Manchester Collective

Led by Artistic Director, Rakhi Singh, Manchester Collective are a shape-shifting ensemble that performs a combination of cutting-edge contemporary music, classical masterpieces and staged works, nationally and internationally.

They describe their approach as one of creating ‘radical human experiences, inspired by the music that we love’, and their imaginative approach to programming has seen them perform beyond the concert hall at festivals and in warehouses, nightclubs and factories. It’s all part of the collective’s vision to reshape the future of classical music through radical creations.

With a heavy emphasis on collaboration, Manchester Collective includes not only musicians and composers, but also producers, dancers, recording engineers, photographers and choreographers. Beyond their own members they have also delivered a number of collaborative projects including Rosewood with guitarist Sean Shibe and The Unfurrowed Field with jazz pianist Fergus McCreadie.

Though only founded in 2016, Manchester Collective’s commitment to producing new music has already seen them commission major works by some of the leading contemporary composers, such as Edmund Finnis, Ben Nobuto, Hannah Peel, Oliver Leith, Kelly Moran, Moor Mother, Lyra Pramuk, Laurence Osborn, Isobel Waller-Bridge and Alice Zawadzki.

Manchester Collective became a Southbank Centre Resident Artist in 2022, and their work in our venues to date has included The Oracle with cellist Abel Selaocoe, a multimedia performance of Michael Gordon’s Weather with an installation by sound recordist Chris Watson, and After Dark, an immersive minimalist club night.