‘Here and Now’ (Grown: A Grime Opera) brings together Leicestershire musicians

During the pandemic, a group of young singers, rappers and musicians came together to perform a track from Grown: A Grime Opera – a fantastic accomplishment given the circumstances.

Grown: A Grime Opera was written by Charanga VIP Studio Sessions’ Max Wheeler and Grime artist Eyez. Conducted by Robert Browning, with an additional orchestral arrangement from Peter Riley, it was produced by Essex Music Education Hub and first performed by young musicians from Essex in 2017.

Supported by Youth Music, this latest performance – its first outing since its premiere – was organised by Leicestershire Music Hub and Youth Orchestra, Pedestrian tutor and rapper Tian AKA TM, and vocalist Aaliyah Essence.

Broadcast online due to COVID-19 restrictions, the musicians took on the concept and composed their own lyrics, giving their performance a unique Leicestershire feel ‘using today to better our world tomorrow’.

‘We were thrilled to be involved in creating the Leicestershire Music version of the Grime Opera,’ said Sharon Jagdev Powell, Deputy Head of Leicestershire Music. ‘This gave our young people something really positive to focus on during lockdown. It’s fresh and exciting, and our young musicians and vocalists worked incredibly hard to record their parts at home before submitting them to create our online version of the finale, “Here and Now”.’

You can check out their exceptional performance in the ‘Here and Now from Grown: A Grime Opera - Leicestershire Music’ YouTube video below:

In the meantime, Leicestershire Music Hub will continue with its Grime Opera project, including more live performances. Congratulations to everyone involved for such an amazing feat under such challenging conditions.

If you have any questions about VIP Studio Sessions or Grown: A Grime Opera, please get in touch with us at vip@charanga.com.