11 Apr 2025
Victoria Hall, Saltaire
Echoes of the North
BD1 Brass played live to an extraordinary film, celebrating the way we were.
Our brilliant brass weekender kicked off with a journey back in time.
The Big Brass Blowout opened with a special concert at Saltaire’s Victoria Hall, with BD1 Brass leading a musical and cinematic celebration of Northern England.
Echoes of the North: Four Chapters in Time captures the North as it’s rarely seen today. Drawn from over 100 fragments of archive film, this evocative silent movie takes audiences down the highways and byways of Northern life in the early 20th century – our communities and industries, our villages and cities, and the landmark moments that defined our lives.
The music was composed by award-winning composer and BBC presenter Neil Brand as the first ever all-brass soundtrack to a silent movie. For Bradford 2025, the film was performed live to a screening of the movie by Bradford’s very own BD1 Brass – a fittingly fabulous start to our festival celebrating the great British brass band.
The Big Brass Blowout
Echoes of the North was part of The Big Brass Blowout, a weekend-long celebration of the best in brass.
Presented by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
Image: Bradford City vs Newcastle United, 1911 © Yorkshire Film Archive
Credits
Neil Brand
Ben Palmer
Andy Burns
Past event
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