From concert halls to car parks: The Multi-Story Orchestra

The Multi-Story Orchestra started more than 10 years ago as a group of friends putting on concerts in an informal way. Artistic director and CEO Kate Whitley and co-founder Christopher Stark had recently left university when they had the idea of bringing together musicians to give performances in car parks. ‘We basically did it because car parks are much more fun than concert halls!’ Says Kate, ‘It gives you so much flexibility in the kind of atmosphere you can create, and I think people behave differently in such an expected and unusual space.’

The audience can be closer to the musicians than in a standard concert hall, so the atmosphere is more creative and more open. ‘Formal concert hall spaces have always felt restrictive to me. I also love the fact that you are aware of what is going on in the outside world in the car park. We’re one level below the roof, which means we’re covered from the weather, but you get a great view out the sides. You can hear things like the trains going by and traffic, but it never really gets in the way. People always say they find it moving and that it adds to the experience.’

Moustapha Doumbia, a young artist who came through the Multi-Story Orchestra schools programme and is now working as a trainee with the orchestra, agrees. ‘I like the car park because it’s embedded within the community - anybody in Peckham can come up there and see what performances are going on. The performances we have done are moments in my life that I will never forget. Receiving a good reaction from an audience is such a rewarding feeling, especially while you’re on stage.

The Multi-Story Orchestra has more recently started presenting more music create by the orchestra itself, along with performances where the orchestra is joined by a choir, as well as getting young people from schools in Peckham involved. Doumbia was one of them when he was 14, he first met Whitley when the orchestra worked with his school for some performances. Now 19, he has joined the Multi-Story team.

‘One of my favourite things that I’ve done with Multi-Story Orchestra has to be The Endz. The Endz started out as an idea in Harris Academy Peckham that a few students came up with following the death of their friend - they decided to make the show as a tribute. It’s mix of orchestral music with rap, spoken word, and theatre attracted a lot of attention from people who lived in Peckham, and it’s message resonated with many of them. A lot of hard work went into the show, and it garnered a lot of attention from the media, with a feature in The Times and a segment on ITV. It was very different to what the Multi-Story Orchestra would normally do and showed a lot of hidden potential in the people I was working with.’

Kate adds, ‘The really amazing thing about The Endz was how much ownership everyone in it had, and how much it mattered to the young people to tell that story. I think that’s what made it different from what we had done before, as it really gave it a purpose.’

The Multi-Story Orchestra had a huge impact in terms of bringing the community together, and creating classical music in unexpected spaces. So how can these results be replicated elsewhere? Moustapha offers his suggestion, ‘my best advice to someone who wanted to get young people more involved in music would be to listen to the young people and let them know that they are actually heard. As long as you actively listen to them they will also listen to you.’ Kate says, ‘I totally agree, and I think that applies to everyone – there are too many people in our society who just aren’t heard enough, and giving a voice to perspectives, experiences and stories that might not otherwise be heard is one of the most valuable things that music can do.’

The Multi-Story Orchestra makes it's return to London's Southbank Centre this Sunday (6 November) and 3 December, with performances at 10.30am and 1pm. You can find more information here.