stunned to learn that there were almost 60 nationalities working there – and he got together with composer, David Ogden, to devise a way of celebrating this diversity. It was their voices that revealed these people’s origins, so Neville and David decided that song should be the key to the project. Song would be the way to celebrate their diverse origins – and to show what they could do when brought together! The result was Cabot Circus Cantata – using traditional songs that these workers carried in their hearts from their roots all round the world. Neville’s film records the extraordinary concert these hard-hat singers gave in the echoing shell of Cabot Circus – and follows them at work as they turn a building site into a futuristic mini-city.

"I feel as if one of my dreams came true," says Ania Smetana, the site secretary. "Coming from a small town in Poland, from quite a poor family, to be here in a big country, working here, living here and singing for a British audience – it's fantastic!" Neville Gabie didn’t want the contributions of these transient workers to be lost beneath the anonymity of glass and steel. "Whilst the community of building staff is transient,” he says, “their positive impact on Bristol will have a lasting legacy, which I hope in some small way is reflected in the work that David and I have created." David Ogden was amazed by the power of the musical material. "Many of the songs sung by the workers came from the heart,” he says. "They are reminders of their homeland and were sung with great feeling and nostalgia. The songs from Eastern Europe were particularly powerful.”

The evening invites you to watch the film of the original project, to discuss it with Neville and David, and to hear some of the music performed live by members of the City of Bristol Choir.

It is at 7.30pm on Sunday 20th September at the Pierian Centre, 27 Portland Square, St Pauls, Bristol BS2 8SA.

The Bar opens 7pm – and tickets are £4.50 (+ concs) on 0117 924 4512 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Booking is strongly recommended!

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