Sounds of Our City Online Exhibition

Alice Hiley

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Sounds of Our City Online Exhibition

4 May 2020-31 December 2021

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

sounds of our city online exhibition
Sounds of Our City by Leeds Museums & Galleries.
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The Sounds of Our City Online Exhibition gives you a chance to visit the current exhibition at Abbey House Museum virtually. Find out the story of how the different musical styles and venues of Leeds interact.

Discover fascinating instruments and sound equipment made in Leeds, and explore the different venues associated with music in the city over the past 200 years. Relive some of the city’s most iconic performances through the memorabilia featured.

Listen to recordings of songs by forgotten women composers, curated by students at Leeds Conservatoire. Reminisce over the traditional school songs proudly sung by students across the city to instill ‘school pride’, and learn about the first music shop set up on Park Row in 1864.

Leeds College of Music launched the first jazz degree in Europe in 1993, and in 2004 they became the first UK conservatoire to offer courses in Popular Music, Music Production and Music Business. The exhibition explores how Leeds schools slowly welcomed music lessons into the main curriculum from as early as the 19th century.

Listen to interviews with key figures including Leeds record shop owners, fanzine creators and members of bands who played or performed in Leeds. Explore the history of Leeds’ biggest and most beloved concert venues, past and present, including The Leeds Assembly Rooms, City Varieties Music Hall, the Casino Promenade Concert Hall, Leeds Town Hall, Roundhay Park, The Odeon and the new First Direct Arena.

Discover artefacts that transport you from the early beginnings of music in Leeds to the city’s more recent festivals and concerts. Sheet music, instruments, gig tickets, posters and signed memorabilia bring these iconic concerts to life in never-before-seen ways.

From opera and classical music to rock and roll and pop, there’s something for lovers of all genres in the Sounds of Our City Online Exhibition.

Where to go near Sounds of Our City Online Exhibition

RJC Dance Xmas Show
Leeds
RJC Dance

RJC Dance, based in Chapeltown, Leeds, champions youth and education, leading inclusive Black dance in the North through national partnerships.

The Beacon at Cliffe Castle Park
Bradford
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Cliffe Castle Park

Cliffe Castle Park hosts the Beacon, a stunning performance space that will be touring the district throughout Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.

Hern Food
Leeds
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Hern

This produce-driven bistro in Chapel Allerton, Leeds, prides itself on cooking with the only finest ingredients and his headed up by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rab Adams.

Indie Makers
Leeds
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Indie Makers

Indie Makers, located in Leads’ corn exchange, trades in art and gifts from independent makers across the UK.

Plant Point
Leeds
Shop
Plant Point

Plant Point is designed to help you bring the jungle into your urban or suburban space. The home of beautiful plants in Leeds.

Leeds
Restaurant
Eat Your Greens

Eat Your Greens is a vibrant, organic restaurant bringing a hint of European flair to the city’s plant-based dining scene.

Sela opened in 2004 with an idea to provide quality imported beers from around the world, fun cocktails to compliment the beer selections and a stage for the region’s finest and most talented musicians to play on.Over ten years later, we’re still all about the beer, cocktails, live music and pizza!We carry over a selection of over thirty different beers spanning the globe from Pickering with The Great Yorkshire Brewery’s Yorkshire Blackout, to New York with a selection from Brooklyn Brewery, and Belgium with longtime Sela favourite, Vedett.Our cocktails change regularly too. Our best-sellers are joined by fun, new offerings and our pizza menu is regarded as one of the best the city of Leeds has to offer.As for the live music, Sela has had not only the great and the good from the region. Local funksters, The New Mastersounds are regular visitors and we stage the amazing Mojah Reggae Band for their weekly Wednesday residency.  Our other long running programming incl
Leeds
Restaurant
Sela Bar & Pizzeria

Sela Bar is a cosy Leeds basement spot with live music, great drinks, and a cool, laid-back, atmospheric vibe.

Leeds Beckett SU
Leeds
Restaurant
Leeds Beckett Student Union

Leeds Beckett Student Union hosts big-name artists and supports students through events, live music, and a vibrant campus venue.

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