Manchester Airport to host orchestral rendition of Brian Eno's 'Music for Airports'

Brian Eno’s influential 1979 album ‘Ambient 1: Music for Airports’ is set to be performed by a chamber orchestra at Manchester Airport next month.

Two airport performances will be conducted by the Manchester Camerata on September 20 as part of Here We Are festival, which will see the orchestra perform across all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester.

Six musicians from the Manchester Camerata will perform Will Newell’s arrangement of Eno’s pioneering ambient album across two sessions, one from 2:PM to 3:PM, and a second from 3:45PM to 4:45PM.

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It marks the second time 'Music For Airports' has been performed in an airport, with the first having come from New York ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars, who performed the album live in Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 2006.

The performance will take place within Manchester Airport’s ‘super-terminal’, Terminal 2, which underwent a £1.5-billion transformation to double in size in 2021.

"To be able to partner with such a forward-thinking organisation as Manchester Airport for this concert has been a total dream," says Bob Riley, Chief Executive of Manchester Camerata.

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"Human connection through innovative, fearless and excellent performance is at the heart of Manchester Camerata, and we can't wait to share this special experience with the travellers at Terminal 2 on the day," he added.

The atmospheric performance aims to calm passengers at the departures gate, allowing those in attendance to "hear this genre-defining masterwork as it was intended".

The Manchester Camerata’s performance comes amidst a series of free and "accessible" shows across the city as part of Here We Are festival, which runs from September 15 - 20.

Find out more about the performances here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor