Local students impress crowds at PureGold Festival

Thousands of people arrived at the Southbank Centre to see the PureGold.

Goldsmiths students showed off their talents as they performed at the PureGold Festival at London’s Southbank Centre. Pic: Yuan Li

Members of Goldsmiths’ Department of Music have taken to the stage at London’s Southbank Centre to launch this year’s PureGold festival – and certainly seem to have showed off their worth!

Now in its third year, PureGold showcases talent from Goldsmiths students past and present, including recent alumna FEMME who played to a packed-out venue.

Thousands of people came to Soubank Centre to see the PureGold Festival.

Crowds gathered at the Southbank Centre to see performances at the PureGold Festival.             Pic: Xue Mi

PureGold gives the opportunity to see various types of music, ranging from baroque, opera, and contemporary music to electronic bands and popular music.

The festival also saw work from Goldsmiths staff including teacher and PhD student Marilyn Wyers, who performed a scene from the Spanish opera Party’s Over.

The piece was adapted for the PureGold festival by Music student and composer, Eduardo Costa Roldan.

East London Lines reporter Xue Mi was there to speak with Marilyn and Eduardo about the performance, which sought to encapsulate the interaction between sound, movement, and the body:

Thousands of people came to the Southbank Centre to see the PureGold Festival

Watching on: future PureGold performers? Pic: Xue Mi

The Music Department at Goldsmiths has an impressive reputation in the music industry already, with the list of former students including chart-topper Katy B, as well as Adrian Sutton who composed all the music for the West End show, War Horse.

Former Goldsmiths student FEMME, aka Laura Bettinson, was fresh from her appearance at the Coachella Music Festival and closed PureGold with a storming set of five songs.

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FEMME, former Goldsmiths student, performing at PureGold Festival. Pic: Yuan Li

This was the first event of many planned for the next three months as part of PureGold with performances taking place at venues across London including the Albany, Deptford, and Goldsmiths.

A celebration of music starts here. Classical and contemporary music events are staged until 7th July, while popular music events will run until June 19.

For full event listings from PureGold then head to their website.

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