Few arts organisations offer concerts for families; accordingly, children, particularly those on the autistic spectrum, miss out on the opportunity to experience the enjoyment of a live orchestra. OOTS is delighted to offer annual Family Concerts as part of their residencies at the Courtyard, Hereford and at the Play House, Stratford upon Avon.
RELAXED CONCERTS
Since 2015, OOTS has worked in partnership with Town Hall Birmingham, Autism West Midlands, Chelmsford Theatre and Orchestras Live with ventriloquist James Rowney to stage ‘Relaxed Concerts’ aimed at those with autism.
For most young children, a trip to see a show or a concert would be an exciting adventure but for children with Autism it can be sensory overload; many aspects of a production can cause difficulties such as busy foyers, unexpected music, lights going up and down and applause. Even the interval can be confusing because it seems strange to leave the auditorium in the middle of an event. This means that many parents fear taking their children to see a performance; they worry about the negativity that may be directed at them from the audience or musicians, and they don’t want their children to have a stressful experience.
If you are interested in putting on a Relaxed Concert, please get in touch with our Learning & Participation Manager Sue Pope at: education@orchestraoftheswan.org
FAMILY CONCERTS
Two Family Concerts featuring Saint-Saëns ‘Carnival of the Animals’, a humorous musical suite of 14 movements interspersed with entertaining poetry by Ogden Nash, will take place during 2019 with narrator Matthew Sharp:
Sunday 15 September 2019, 3pm – Stratford Play House
Wednesday 30 October 2019, 1pm & 3pm – The Courtyard, Hereford
Do come and join us!
Past Projects
Town Hall Birmingham 2017
“Having an autistic son, I was over the moon to hear you created a relaxed performance of the show. I am sure you can appreciate it’s extremely difficult finding somewhere to take your child that doesn’t cause them unimaginable stress. We utterly enjoyed the performance and my son was entertained throughout. The changes made to the environment lived up to all expectations, and your staff were more than helpful and appreciated the needs of my son.” Audience member
This performance was presented by James Rowney (a ventriloquist who is himself autistic), and his puppet, Little Jim, who had never been to a concert before and was excited by the prospect of seeing an orchestra perform live music. At the end of the performance, Little Jim led a Q&A session and the orchestra joined families for a chat and blow and scrape!
The Concert provided:
- A video guide with introductions to the concert, interviews, and musical excerpts
- A story book with information on the concert and musicians with images
- Video and hard copy venue guides
- Venue alteration with ‘chill out’ areas including soft bean bags, dimmed lighting, and sensory toys
- Autism Awareness training to musicians and staff
Project Outcomes
This relaxed concert:
- Enabled children and their parents to experience the inspiring and exciting world of live orchestral music;
- Enabled parents to relax in the knowledge that they were in a supportive and non-judgmental environment
- Ensured families living with the challenge of Autism could go and see a live performance together, possibly for the first time
- PBL, participating tour partners, and Orchestra of the Swan developed a better understanding of the Autistic Spectrum
- Raised awareness of the need for more relaxed concerts across the wider sector