Chamber music project Attune returns!

Posted 1 year ago

This October saw the return of our long running chamber music project, Attune.  It aims to give young musicians the opportunity to experience playing in a chamber ensemble, be introduced to some fabulous chamber repertoire and be guided in new ways of listening and playing. This is the second Attune project of 2024, for more on the previous project click here.

Exploration and repertoire

Funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation and run in partnership with the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC), this project took place across three consecutive days, culminating in a free public performance in the RBC’s Boult’s Bar. This less formal setting was an attempt to recreate, in a modern setting, the atmosphere of similar events from a century ago.  The repertoire comprised movements from several works for piano trio (violin, cello, piano). The pieces were written by female composers of the mid to late 19th century, alongside some light classical music by composers who were popular in the early 20th century: they included Clara Schumann, Cécile Chaminade and Rosalind Ellicott.  

These piano trios were first heard in the salon; a 19th century institution which fostered female creativity and thought. The salon setting partly evolved into the public spaces of the grand hotels, high-class restaurants, and luxury cruise liners of the early 20th century and the music was absorbed into the genre of “palm court” light classical music; a popular genre in its day, which is currently enjoying a revival. 

Collaboration and support 

The project was be led by double bassist and chamber musician Paul Sherman and supported by professors and students from the RBC.  The students are members of the recently formed Vagabundo Trio and they very generously gave their time to support the young musicians. The closeness in age between the participants and those supporting them has been a core part of the Attune approach, explored in great depth through our Talent to Talent peer to peer mentoring programme and our partnership work with the BBC, principles that have also been integrated into our Connect programme.

Thank you 

We’d like to thank the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation for generously funding the project as well as our long-term lead facilitator Paul Sherman for his passion and creativity. Much appreciation also goes to the learning team and staff at RBC for their hospitality and to the Vagabundo Trio. Finally, thank you to the young musicians and their families for their commitment to the project!    

If you are, or if you know, a young musician aged 5-17 with bags of musical potential in need of musical opportunities and support for their musical costs, Young Sounds could help! Click here to find out more.

You can help us deliver more projects like this by supporting us during our Big Give Christmas Challenge! Any donation made to our appeal from 12 noon on Tuesday 3 December to 12 noon on Tuesday 10 December will be doubled until we reach our fundraising target of £85,000.  Click here to find out more.

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