In November we were thrilled to once again invite young musicians on our Thrive programme to participate in an Orchestral Experience Day at the iconic BBC Maida Vale Studios in London. Delivered as part of our long-term partnership with the BBC, this was an opportunity for young musicians to play side by side with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, to learn about audio production and to take part in creative workshops exploring everything from conducting to improvisation. Click here to watch a short video summary of the day captured by the BBC SO.
The day saw the creation of two Young Sounds orchestras, to allow the largest number of young musicians to play with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Repertoire included Jean Sibelius, Ethyl Smyth, Malcolm Arnold and a new piece from Judith Weir, who was in attendance for the performance! each orchestra spent half the day rehearsing side by side with the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Geoffrey Paterson. Family members were invited to watch both performances.
On seeing the performance Judith said:
“We know that’s a crucial barrier to learning an instrument, so it particularly impressed me to see some really young, sometimes tiny, players who obviously had the chops to sit in the BBCSO front desks, or play wind solos. While we rightly worry about the general “music in schools” situation, some of the particular solutions, such as the work of this organisation, are being ingeniously successful. (And as ever, bless the BBC orchestras for their full hearted involvement in projects like this one.)”
While one orchestra rehearsed in Studio 1, the other was in Studio 2 working under the leadership of Concert Orchestra violinist, composer and arranger Sarah Freestone and BBC Symphony Orchestra cellist and educator Michael Atkinson. With support from a team of BBC musicians from across the BBC Orchestra (all mentors on our Exchange Programme), the activities drew on musical ideas from the orchestral repertoire and focused on improvisation, conducting and performance skills. Time was also given for discussion between young people and the BBC professional musicians.
Young musicians interested in audio production spent a full day with the BBC Radio team. The activities were split between audio recording and producing a radio show. They navigated the vast number of inputs to explore signal flow and learnt how to set up mics for and balance an orchestra, working on a SSL System T mixing desk. To accompany the recordings they interviewed BBC SO percussionist and Exchange mentor Fiona Ritchie, a process that involved writing the script, asking the questions on mic and editing it all together.
Huge thanks to the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Learning Team, BBC Audio Operations team, BBC Chaperones and BBC Audience Services team, our facilitators Geoffrey Paterson, Sarah Freestone, Michael Atkinson, our Alumni, our public funders Arts Council England and all the individuals and Trusts who support our Thrive Programme.
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.
