A sing-a-long orchestra!

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Martha, a romantic comedy opera, is performed by the Northern School of Music. One of the Guardian reviews mentions it is "one of the oddities of operatic history. It has been slain by shafts of ridicule a hundred and one times." No pressure then chaps. However the performance itself was only let down by the small space of the venue, "its defects were largely those of the hall, which is acoustically unsympathetic under the best conditions, but is almost hostile when a large orchestra, struggling gamely with Flotow’s sometimes heavy scoring, is occupying space normally available to the audience."

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A packed concert by the Junior students of the Northern School of Music, including music by local composer Walter Carroll.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Coming up to the summer of 1962 with the Northern School of Music includes the popular Summer Course of Music with recital by soon-to-be famous Alfreda Hodgson.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Northern School of Music! The Messiah! A firm friendship of many years.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

I know it's not what it's going for but why does the programme title have a smug deconstructed-hipster vibe about it.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Ooh an "operatic programme". Sounds suitably dramatic. Hansel and Gretel is a fun one. The RNCM produced it a couple of years ago. The Gingerbread Witch was played like a panto dame and it was hilarious.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Another recital by Northern School of Music students, accompanied by John Wilson.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A Northern School of Music recital this time with female accompanist Anne Stafford.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

George Bernard Shaw being given the Northern School of Music treatment here by the drama students. A wartime comedy to lighten dark December evenings.
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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It's the orchestra of the Northern School of Music! Led by a woman and conducted by a woman - pretty cool.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A piano recital by students of the Northern School of Music.
A whole evening of piano music. Thoughts?

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Another smashing Christmas singalong with the singers of the Northern School of Music.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Alfreda Hodgson became a well-known contralto singer, after her studies at the Northern School of Music. She became one of the most well-known alumni of the school.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Not sure what the Northern School of Music is doing with an RMCM programme but hey ho!

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

According to the Guardian review, “the great strength of the Northern School of Music is its female voices,” due to “absence of good male singers”. The two operas were “well suited to its resources” - with few male parts.
The school was founded by a woman, run by women and had a largely female student body, with a strong female staff many of whom were working on this production.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Many of the Northern School of Music will remember accompanist John Wilson. A previous student of the school he has supported hundreds of concerts and always had time for the school, even becoming staff accompanist. This is an absolutely packed concert with a lot of music for John to work with.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

An Easter concert with a jolly mix of very dead and still alive composers, performed by students of the Northern School of Music.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Some really nice details in this programme. For Everyman in 1961, some of the costumes were made by the students themselves and the music was arranged by the staff members Dorothy Pilling and Irene Wilde. There's even a member of the Junior School in the cast. I also like how Knowledge is a woman - nice touch.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

For their 40th year anniversary, there's a Thanksgiving service at St Ann's Church in the city centre. They've programmed one of their students' works! And they're female! Very cool. Margaret Watkinson was a Barnsley lass who studied at the NSM from the late 1950s to the early 1960s.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In their 40th anniversary year the Northern School of Music re-stage the first ever opera they did in 1952. It was reviewed in the Guardian: “it is by no means easy meat for the inexperienced, but the Northern School has made an extremely workmanlike job of it.” Side eye at the small space at the Lesser Free Trade Hall: “Sumner Austin’s production, which makes imaginative and intelligent use of the small stage, is a major factor in the success of it the production.”

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

In its 40th year, the Northern School of Music showed off its Junior School talents. The Junior School met every Saturday morning until early afternoon and hundreds of young people were trained over the years in a unique musical education.
This programme even includes spoken word poems like "Jim on the Corner" by Eleanor Farjeon. Nice to see a female creator on the list!

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

A concert by the Northern School of Music for the Manchester Branch of the World Refugee Fund in 1960.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Great to see a female playwright being performed by the Northern School of Music's Speech and Drama department. The Chalk Garden was published just 5 years before in 1955.

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Part of the #NSM2020 project "A 20/20 Legacy: the centenary of the Northern School of Music" supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.