Aurora Concert in Southampton

In February we were delighted to visit Springwell Specialist School in Southampton where our partners Aurora Orchestra and Turner Sims Concert Hall delivered three in-school concerts as part of their Far, Far Away Concert series.

This one was called Mahler and the Mountain and it has toured specialist schools in Southampton and the Isle of Wight in recent months.

It was fantastic to see Music Leader and presenter, Jessie Grimes, and the musicians with the children, adapting this interactive concert in the moment for each of their young audience members.

Witnessing the diverse responses from the children, from dancing and waving multi-coloured scarves, to those who were simply happy to sit by their teacher and take it all in. It was brilliant to hear such positive feedback from school staff also, who were keen to share the impact it had on individuals, as well as the whole groups.

We look forward to returning to Springwell for some workshops with Jessie in a few months’ time.

Bolsover Concert Coach

On Sunday 22 February, we stepped on a Concert Coach with Bolsover residents for a special journey to experience violinist Sophie Rosa and Sinfonia Viva at the Royal Theatre & Nottingham Concert Hall.

Travelling from Duckmanton, Bramley Vale, Glapwell, and New Houghton, our small but mighty audience arrived ready to enjoy a vibrant performance by a 20-piece string orchestra of violins, violas, cellos and double basses.

Led by Sophie Rosa, the orchestra guided listeners on a mesmerising musical journey across continents and centuries, with movements ranging from Astor Piazzolla to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

The response from the group captured the atmosphere perfectly:

“It was amazing! It was like being in a film,” shared one audience member, while another reflected:

“It was mesmerising to watch the musicians playing on stage, they looked almost like they were dancing while playing their instruments.”

For many in the group, attending a live performance in a large-scale venue like Nottingham Concert Hall was a real highlight, and the coach home was filled with joy, exciting conversations and shared reflections on the just seen concert.

As part of our ongoing work to widen access to live orchestral music, the Concert Coach was developed in partnership with the Royal Theatre & Nottingham Concert Hall. The aim of the series is to reduce barriers such as transport, cost and confidence, which can often prevent people from attending concerts.

By creating a supportive and welcoming shared experience, the project aims at encouraging new audiences to engage with orchestral music in a relaxed and inclusive way.

The project reflects Orchestras Live’s commitment to ensuring that more people, regardless of location, can enjoy high-quality live music and feel connected to cultural experiences beyond their local area.

Steven Isserlis at The Apex

Over the past few years, we’ve been proud to support The Apex in Bury St Edmunds, with their orchestral concert series. More recently, we’ve been exploring new ways to deepen community engagement during orchestra visits.

In early February, we welcomed the Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) for their latest performance and were delighted to invite Project 21, a charity supporting people with Down’s Syndrome across the East of England, to join us and further enhance their spotlight series.

Led by Claire Henry and a trio from ASMF, participants enjoyed a series of contextual and creative workshops, from composing and conducting to movement and demonstrations of instrumental possibilities. Claire and the trio offered an inspiring insight into the expressive power of orchestral music.

Later in the day, everyone was invited to sit in on the orchestra’s rehearsal ahead of the evening concert. Experiencing this music live, in such a beautiful setting, was a first for many of the Project 21 participants and created a truly memorable moment for us all.

We look forward to continuing to develop our partnership with The Apex and expanding the reach and impact of this work.

The Robot and Bluebird

Mid-February marked the Suffolk tour of The Robot and the Bluebird. After visiting our partners in Peterborough previously, we were delighted to bring the production to Suffolk in collaboration with the Norfolk and Suffolk Music Hub.

This Britten Sinfonia Key Stage One schools’ concert, first staged in March 2024, features music by Raph Clarkson with animations by Victor Craven and is based on the book by David Lucas.

Exploring themes of hope, mental health, and caring for others, the story follows the journey of The Robot and the Bluebird. Over three days, the performance reached eight primary schools, introducing children to live classical music and inviting them to participate through singing, body percussion, and a short guided meditation, all led by Sheena Masson.

It was a wonderfully engaging experience, beautifully performed by Britten Sinfonia’s musicians, and we were thrilled to return to Mid-Suffolk and extend the tour to the Shotley peninsula.

Full of Surprises Workshop

Earlier this month, Bishop Auckland Town Hall was full of young children taking part in Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment’s Full of Surprises concerts.

Our project this year with Durham Music Service has engaged small schools from across the surrounding rural dales, as well as those in Bishop Auckland. The interactive concert is based on Haydn symphonies and playfully introduces different elements of music, linking to the Key Stage One curriculum. Schools learnt a series of specially created songs by James Redwood in prior OAE workshops.

At the beginning of the performance, the children sing and invite different instruments to the stage to join the orchestra. In the final piece, it was wonderful to hear the way they listened carefully as the different instruments quietly left the stage, leaving a final violin duo to end the concert. We thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiasm of the children as they joined in with super singing and signing and were delighted that there was space to squeeze in a few extra parents to the afternoon show.

Parents enjoyed watching their children in the show, and one parent at Cockton Hill Infants School commented:

“This was amazing to experience with them. [My child] absolutely loved it”.

Playing Out Youth Workshop

Playing Out is a new project developed with our partners at ARCADE to engage a youth group at Gallows Close Community Centre in Scarborough in creative activities.

Working with musicians from Sinfonia Viva, Hull-based rap artist Chiedu Oraka, and his producer Deezkid over the last half term, the young people developed a real sense of company and ensemble. Their creative work focused on expressing their feelings about their Community Centre and the people who work there supporting them.

Through the creative process, we observed young people’s creative confidence grow alongside their sense of performance ensemble as they put together a performance piece incorporating lots of the work they had been doing.

Weaving together rhythmic games they had perfected with their own spoken word and musical accompaniments, the ‘Gallows Gang’ proudly presented their performance to family and friends at the end of two intensive half term workshop days. The centre was full of people from across the community enjoying their performance and getting stuck into some unexpected audience participation. The audience soon discovered the rhythm piece wasn’t as easy to do as the young people made it look!

It was fantastic to see so many of the young people step up to the microphone to perform their lyrics, which eloquently told their story of how they valued and appreciated their community at Gallows Close. It is always a privilege to see how the creative process can draw young people together and through working together, enable them to create a meaningful performance. We’re looking forward to seeing what young people thought about their experience and exploring how we can continue to build Playing Out in the future.