In photos: The Bradford Progress

News Story

Across the weekend of Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May Paraorchestra, Charles Hazlewood, and Jeremy Deller joined together with 445 musicians from across Bradford District for a very special undertaking: The Bradford Progress.

Beginning with a dawn performance of Handel's Eternal Source of Light Divine by Paraorchestra at the Cow and Calf Rocks on Ilkley Moor, The Bradford Progress charted a musical journey through Bradford District, with an unbroken 36-hour sonic procession carried by musicians of all genres performing in some truly unusual places. 

From Ukrainian voice choirs bursting into song on train carriages, to klezmer bands aboard narrowboats, to samplers and santoor resonating Undercliffe Cemetery at sunset, and dhol drummers parading through the streets on Sunday morning; this was a true celebration of the brilliant, eclectic tapestry of music cultures that exist across Bradford District.

Sunday afternoon saw every musician and group who had performed throughout the weekend come together with Paraorchestra in the centre of Bradford for a brilliant, cacophonous climax, playing side-by-side in disharmony before merging into a 'C' note as one.

The Bradford Progress was created with and for Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Thanks to our partners at Bradford 2025, the hundreds of amazing musicians who brought this project to life, and of course the people of Bradford who came out to enjoy it in their thousands.

As ever, we're grateful to our funders for their continued support that makes this work possible: Arts Council of England, Esmée Fairbairn, The Linbury Trust, The Mark Leonard Trust, John Ellerman Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and Bristol City Council.

Image gallery

  • 26 members of Paraorchestra dressed in white perform in the centre of a former quarry at dawn. A crowd of several hundred look on, with more spectators watching from the rocks above.
  • A large crowd gather in the grey dawn light to watch Commoners Choir perform inside the former quarry at Cow and Calf. The are dressed in all black an standing in a loose semi-circle, whilst the audience are perched on rocks an on the lip of the quarry above.
  • Eight Paraorchestra musicians playing wind instruments perform outdoors. They are all dressed in white and a rolling green country landscape is visible behind them.
  • Steve Varden, a Paraorchestra musician smiles as he plays electronic instruments aboard a canal boat whilst it descends in a canal lock with cascading water behind it.
  • Three members of the Song Geet women's voice choir wearing traditional South Asian dress smile as they sing together in a sunny park.
  • Three members of the Shah-e-Mardan Qawwali group perform in a bandstand on a sunny day. They are seated cross legged on the floor wearing colourful traditional dress, singing an clapping their hands. One member plays a shruti, a box-shaped instrument that produces sound through bellows.
  • Devaki O'Riordan closes her eyes as she plays sitar in a seated position in a sunlit bandstand. She has long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and wears vivd red traditional dress with adorned with intricate gold patterns.
  • A young female dancer from the Annapurna Dance group shifts her weight to one foot as she performs on the grass in front of an ornate bandstand with a vivid blue sky behind.
  • Members of the Celebration gospel choir smile and clap as they perform on inside a train carriage.
  • Members of Dibrova Choir, a Ukranian male voice choir wearing traditional embroidered white shirts, sing as they descend a staircase in a train station.
  • Jennifer Reid, a woman in her late twenties with a choppy punk hairstyle wearing a blue shirt and long red skirt, smiles as she performs with a child wearing a lilac dress inside a museum.
  • The lead singer of punk band Queer of Hearts sings - a person wearing sunglasses, a red silk shirt and ripped jeans - sings into a microphone in Bradford Industrial Museum, with industrial machinery visible behind them.
  • Jennifer Reid, a woman in her late twenties with a choppy punk hairstyle and facial piercings performs inside Bradford Industrial museum, her eyes closed as she sings. A small audience stands to either side of her.
  • As the sun sets behind them in Undercliffe Cemetery, electronic duo Gilank perform using pedals and midi controllers. Next to them Eeshar Singh plays the santoor, a traditional hammered string instrument. An audience sit on the floor surrounding them.
  • Eeshar Singh, a Sikh man in his late twenties wearing a round turban with a medium-length black beard. He is sitting cross-legged, looking down intently as he plays the santoor on his lap, a small string instrument played with two small wooden hammers.
  • Three musicians perform in Undercliffe Cemetery. From left to right they are using a midi controller, violin, and santoor. Behind them, a large obelisk is silhouetted against the sunset sky.
  • A large crowd of hundreds of people gather around a pianist and percussion section from Paraorchestra inside a large modern shopping centre.
  • A Paraorchestra cellist seated with her instrument chats with an audience member inside a shopping centre. She has blonde hair and is smiling warmly.
  • A group of musicians led by Oluwatosin Omotola Ajayi wearing vibrant Yoruba dress play percussion and saxophone outside of Bradford City Hall.
  • A large crowd watch the Fiyalka Ukranian women's voice choir perform in front of Bradford town hall.
  • Three woodwind musicians from the West Yorkshire Fire Band perform in a public square. They are dressed in traditional red military-style uniforms.

Photo credits: Andrew Benge, Jemma Mickleburgh, Thomas Gadd, David Lindsay, Karol Wyszynski

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