Two new performers have been announced for Wemba’s Dream: Join the Journey, a free performance of music, dance, poetry and carnival arts that will celebrate the unique and diverse communities of Brent, on 3rd September 2023.
Trevor Brown and Keira Martin will join musicians from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) and diverse local performance groups for the second instalment of the visually spectacular, free to attend, event in Wembley Park, London’s most exciting new neighbourhood.
Self-taught reggae musician Trevor Brown – also known as Trevor Starr – came to the UK in the 1970s at the request of Trojan Record Company and the Jamaican government, for the development and promotion of reggae music in the UK. The move followed Trevor’s number one hit in the British charts with Double Barrel, which he performed with Dave & Ansell Collins. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Trevor has toured with a wide selection of reggae artists over the years, including Jimmy Cliff, The Cimarons, Dennis Brown, Desmond Dekker, Max Romeo, The Pioneers, Toots and the Maytals, The Mighty Diamonds, Typically Tropical and Bob Marley.
Dance artist Keira Martin is an aerial Irish contemporary dancer, choreographer and movement director born and raised in Barnsley, South Yorkshire. Trained in Irish step dance, she competed internationally before studying at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) in Leeds and the New School for Dance Development in Amsterdam. The versatile performer, choreographer, director, collaborator, teacher and mentor went on to receive an NSCD Northern Connections commission for Good Blood in 2017.
Trevor and Keira will join a diverse selection of musicians, dancers, poets, and carnival performers from the RPO, St Michael & All Angels Steel Orchestra, Mahogany Carnival, Word Up and the Sujata Banerjee Dance Company for the performance of Wemba’s Dream: Join the Journey on 3rd September 2023.
The three free to attend, family performances will begin in the newly created cultural space beneath the Olympic Steps in the heart of Wembley Park, known as The Undercroft. From there, the performers will lead the audience in a procession to Green Parking, a 168-space coach park and multi-purpose event space a short walk away.
Wemba’s Dream: Join the Journey composer is visionary Dani Howard, whose contemporary performances are breaking down barriers to classical music and reaching new audiences. The 30-year-old composer will explore themes of self-discovery, hope, joy, sadness, anticipation and more in the performance on 3rd September, which will follow the journey of Anglo-Saxon traveller Wemba to their settlement in the heart of a ‘lea’ (forest clearing) in Wembley in 825 AD. Tickets are free and can be booked online in advance.
