Hear and Now 2011
In October 2011, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Orchestras Live will once again bring together members of Fusion Youth Singing and the Alzheimer’s Society ‘Music 4 Memory’ group in Queens Park, Bedford for an intensive project in which they will work together to compose and perform their own music.
Now in its fourth year, this unique intergenerational project, called Hear and Now, is a collaboration between the Philharmonia, Orchestras Live, Fusion Youth Singing and the Alzheimer’s Society ‘Music 4 Memory’ group, which aims to bring together these diverse groups to celebrate the talent and creativity within their own communities to foster mutual understanding and community cohesion.
After the success of last year’s Hear and Now project, this year the groups will work together over the course of five days under the guidance of project leader Tim Steiner. Alongside Philharmonia Orchestra musicians, the groups will create and compose their own music.
The inspiration for their work will come from the participants themselves, through discussion and reminiscences, and the new works will be performed in a celebration concert in Queens Park on Friday 28 October at the All Saints Church in Bedford.
In preparation for this creative workshop a small number of core peer members from both Fusion and Music 4 Memory groups will work Tim Steiner in a number of intensive mentoring sessions. These sessions will develop the participants’ musical leadership skills, with the aim of using these skills in the later stages of the project. This in-depth introduction to music making was designed to encourage the participants to develop deeper relationships with their peers, creating a stronger bond between the two groups.
The main project will take place over five days between 24 and 28 October, where Tim Steiner and the Philharmonia Orchestra musicians will work closely with the participants to create and compose original pieces of music. The inspiration for the music will come entirely from the participants with help from the peer mentors in the development process, and material will be taken from existing projects within the two groups and transformed by the participants.
A special performance at All Saints Church in Queens Park, Bedfordon 28 October will mark the culmination of the project when all the participants will perform their new works. The concert will also bring together other musical groups from within the Queens Park community, with music performed by Indian singer Pooja and the First Generation Italian Club, in addition to the Philharmonia Orchestra ensemble. With these diverse cultural groups coming together, the concert is a unique event that embodies the essence of society working together to defy division within communities.
Click here to see the flyer for the concert on 28 October 2011
