A run of successful concerts, which have attracted visitors to Shrewsbury from far and wide, is continuing with the visit of an internationally-acclaimed composer later this month.
Shida Shahabi will bring her blend of classical and electronic music to the atmospheric space of St Alkmund’s Church on October 27 as part of the ‘Letting the Light in’ series of inspiring musical performances in Shrewsbury.
Organiser Chris Taylor, of Sy.gigs, said the series of concerts in Shrewsbury churches, including artists from New York and Los Angeles, had been extremely successful.
He said: “My focus is on attracting high quality alternative music artists to Shrewsbury as part of 'Letting the light in' series, which is in part focused on the mental health benefits of music.
“So far every event has sold out and we have had people attending from London, Bristol, Birmingham, Liverpool and the Welsh Marches as well as all parts of Shropshire.
“We have been very grateful to Shrewsbury BID and other kind benefactors, who recognise the importance of new alternative culture, to enable these gigs to happen without increasing ticketing prices.
“Keeping ticket costs reasonable is really important to encourage a diverse audience of all ages to explore and experience new music.
“We have had great success not only with audience numbers, but also with the calibre of artists we are bringing to Shrewsbury. The performance of Elori Saxl, an electronic composer from New York, was her only, and first UK concert, which just shows that artists value what we are doing here which is really exciting.
“We also had jazz pioneer Shabaka Hutchings perform an extraordinary evening with harpist Miriam Adefris earlier in the series. This was his first and only public performance playing flutes.
“The upcoming concert with Shida Shahabi, supported by Tiny Leaves, will be a fitting finale to the series, and we hope to run a second run of performances in the future.”
For more details visit https://linktr.ee/sygigs
Seb Slater, executive director of Shrewsbury BID, added: “These concerts, along with the other activities supported by Original Shrewsbury grants, have undoubtedly helped to bring more people into the town centre, which is great to see.
“Chris has worked hard to bring such high-quality musicians to interesting spaces like St Alkmund’s Church and we are looking forward to seeing what comes next!”
