The Night Shift

The Night Shift is the name given to a series of concerts run by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. As a Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre, the first Night Shift took place on 22 May 2006 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Since then there have been fifteen further concerts at venues including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Royal Festival Hall, The Roundhouse and the Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome. The Night Shift aims to "present classical music in a new way to attract an audience that rarely or never attends classical music". It is characterised by its lack of formalities traditionally associated with classical music and key features include the following: Pre and post concert entertainment such as DJs, Folk and Jazz groups, VJs and dance Drinks promotions and drinks allowed in the concert hall, A relaxed atmosphere in the concert hall; the audience is encouraged to move, talk and clap as they wish. The concert is presented from the stage and includes interviews with performers and questions from the audience. Ticket prices are kept low, typically £8 in advance, £12 on the door and £4 for students. To date there have been over 7500 attendances at Night Shift events, with a peak audience of 1,200 at The Roundhouse on 29 January 2010, where Vladimir Jurowski conducted Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and Symphony No. 7. The one-hour concert was presented by Alistair Appleton, accompanied by live video projections. Other artists to have appeared at The Night Shift include Robin Ticciati, Marin Alsop, Rachel Podger, Edward Gardner, Christian Tetzlaff, Eduardo Portal, Stephen Hough and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.