22 December, 2021
It’s that time of year again, where we wind down, take a breath and look back at the year gone by.
It’s been a rollercoaster of a year, and we’ve gone from only being able to run live streams to putting on full-scale live events!
We are so grateful to have been able to bring our events back to a live setting, and gather with our community in person again. We can definitely say that we appreciate more than ever the power of sharing, connecting and communing with other humans – that ancient, primal yearning to share space, stories and songs.
There are a plethora of highlights from 2021, too many to contain in one blog post! So instead, here are the team’s favourite moments from Nest HQ:
Sam Lee (Artistic Director)
Singing With Nightingales Festival, when we all went for a walk to hear the evening chorus and about 100 of us stood in perfect silence for about 30 mins to listen. It was incredible to share silence and wonder with that many people and feel so connected, yet also get the sense of the massiveness of nature even when we humans are so massive… It made us feel very small and very lucky.
Jess (Executive Director)
My favourite Nest moment of the year was watching Ceitidh Mac perform at Spitalfields City Farm. So wonderful to see one of our Amplify artists at this final Campfire Club of the season.
Ollie (Marketing Manager)
Filming the Abel Selaocoe live stream at Grand Junction in March.
Abel Selaocoe is an unbelievable talent, so it was a real privilege getting to see him do his thing up close in the beautiful setting of Grand Junction.
Sherry (Acting Executive Director)
I think I would choose a highlight from quite early on which set a great tone for the year – watching the Burns Night Online; and watching the comments coming across in a great rush and revelling in how far and wide they were coming from. Scotland (of course), but also both coasts of North America and New Zealand and all sorts of parts in between! Loving how Nest was the lynchpin creating this magical connection of community.
Thom (Programme Manager & Technical Producer)
Back in March – watching cameraman Ron get more and more bold with the gimbal shots he was framing of 9Bach singer Lisa, and in turn seeing her relax into the performance and play up to the camera’s close proximity. The interaction between them added to a really special performance, and was something that would never have happened were it not for lockdown. She was performing to fill the space, even though there were only about a dozen people in the building including the band.
Seraphina (Marketing Assistant)
At Singing With Nightingales in Sussex, doing the midnight walk by starlight with a big bright moon in the sky, everyone in silence with just the sound of footsteps crunching through the forest floor. It was completely magical and transportive, and once we settled in to hear Sam and Matthew Barley improvise with the nightingale’s song, it felt like I’d entered another realm.
Sam Pixie (Production Manager)
My highlight has to be the amazing lady who danced her way through every song at Magpie’s Nest in September. She brought such love, openness and energy to the space. Gorgeous!
