Location: Headstone Manor Museum, Special Exhibitions room, ground floor.

Music Harrow! is an exhibition curated by a team of 16-18 year-old volunteers from the local area.

The show follows the area’s musical story from the 15th century musicians hidden in the roof beams of St Mary’s Church, Harrow on the Hill, to the emerging performers showcasing their talent at Harrow Arts Centre open mic events.

The exhibition has been produced by the museum’s talented Young Curators, who spent the summer exploring Harrow’s music heritage. Amongst the intriguing items they found in the archives are programmes from the 1920s and record players from the 1960s. As well as rummaging in the local history collections, the curators have been out meeting members of the thriving music community, collecting contemporary stories, from bell-ringers and gospel singers to folk musicians and music promoters. The exhibition includes a Harrow soundtrack, much of which was recorded at live music events around the borough.

Hailey Baxter, Youth & Families Engagement Officer at Headstone Manor said “We are really proud of the achievement and dedication the Young Curators have put into this project. The group has given over 500 hours into researching, planning and putting together this exhibition whilst collecting and adding stories to the museum archive. Their hard work really shows in this great exhibition and we can’t wait for the public to see it!”

One of the challenges faced by the group was how to ‘show’ music. A form of intangible heritage, in the centuries before record players and iTunes, music left limited traces. For the past 50 years, when Harrow’s music story has featured likes of Elton John and Kate Nash, visits from The Who and the first women’s orchestra of Afghanistan, little material has made its way to the museum yet. As part of the project, the museum is encouraging people to consider donating items that will help tell the story in the future. So if you have old LPs, flyers, posters, tickets, instruments or stories you’d like to share, get in touch.