Scxene of a unique summer concert: Three Mills in all its glory

Stratford’s historic House Mill hosts unique musical walk

Pat Coughtrey , News Editor Friday, June 1, 2012
1:30 PM

»A chance to experience music as never before comes with a unique and groundbreaking concert from the New London Orchestra (NLO).

Exploding the traditional orchestral concept, audiences are invited to “explore” a performance of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony No 3 as they make their way around the 18th century surroundings of a Grade I listed mill on Three Mills Island, Stratford, at the southern peak of the Olympic Park.

Victorian

The NLO with installation artist Thor McIntyre-Burnie and young musicians from Newham transform the orchestral experience into an act of exploration and architectural discovery shifting from one instrument to the next as visitors move through Victorian machinery and five floors of creaking timbers.

Orchitecture, part of the London Festival of Architecture, is the first ever musical concert at The House Mill, with just four performances on Saturday June 23 (3pm and 5pm) and the following day at 3.30pm and 5pm.

The NLO has been awarded a Transformers grant, funded by The National Lottery, and managed by East London Business Alliance.

The House Mill lies in the Three Mills Conservation Area and has been harnessing the power of the tide to serve the needs of London from before the Norman invasion in 1066, producing flour for bread in the Middle Ages, gunpowder in the year of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and alcohol during London’s infamous Gin Craze.

* For details and ticket information go to www.nlo.co.uk.