Grand Union Re:Generation Band

Membership of the Re:Generation Band is by invitation only. Most members will have spent several years in the Grand Union Youth Orchestra, taken part regularly in workshops for young musicians or attended our annual Summer Schools. It is in effect an informal apprenticeship scheme to train aspiring professionals in the mould of the Grand Union core musicians; it is also a pathway to membership of the full Grand Union Orchestra.

In summer 2023, as part of commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush bringing workers from the Caribbean to help re build Britain after the war, National Heritage commissioned our Re:Generation Band to create a new piece. Here they are visiting Tilbury Docks to gain inspiration where the Windrush disembarked their passengers in 1948.

They were keen to tell also the backstory of the Windrush Generation stretching back over 500 years to the transatlantic slave trade. Here is a short sample of the show they produced at Hoxton Hall as part of Grand Union’s own Windrush 75 festival week.

”I thought the show was fabulous.” wrote Philip Flood of Sound Connections. “Huge congratulations to Josh for telling the story so well. It really helped give a context.”

This commission in fact followed a previous one negotiated by Sound Connections. inviting the Band to create a project commemorating the independence of Bangladesh. Following extensive consultation with the local Bengali community and workshops with Bangladeshi and Indian musicians, they created On The Trail of the Bengal Tiger;, seen here in an early rehearsal.

Founded in 2017, and led by Joshua Brandler, it is mentored regularly by core musicians from the Grand Union Orchestra itself. These young East London musicians therefore develop a love of traditional musical forms from China and India, across the Middle East and Africa to the Caribbean and Latin America – alongside their mastery of contemporary urban styles.

The ReGeneration Band also features players of non-European instruments, such as tabla, sitar, guzheng, marimba, samba percussion and kpanlogo, and is developing its own repertoire. This reflects the experience and heritage of its members, and they regularly perform in venues across East London.

the Re:Generation Band is based at Poplar Union, where it gives regular performances and hosts jam sessions. There are also recording facilities available, and the Band is building an impressive catalogue of video and audio tracks.

Here is a piece created in response to a festival commission from Popular Union.