Musical Journeys: A Day at the Pond / Mausam

We partnered with Lincolnshire Music Service and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to bring our co-produced project, to seven primary schools across Lincolnshire.

Centred around a cyclical day of life in the pond, this school programme gives pupils the opportunity to become active performers in the concerts, and explores Western and South Asian classical music and dance in a beautifully crafted show by Hazel Gould.

This collaboration introduced primary school aged children to these respective musical traditions through a series of digital resources, including five short films narrated by Seetal Kaur, a fully illustrated resource pack, and a scheme of work linked to the curriculum, as well as through workshops and live shows.

Primary school pupils stepped into an imaginative pond world filled with lotus flowers, frogs, fish and other creatures. They were guided by the sounds of santoor and tabla, woven together with double bass, violin and oboe.

The story unfolded across dawn, morning and evening, brought to life through the narrator’s dialogue with a Kathak dancer, whose gestures and rhythmic footwork mimicked the pond’s many visitors.

Pupils were captivated throughout, experiencing a unique meeting of Western and South Asian classical music. It was wonderful to see so many children engaged, curious, and eager to help uncover the hidden life of the pond.

The project demonstrates how combining immersive storytelling with music and dance, can nurture pupils’ emotions while deepening their connection to the natural world. It highlights the important role that a multidisciplinary creative approach, enriched with a nuanced musical journey, can play in fostering both emotional intelligence and environmental consciousness in the future generations.

The Pond is an early years and KS1 collaboration between the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Orchestras Live, Amazing Music Projects, and South Asian Arts-uk.

Our Music Our Way

Early March was rehearsal time for our secondary and primary schools participating in Our Music Our Way.

Our orchestral programme, Our Music, Our Way, harnesses the power of collective music-making, and puts the communities of Redcar and Cleveland at the heart of the music.

Through consultations last summer, young participants told us they wanted to take on more mature themes and were interested in fantasy and myth making. Over their co-creative workshops with music leader Michael Betteridge, Tees Valley Music Service, and Royal Northern Sinfonia musicians, they have used music-making to create mystical messages.

These messages were shared with an audience of nearly 200 last week at Freebrough Academy in the lines of lyrics they sung. The instrumental pieces have also gone on a journey from improvisation to being professionally recorded live at the concert - thanks to our friends at Teesside University.

Audience members said the concert was "Beautiful, Ambitious, Clear ", with many of them having had their first orchestral experience this night. This shows us that our work in Redcar & Cleveland meets the need for young people and audiences to experience high quality orchestral music from their region’s talent.

A partnership project with Tees Valley Music Service, Redcar and Cleveland council, and Royal Northern Sinfonia.

Hidden Histories

We launched a new partnership with Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Shireland CBSO Academy exploring the history of Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de St Georges.

The project focused on Joseph Bologne, the Chevalier de St Georges, a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier of African descent, whose life and music—shaped by his dual heritage background in Guadeloupe and France—are receiving renewed attention. Ongoing research by Professor Chris Dingle, musician, composer and educator, Pete Letanka, and others continues to highlight the historical context and contemporary relevance of his work.

Six Conservatoire students joined Pete Letanka, and Professor Chris Dingle, for a creative exploration of the life and music of Joseph Bologne, learning new compositions composed by Pete and inspired by Bologne's music, and developing workshop‑leadership tools for school settings.

The team then worked with Years 7–9 at Shireland CBSO Academy, sharing the new compositions and co‑creating their own music, including songs about the Chevalier’s journey and ensemble playing across experience levels.

Shireland CBSO Academy is the only state‑funded school partnered with an arts organisation, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The two‑day project demonstrated how musical engagement enables young people to collaborate together, develop skills and work towards shared goals.

Project supported by Jeremy Clay and Professor Chris Dingle (RBC), Georgia Wells and Dave Harris (CBSO & Shireland CBSO Academy), and Music Leader, Pete Letanka.

Darlo Creates

We were delighted to welcome our Board of Trustees to see our latest Darlo Creates project with Royal Northern Sinfonia, following their Board meeting.

Students from Carmel College and Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College worked with composer Yshani Perinpanayagam to co-create a curtain raiser performance for Royal Northern Sinfonia's concert.

Their composition, Ode to a Night Out, was inspired by the descriptive pictures Felix Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony and Anna Clyne's <<rewind<< create. The piece gradually drew us in to a moody urban landscape, including a fantastic saxophone solo from one of the young musicians.

Both groups created far more musical ideas than they could use for the one piece of music, and each thought the others' music was better than their own! The artistic team were impressed by the way they respectfully approached weaving their ideas together during the final workshop day to create and rehearse a single piece. Their assured performance got RNS' concert off to a super start.

Darlington audiences also thoroughly enjoyed meeting the charismatic conductor, Nil Vendetti, for the first time. Her energy and love of music and the Royal Northern Sinfonia shone through the evening.