Saturday 24 August saw the official start of the new phase of our BBC / Young Sounds Exchange mentoring programme. 24 young orchestral musicians supported by Young Sounds have been matched with a player from one of the 5 BBC Orchestras, who will act as their mentor for the forthcoming academic year. As well as 1:1 mentoring time, the young people will also meet together for a series of Insight Days, including playing alongside BBC musicians and learning about careers on and off the stage. To launch the project, the young musicians were invited to the Royal Albert Hall for a Proms Experience Day!
The first half of the day took place in the Elgar room, where the young people met their fellow mentees and many of the BBC mentors in person for the first time. The session began with musical icebreakers, facilitated by long standing Young Sounds collaborator James Redwood and BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) musician Michael Atkinson. In small groups, they created speech rhythms using the Eastman System, moving from beat to beat by using syllabic sound. They also spoke about Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony, the piece being performed by the BBC SO later that day.
A key component of the Exchange programme is offering access to professional musicians. Facilitated by BBC Marketing Coordinator Elizabeth Ajao, they were treated to question-and-answer sessions with the performers and production team behind the Proms. The group were joined by Director of Artistic Planning Hannah Donat and award-winning Series Director lan Russell for a session ‘pulling back the curtain’ on how the Proms are managed and broadcast on TV. After lunch the group met American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and BBC SO’s Principal Guest Conductor Dalia Stasevska, who generously found time between rehearsals to discuss their musical lives and careers.
The day continued with a tour of the Royal Albert Hall, exploring all corners from the heights of the gods to beneath the stage. The Hall has hosted more than 30,000 events during its history and its walls are adorned by photos of some of the legendary acts who have performed there. They were guided through its history, from its opening in 1871 to the present. They learnt about the iconic ‘mushrooms’ hanging from the auditorium ceiling, fibreglass acoustic diffusers to help combat the echo. On the way they encountered Cybermen and Daleks who were rehearsing for the Dr Who Prom. To finish they were treated to a rehearsal ahead of the evening’s festivities.
The afternoon moved across the road to the Imperial College Union for some more music making, this time with their instruments. Led by composer James Redwood, the group further explored the themes from Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony, using these to create their own compositions in small groups. The session ended with a performance for friends and families. The group returned to the Royal Albert Hall later that evening to enjoy the Proms. Conducted by Dalia Stasevska, the young musicians saw performances of Gustav Mahler’s songs on love, loneliness, and withdrawal, sung by Jamie Barton, and Sibelius’s previously mentioned, awe-inspiring Fifth Symphony.
We’d like to thank the BBC and young musicians for a fantastic start to the project. The next Insight Day is part of our Annual Awards Day at Maida Vale studios where they will play side-by-side with the BBC SO.
