Peter Edwards & Gary Crosby at NCO rehearsal (2022/2022) by Graeme MiallTomorrow's Warriors
A new orchestra for our times
Nu Civilisation Orchestra (NCO) is the brainchild of award-winning bassist/bandleader Gary Crosby OBE and is led by musical director Peter Edwards.
Nu Civilisation Orchestra rehearsals (2022/2022) by Graeme MiallTomorrow's Warriors
Diversity and opportunity
NCO is a Tomorrow's Warriors professional ensemble. In keeping with Warriors ethos and vision, the orchestra strives to bring diversity to the fore and also give young musicians a professional development path.
Peter Edwards conducting by UnknownTomorrow's Warriors
A Brave New Repertoire
The Orchestra has presented an eclectic body of work including Stravinsky’s Ebony Concerto, Duke Ellington’s A Tone Parallel to Harlem with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Charles Mingus’ The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady with Clod Ensemble and Parallel, a tribute to Joe Harriot
Running parallel
NCO presented a sonic and visual tribute to Joe Harriott, the free form Jamaican jazz genius who settled in London in 1952.A Bebop player at heart, Harriott fused the influences of Charlie Parker with his own Jamaican musical sensibility to create his unique sound.
NCO toured The Jazz Ticket in England in 2017-18, a project that celebrated the centenary of five giants of jazz, and featured the PRS New Music Biennial commission, A Journey With the Giants of Jazz by Peter Edwards. Across the tour, NCO was joined by 600 young musicians from local schools who played the music of the jazz icons as the culmination of an innovative nationwide jazz music programme for schools led by Tomorrow’s Warriors.
Nu Civilisation Orchestra walk on stage at Southbank Centre (2021/2021) by Graeme MiallTomorrow's Warriors
NCO presents Marvin Gaye's What's Going On
In 2021, NCO made a perfectly timed creative exploration of What’s Going On, five decades after its release, featuring vocalist Noel McKoy, visual projections by Yeast Culture and poetic interventions by actor Colin Salmon, Casey Bailey, Malik Al Nasir, Saili Katebe and Aflo.
A soundtrack of the times
As the world was emerging from the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic, the shockwaves of the death of George Floyd were still being felt and the Trump administration was drawing to a close, the messages of Marvin Gaye's seminal album felt more prescient than ever.
AFLO The Poet with Peter Edwards (2021/2021) by Graeme MiallTomorrow's Warriors
AFLO the poet and Peter Edwards
Taken during soundcheck for the Brighton Dome performance.
Acclaimed British soul singer Noel McKoy joined the tour on lead vocals as the voice of Marvin Gaye himself. Sadly Noel passed away on 3 November 2022 and, whilst he had worked extensively with Jazz Jamaica, this was his only tour with Nu Civilisation Orchestra. An experienced and generous musician, he is still sorely missed.
“Since the time of the release of the album to the present day, every time I’ve heard or sung it I think to myself that mothers are actually still crying – ever more so, and young brothers are still dying. The tracks from this album were and still are the benchmark of soulful commentary from a black man’s experience which can be related to across the globe. Its spirit and honesty remain potent to this very day." Noel McKoy
Trouble Man
On Sunday 11 September 2022, Nu Civilisation Orchestra took to the stage of the Grande Halle de la Villette for a performance of Marvin Gaye’s Trouble Man and What’s Going On. The performance, part of the annual Jazz à la Villette Festival, was filmed and streamed by france.tv.
Nu Civilisation Orchestra Joni Mitchell Poster (2022/2022) by Tomorrow's WarriorsTomorrow's Warriors
The Nu Civilisation Orchestra: Hejira and Mingus
This 2022 UK tour featured the acclaimed vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and Tomorrow’s Warriors alumna ESKA, and explored the music Joni Mitchell, through her classic, jazz-influenced album ‘Hejira’,and her work with the great Charles Mingus shortly before his death in 1979.
ESKA on stage with Nu Civilisation Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2022.
“Exceeding all hopes, this made Mingus and Mitchell’s visions as vivid as they’ve ever been, and as breathtakingly advanced. An unbelievable experience. If you get the chance to see this, do not miss it.”
The Arts Desk: Nu Civilisation Orchestra feat. ESKA presents Mitchell’s Hejira & Mingus
Promo for Aladin Sane by Southbank CentreTomorrow's Warriors
Celebrating 50 years of an iconic album
Nu Civilisation Orchestra was invited to lead a 50th anniversary reimagining of Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, with Anna Calvi, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears, Roxanne Tataei, Lynks and Tawiah.
NCO at Brick Lane Jazz Festival 2023 by Graeme MiallTomorrow's Warriors
Charles Mingus' Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
The orchestra perform this classic Mingus album as part of Brick Lane Jazz Festival 2023.
Nubya Garcia and Peter Edwards by Jessica RossTomorrow's Warriors
Its time to Focus
September 2023 will see Tomorrow's Warriors alum Nubya Garcia join NCO for an exploration of the Stan Getz masterpiece Focus .The concert will also feature two new works for string orchestra by from Black British composers Oleta Haffner and NCO’s Peter Edwards.
