The National Touring Network

The National Touring Network's Transcendence Series has been primarily been set up in 2019 to provide wider range of high-quality and diverse work on tour including, in particular, to people with the least engagement, and more work that reflects the diversity of local communities in contemporary England.

In the first pilot series Transcendence presented 15 concerts and educational events through its outreach work. The presentations covered vocal genres of Dhrupad, Khyal/ Carnatic, Qawwali, Mystic Devotional Songs - Sufi & Bhakti traditions, Ghazals / Geets, instrumental sarod music which is based on vocal genre. However, much of the work pre and post concert Q / A sessions, which has been documented for our legacy work which includes interviews, workshops, seminars, film documentaries.

We have seven outstanding groups both representing all the vocal genres vocal including instrumental and chorus for the initial touring programme. There are some inbuilt educational and engagement activities in form of workshops, seminar, film documentaries, Pre-concert talks and Q & A.

About

The National Touring Network's Transcendence Series is a annual touring programme.

The purpose of the tour is primarily to provide wider range of high-quality and diverse work on touring including, in particular, to people with the least engagement, and more work that reflects the diversity of local communities in contemporary England.

The National Touring Network (NTN) was created to fill in a gap for a much needed touring organisation. In particular NTN is the first touring South Asian Arts Network which would have a significant impact on the Creative Case that reflects contemporary England.

The national touring part was recently hived off from SAMA Arts Network, one of the leading producers of music which has been instrumental in putting South Asian Arts on to the British Landscape, since 1977 it has produced over 108 major tours over the years.

The tours of NTN under the auspices of Transcendence Series which is taking artistic programming out of the established centres of excellence to remote corners of England. We have sought to stage events and performances spaces beyond the urban main stages and flagship cultural facilities, in community spaces that are transformed into performance venues.

We have brought in number of entities together such as record labels, music publishers, digital marketing / aggregators, artists and the audience to develop a more integrated model for touring.

Our unique transformational model for touring will support local communities, art centres, promoters and partners so as to operate and programme independently, with the network acting as a central point of contact for performers and as a marketplace for their touring events. The Touring Network will strive to ensure that all those who make cultural events happen in their communities are valued as a central, indispensable and celebrated part of the cultural life of England.

Performers respond to the environment, playing on intimate stages at the heart of small communities and developing a profound connection with landscape, with space and with people. This - alongside and producers' commitment to tour - means that we have outstanding performances happening in some of our most remote and beautiful towns and villages. This is something we plan to achieve. We believe that every performer should have the opportunity to access these experiences - to allow themselves and their creative work to be influenced and inspired.

This project will help us develop a much needed touring circuit by giving platforms to many artists groups around the country who would not normally get a break on a wider scale.