Making their first appearance at the River Stage are nonclassical, bringing the best in new classical, electronic and experimental music to the South Bank. Their weekend features live techno piano, anarchic improv and synth workouts, alongside mind-bending DJ sets and family workshops.

River Stage Festival Weekend: nonclassical
Summer pop-ups
While visiting, why not grab a drink or a bite to eat from one of our summer pop-ups? Enjoy a gourmet wood-fired pizza from the Pizza Van, mix yourself a cocktail made of botanical ingredients from the Apothecary bar or grab a cold beer from the Understudy Riverside Pop-Up Bar. There is something for everyone at the NT this summer.
Nick Luscombe
18.30 – 19.00 / 19.30 – 20.00 / 21.45 – 22.45
Nick Luscombe is a London based radio broadcaster for BBC Radio 3's Sony Award Winning Late Junction programme and radio producer, DJ and sound collector. He is founder of Musicity Global and also works as A&R consultant at nonclassical.
Expect a lovingly curated mix of modern composition, minimal electronics and musique concrète fused with ambient, field recordings and Japanese soundtracks.

Klavikon
19.00 – 19.30 / 21.00 – 21.45
KLAVIKON reimagines electronic music without the use of conventional processes - All sounds, kicks, snares, bass and pads are created by preparing an amplified piano, an “acoustic workstation”. This amalgam of virtuosic piano technique and real-time electronic processing is at once connected with dance genres and 20th century classical music.

Tom Richards
20.00 – 20.45
Tom Richards is a musician, DJ, artist and instrument designer based in London. Richards has designed and built his own idiosyncratic modular electronic music system, with which he creates slowly evolving and heavily textured polyrhythmic improvisations. He has performed and exhibited widely, both in the UK and internationally. In 2016, he re-created Daphne Oram’s Mini Oramics graphical music machine, a project that continues to attract attention worldwide.

Tom Richards
12.45 – 13.15 / 13.45 – 14.15 / 15.30 – 16.15 / 17.30 – 18.00
Tom Richards is a musician, DJ, artist and instrument designer based in London. Richards has designed and built his own idiosyncratic modular electronic music system, with which he creates slowly evolving and heavily textured polyrhythmic improvisations. He has performed and exhibited widely, both in the UK and internationally. In 2016, he re-created Daphne Oram’s Mini Oramics graphical music machine, a project that continues to attract attention worldwide.

Cecilia Bignall
14.15 – 14.45 / 20.30 – 21.00
Cecilia Bignall is passionate about chamber music, jazz and contemporary music, has recently performed with London Sinfonietta, Chris Potter, Ensemble x.y, and recorded with Tim Garland. She performs at festivals and venues across the world, including Sziget Festival in Budapest with nonclassical, the London Jazz Festival and Gabala Festival in Azerbaijan.

Peter Gregson
18.30 – 19.15
Peter Gregson is a ‘cellist working at the forefront of the new music scene’ (The New Yorker).
At the NT River Stage, he will perform works by Max Richter, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Gabriel Prokofiev, Steve Reich, as well as new compositions by himself. A new record of Gregson's work will be released in the Autumn 2018.

Cello Multitracks
19.45 – 20.15
Cello Multitracks is a suite of four contrasting movements for nine layered cello parts, composed by nonclassical founder Gabriel Prokofiev and originally performed by the cellist Peter Gregson. Performed live on the River Stage in a brand new version for four cellos and a virtual ensemble of five loudspeakers, Peter Gregson is joined by fellow cellists Colin Alexander, Cecilia Bignall and Gregor Riddell.

DJ Mr Switch
21.15 – 22.45
Mr Switch is a 4 x World DMC DJ Champion, and the first DJ ever to have performed at the BBC Proms. A party rocking DJ and an award-winning scratch DJ, he has performed as a classical soloist in more than 10 countries. Mr Switch will be performing Gabriel Prokofiev's Concerto For Turntables & Orchestra, followed by a full length DJ set.

nonclassical DJs - Eleanor Ward
13.45 – 14.15 / 14.45 – 15.15 / 16.00 – 16.30 / 17.00 – 17.15
Eleanor Ward is executive director of nonclassical. As well as running nonclassical as an events producer and record label, El is also a resident DJ for nonclassical, performing in Rotterdam, Sziget Festival (Budapest) and club nights across London. She’ll be joined by her DJ partner-in-crime Harriet Moss (Soho Classical) for an afternoon of the best new music and ambient sounds.

Cecilia Bignall
14.15 – 14.45
Cecilia Bignall is passionate about chamber music, jazz and contemporary music, has recently performed with London Sinfonietta, Chris Potter, Ensemble x.y, and recorded with Tim Garland. She performs at festivals and venues across the world, including Sziget Festival in Budapest with nonclassical, the London Jazz Festival and Gabala Festival in Azerbaijan.

Tre Voci
15.15 – 16.00
Formed in 2012, Tre Voci is comprised of Norwegian cellist Torun Sæter Stavseng and British cellists/composers Gregor Riddell and Colin Alexander. Their repertoire ranges from medieval and renaissance vocal music to new commissions and their own compositions. In 2017/18 they have collaborated with nonclassical to present concerts alongside Mohammed Reza Mortazavi, Silje Aker Johnsen, David Stephen Grant, Bryn Harrison, Henrik Koppen and South Bank Gamelan Ensemble.
In May 2018 they released AURO (featuring Kit Downes) on nonclassical.

Imprint
16.30 – 17.00
Imprint brings together the worlds of contemporary classical music and jazz. With influences from Kaija Saariaho to John Hollenbeck, they have performed in venues and festivals across the UK and Europe. Incorporating improvisation and electronics, they recently curated a programme of new music celebrating ’Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ for the Daunt Books Festival.

Campfire Pizza
Pizza made to order in our wood-fired oven, in a vintage Citroen van.

Apothecary Cocktail Bar
An outdoor pop-up cocktail bar on the river front.

Ice Cream Van
Our vintage ice cream van selling soft serve ice cream, gelato and soft drinks.

10 – 12 August: National Theatre
The closing party weekend of family theatre, contemporary circus, music and dance.

River Stage competition
Tag us in your Instagram photos to win free tickets!
We’d love to see all your photos of our River Stage festival. If you tag your pictures with #RiverStage the best ones could win free tickets to some upcoming shows at the National. Read our terms and conditions to find out more details.
