March Static at Norfolk and Norwich Festival

March Static is an immersive, site-specific mobile work for massed musicians that reframes the marching band phenomenon as a celebration of community gathering around peace.

Composed by Thomas Meadowcroft (AU/DE) and led by new music luminaries Speak Percussion, the UK premiere of March Static was presented at the opening event of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival on Friday 9 May.

Co-Artistic Director Kaylie Melville and Bec Reid (All the Queens Men) travelled to Norwich to collaborate with musicians from CoMA (Contemporary Music for All), a UK charity that fosters innovative partnerships between amateur and professional musicians. This new version of Meadowcroft’s work reimagined the traditional marching band through bespoke choreography, transforming it into an immersive sonic experience that celebrated community and peace over military power. Ethereal chords drifted through the audience, periodically disrupted by bursts of marching percussion.

With thanks to the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Creative Australia, and British Council Australia (Connections Through Culture) for making this possible.

Image Credit: Norfolk & Norwich Festival / Luke Whitcomb