In 2004 Gabriel Prokofiev founded Nonclassical, a record label and club night dedicated to showcasing contemporary classical music outside of the traditional concert hall.
“Gabriel Prokofiev’s ace night that turns classical music on its head.” (Time Out)
“Prokofiev and his team deserve credit for their determination to take ambitious new music projects to venues outside London’s publicly funded arts centres.” (The Londonist)
“Without doubt one of the most enjoyable fixtures in London’s new music calendar.” (Evening Standard)
Nonclassical hosts monthly gigs in Dalston, at which contemporary classical and experimental music is presented as if it were rock or electronic music: bands play through through the pub’s PA, everyone has a pint in their hand and there are DJs playing throughout the night.
The Nonclassical record label has released 14 albums to date, with an ever-growing spectrum of music represented (such as Tansy Davies, Juice Vocal Ensemble, Aisha Orazbayeva, GeNIA, and Joby Burgess). The idea behind the releases is to record forward-thinking, contemporary classical music and then invite musicians and producers who usually work in different genres of music to remix them.
Here are the upcoming 2017 gigs, most of which take place at The Victoria in Dalston:
Nonclassical // Battle of the Bands
Wednesday 11th January
Nonclassical // Shadanga Duo & BLOCK4
Wednesday 6th February
Nonclassical // Outside the Lines EP Launch
Wednesday 8th March
Nonclassical @ Sounds Like This Festival, Leeds
Thursday 16th March
Nonclassical @ Tallinn Music Week, Estonia
Friday 31st March – Saturday 1st April
Nonclassical // Workers Union Ensemble & SoundKarD
Wednesday 12th April
Nonclassical // Curated by Charlotte Harding
Wednesday 10th May
Nonclassical // Classical:NEXT
Thursday 18th May
Nonclassical // Tansy Davies
Wednesday 14th June
Nonclassical // Curated by Freya Waley-Cohen
Wednesday 12th July
Nonclassical // Malta International Arts Festival 2017
Saturday 8th July
Nonclassical also runs the Street Orchestra of London, an orchestra with a set-up time of less than five minutes who take classical music into unorthodox locations and onto the streets to reach those who would not otherwise engage with live classical music. SOL plays all types of music, from classical classics, to Snoop Dogg, to new commissions from living composers including Prokofiev. SOL goes on tour in July 2017.
