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Wider Opportunities Celebration

Britten Sinfonia widening opportunities for over 700 Norfolk schoolchildren!

Last week saw the culmination of a project involving over 700 children in Norwich and King’s Lynn, with two workshop days organised by Britten Sinfonia in collaboration with the Norfolk Music Service. The children have all been learning their instruments in school for just under a year, through the government-funded Wider Opportunities scheme, and the project aimed to give them the experience of playing as part of a large ensemble, alongside older students and professional musicians.

The workshops (Wednesday 7th July in St Andrew's Hall, Norwich and Thursday 8th July in King's Lynn Corn Exchange) were based on Manuel de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance. Project leader Tim Steiner had arranged the Spanish piece for the huge ensembles to accommodate all abilities and experience levels, from new beginners through to the intermediate ‘core orchestra’ from local secondary schools and to Britten Sinfonia’s professional musicians. Alongside more traditional orchestral instruments, the ensemble also included some unusual additions with over 40 Ukulele players on each day, as well as Djembe drums, Recorders and Keyboards.

In the weeks leading up to the workshops, the children had been learning their parts in school with instrumental teachers from Norfolk Music Service, who were all there on the day to support and perform with their pupils. The effect was an astonishing mix of sounds as sections were developed to give an idea of the power and variety of the instruments' capabilities. Both events were a resounding success: all participants had a fantastic experience and were congratulated on their performances by standing ovations in both venues. Rarely do you see so much energy, enthusiasm and enjoyment as is achieved when working with young budding musicians. Have a look at the video below to see more!