Newham Council Under the Stars 2019

Loved it

Newham Under the Stars - Sunday 11 August with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

"The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and a fireworks grand finale will again delight audiences on Sunday night. The RPO has been performing at Under the Stars for more than six years bringing an ensemble of up to 75 musicians. They cover a huge range of music from core symphonic music by composers such as Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, through the world of musical theatre and up to modern day film soundtracks.

This year’s concert will feature traditional proms in the park favourites under the baton of ever popular conductor John Rigby who has worked on film, screen and stage music.

Making her first appearance is vocalist Alison Jiear who trained classically in voice and piano at Queensland Conservatorium of Music in Australia before moving to the UK in 1988. She has performed in the West End while working on numerous other projects.

Also debuting is British baritone Ross Ramgobin who attended London’s Royal Academy of Music where he gained an MA in Vocal Studies and then his Advanced Diploma from the Royal Academy Opera. He has performed at opera houses all over the world.

The evening will also feature performances by Newham's Young N Gifted Choir as well as the Bridging Sounds Orchestra, Newham Music's flagship ensemble".

Hat tip Newham London

"Newham residents raise £1,600 for the Magpie Project"

Hat tip Newham Council Website "Money was raised through a collection at Newham Council’s music extravaganza Under the Stars with many residents providing generous donations. Additional donations were also collected through Newham Council staff participating in Christmas Jumper Day on 14 December.

The Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz and Councillor John Gray, Deputy Mayor (statutory) and Lead Member for Housing Services, presented a cheque to the project for £1,600.

The Magpie Project provides a safe and fun place for mothers and under fives who are in temporary or insecure accommodation. They provide art activities, messy play, nutritious snacks, a healthy lunch and other refreshments. The project also works with other services such as housing charity Shelter, health and law organisations and Newham Council’s Workplace to help mothers who visit get the advice and support they need.

Mayor Fiaz said: “I am a huge admirer of the Magpie Project and in awe of the volunteers – many of them mothers themselves – who give up their own time to provide this service. A service such as this should not be necessary. I am committed to tackling homelessness with compassion and care and I am looking at how we can provide different forms of temporary accommodation which is more appropriate and provides some stability as well as increasing the number of homes at social rents.

“As that work is still in the early stages, I am grateful for what the Magpie Project provides which is a lifeline to many and I would like to thank those residents who have made generous donations so we can present this cheque. We are looking at how we can help the project in other ways too – we have undertaken an assessment of the Lodge, the building the Magpie Project uses, to see what improvements we can make. I will also be meeting with the project in the new year to deal with issues raised around how mothers in temporary accommodation are treated by Newham Council.”

The Magpie Project is located at The Lodge Forest Lane Park, Magpie Close and is open Mondays and Wednesdays between 10am and 2pm during school term times only. For more information visit www.themagpieproject.org​