Our 24/25 season is well underway, with 18 concert performances in 14 venues across the country. Alongside our concert season, we have had a busy few months within our regional community, with 45 workshop sessions delivered to over 900 participants. Take a look at what we’ve been getting up to over the past 3 months.
Songs of Joy and Care
Our dementia friendly Café Muse has continued to run in Stratford (monthly) and in Hereford (weekly). The gang in Hereford had a ‘Jukebox Day’, where our fabulous players Sally and Amy were taking requests – but you had to ‘pay’ with casino coins!
Feedback from participants “the players have such infectious personalities” and “it gives us something to look forward to. It’s just wonderful” demonstrates the importance of Café Muse, and the positive impact it continues to bring to our regional communities.
If you would like to find out more about Café Muse click here.
Pairs of our players have also visited 11 care homes across Birmingham, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, performing to the residents, many of whom are living with dementia. Our players will deliver a group sessions to residents, and also visit rooms for individual sessions, with music from all genres – waltzes to Elvis!
Sally (Clarinet) at ‘Juxebox Day’ for Café Muse Hereford
Future Sounds
SYO in rehearsal
The second Swan Youth Orchestra course took place over the first weekend of October, welcoming 60 11–18-year-olds, from over 33 schools across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull. Led by international conductor Rebecca Miller, and supported by 14 professional Swan players, participants learnt and performed Buffalo Jump by Philip Sheppard, (from our album Echoes, arranged by our Artistic Director David Le Page), Star Wars, two movements from Petite Suite de Concert by Sameul Coleridge Taylor and Mars & Jupiter from The Planets by Holst.
Feedback from participants included “I developed musical skills such as sight reading and responding to the conductor” and “I’ve learnt that we are changing the world and making it a better place”.
The next SYO weekend will take place on 1-2 of February. Tickets are available now for the sharing concert in Warwick Hall, a wonderful opportunity to hear the next generation of young musicians. Click here to book now.
Wonderful Workshops
Other highlights have included workshops at 7 schools across Hereford (3 SEND schools, 1 Pupil Referral Service & 3 primary schools), 95 pupils from 6 different schools attended an open rehearsal at Warwick Hall, and the first of series of conducting workshops with Rebecca Miller at the Warwick Schools Foundation.
We have also returned to Sense TouchBase Pears in Selly Oak, a community centre specialising in DeafBlind services, where we have also engaged with pupils from Fox Hollies Special Educational Needs School and to Acorns Children’s Hospice, for children with terminal illnesses receiving respite or end of life care. Pairs of our players have been delivering interactive and performance-based workshops, uniquely tailored for each participant.
“L was transfixed throughout the afternoon. He sat very close to the harp, and he listened to and watched everything. He had a small xylophone, and he played it so well! Good rhythm and imagination with glissandos and dynamics and everything! He had loads of questions. He just loved the whole session. He LOVES music! Towards the end of the session, we somehow got onto the subject of Planets – L is into them at the moment – so we had a mini workshop starting with the Mars ostinato rhythm which we spoke rhythmically using names of planets, then Emily played it on low strings. That really made another participant laugh! L chose his own planets and made up his own rhythms and we did them together”
Orchestra of the Swan, and a few other species!
We also enjoyed our Family Friendly concert at The Courtyard, Hereford in October, as you can see from the array of fabulous costumes!
With Narrator Matthew Sharp, our players enjoyed performing the magical Carnival of the Animals by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, accompanied by poems written by best-selling author Michael Morpurgo and illustrations by Michael Foreman.
We’re looking forward to the continuation of these projects in the new year, including our return to Priestley Smith Specialist School for visually impaired pupils, where we will deliver a 15-week project in the summer term. We’ll also be returning to Evergreen School in Warwick to deliver a series of workshops for pupils with special educational needs, and we will deliver a series of workshops to 8 primary schools within the CV34 are, which will culminate in a Festival Day in the summer term. We’re looking forward to a busy year ahead!
For further information on our community projects, or if you are interested in supporting them in any way, please call the orchestra office on 01926 350028.
Amy and Olly bringing Christmas cheer to Hawthorns Care Home
