What's On

Woven Gold is a choir made up of refugees fleeing persecution. Their music has a raw energy and power drawn from the diversity of the musical cultures they have come from – Burma, Congo, Guinea, Iran, Kenya, Kurdistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Uganda. Together they have found a unique voice. While there is unspoken acknowledgement of the isolation and sadness of their lives, the music they make is music for its own sake, joyful and expressing a basic belief in humanity.

All this is made possible by the Helen Bamber Foundation, a human rights charity. They believe that working together creatively has great therapeutic value for people who have lived through traumatic experiences, helping them to rebuild their lives. The Foundation brought together a volunteer team of professional UK musicians who for three years have worked with the refugees, helping them to awaken their musical talents, to realise them in performance, and to create music for themselves. In 2009, the group released its first album, Much More Than Metal. Since then, they have been invited to perform at several music festivals including the City of London Festival, the Hackney World Music Festival and Tete a Tete Opera Festival.