Sound Links Block Party

On Saturday 21 September 2024 (International Peace Day), Ulster Orchestra, Zeppo Arts and Townsend Street Enterprise Park held a community street party on Townsend Street in Belfast to celebrate the area and its people. 

The free event featured live music from Winnie Ama, String Ninjas, Utropiks, Boom Strutt Brass, Belfast Ukulele Jam and others; food and crafts markets; kids’ activities; dance performances; workshops and tours, finishing with a live performance by the Ulster Orchestra who premiered three newly commissioned pieces by local composers, inspired by local residents memories of the area and hopes for the future of the street.

The Block Party was the culmination of the Sound Links project, which aimed to explore the rich history of Townsend Street. It was part of the Belfast 2024 programme, an ambitious cultural celebration that saw the city come to life with creative projects, events and civic initiatives taking place across Belfast throughout the year.

Townsend Street

Townsend Street in Belfast has a rich history, and in 2024 the Ulster Orchestra, Townsend Enterprise Park and Zeppo Arts worked together on Sound Links, a project exploring that history as part of Belfast 2024 – an ambitious cultural celebration that saw the city come to life with creative projects, events and civic initiatives taking place across Belfast throughout the year.

Townsend Street is one of only two points in Belfast where one can see the Farset River, the river that gave the city its name.

It also houses Townsend Enterprise Park and the former Townsend Presbyterian Church, which is now home to the Ulster Orchestra. In the past, the history of the street and its surroundings were buried by the degradation of the area and the legacy of Troubles-era interface gates.

For our Sound Links project, the Ulster Orchestra, Townsend Enterprise Park and Zeppo Arts worked together with the local community, residents and the businesses of Townsend Enterprise Park with the aim of putting the street once again firmly in the consciousness of the city.

About Sound Links

Sound Links was a community-informed project culminating in a community-led celebration of the street and its people on International Peace Day in September 2024. The Ulster Orchestra also used the project to introduce ourselves to the area, in addition to telling the story of a forgotten part of Belfast’s history.

We wanted Sound Links to celebrate the heritage of the area, and commissioned three new works as part of the project, by composers Úna Monaghan, Rory Friers and Jamie Thompson, which were performed at Townsend Street Church.

Over several months, we held consultation workshops in the local area where members of the public came to share their memories and stories of Townsend Street and offer their hopes and aspirations for the future.

We also visited local schools, care homes, day centres and community groups, where our facilitators – writers Natasha Geary, Emily DeDakis, Fionnuala Kennedy and Maria McManus; and Ulster Orchestra Animateur Jonathan Simmance – worked with pupils, residents and attendees over several weeks to talk about their memories and ideas.

All of this material was gathered together and given to our three composers to inform the music they wrote for the final event. We were surprised and delighted by the variety of stories and ideas shared with us during the workshops that inspired the finished pieces.

We’d like to extend our deepest thanks to everyone who participated and to the schools, groups and venues who welcomed us so warmly into their spaces: St Comgall’s – Ionad Eileen Howell, New Life City Church, Townsend Enterprise Park, Glenwood Primary School, St. Mary’s Primary School, City Way Day Centre, Bradley Manor Care Home, and Shankill Area Social History.