Radio Lear Sound Assemblies – Sounds of the Arches

From 6pm on Wednesday 19 August, Radio Lear will open the Braunstone Gate Arches for the first in a new series of fortnightly Sound Assemblies.

The first gathering is called Open the Room. It begins with a question: what is already sounding before we decide to make anything?

Book Open the Room or follow Radio Lear on Luma for later Sound Assemblies.

There is the brickwork and the canal. Windows, traffic, water, footsteps and voices approaching from outside. There are objects in the room, surfaces that may resonate, and silences that change as people enter. Any of these might become an instrument, a score or the beginning of a radio programme.

Radio Lear Sound Assembly combines collective listening, improvisation, performance, recording and other sound-based experiments. It is part listening laboratory, part temporary ensemble and part radio salon—but the labels matter less than what happens in the room.

We will begin with short listening exercises and simple instructions. Participants may explore object sounds, movement, speech, silence and improvised radio sounds and stories. We will listen and make first, then talk about what we heard: its texture, rhythm, atmosphere, form and effect.

This is not a workshop in which an expert delivers the correct method. Nor is it a conventional performance with a fixed division between performer and audience. The organisers provide a structure, but the evening will be made through the attention and negotiation of everybody present.

No musical training, specialist equipment or finished work is required. You may bring an instrument, voice note or sounding object if you wish, but you can also arrive with nothing. Listening quietly is a valid way to participate. Nobody will be required to perform.

The group is deliberately small: 13 participants alongside three organisers. This gives everybody an opportunity to contribute while leaving enough space for pauses, changes of direction and experiments that do not behave as expected.

Parts of the evening will be recorded for an edited Radio Lear broadcast and podcast. The aim is not simply to document a workshop. Room tone, preparation, movement, pauses, objects and the response of the group may all become part of the programme.

Recording choices will be explained on arrival. You can attend without being interviewed or featured, and an off-mic area will be available.

Practical information

Open the Room takes place on Wednesday 19 August 2026 at the Braunstone Gate Arches, 13 Bede Street, Leicester LE3 5LD. Arrival and setup begin at 6pm. The collective activities run from 6.30pm until 8.30pm.

The event is for people aged 16 and over. Booking is free and there is no advance payment. Optional pay-what-you-can donations are welcome on the night, but they do not affect access or participation.

Book Open the Room or follow Radio Lear on Luma for later Sound Assemblies.

Listen first. Make something. Leave a trace on the radio.