How’s this for a gig? East Durham College’s very own music lecturer, Emma Fisk, has taken her talents to the Sage at Gateshead!
Emma, who plays violin, appeared alongside James Birkett (guitar), performing an opening set of Italian-American duo Joe Venuti and Eddie Lang, lesser-known musicians who pioneered virtuosic violin and guitar jazz in the 1920s.
The two were then joined by David Harris (guitar) and Bruce Rollo (double bass) to perform a set of Gypsy Jazz and the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli.
The group, known collectively as Emma Fisk’s Hot Club Du Nord, performs regularly at events across the North East and beyond. The group bring to life the classic 1930s and 40s repertoire of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli's Hot Club de France. The band encompasses a wealth of experience, knowledge and love of the hot club/ gypsy jazz style.
Emma said: “We had an amazing night at Sage Gateshead last night. It is such a fantastic venue and it was wonderful to see so many people there!”
When not performing on stage, Emma uses her musical talents to teach the next generation of musicians at East Durham College’s popular music department, based at the Peterlee campus.
From September 2018, Emma and Andrew Simpson from the college’s music department will be launching a new initiative – Jazz at the Lubetkin. This special event, which will take place in the college’s Lubetkin theatre, will give students the experience of promoting and running a concert series alongside professional musicians.
