SURROUND SOUND PLAYLIST AND CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
Learning & Participation Director Chris Bell on why this project is the focus of our latest crowdfunding campaign
As we ask for donations to our Big Give Christmas Campaign, I’ve been thinking about what makes our new project Surround Sound Playlist – which is the focus of the campaign – so special.
For me, it isn’t just a unique concert experience – it’s about bringing people together and celebrating the brilliant grassroots music-making already happening in the places we visit. At our last concert, I was sitting with a family member who had never experienced an orchestral performance on this scale. Afterwards, we both said the same thing: we’d never felt closer or more connected to the community around us.
Families were huddled under blankets and sleeping bags; grandparents were perched on camping chairs along the side of the nave. Everywhere you looked, people were buzzing with the novelty of the experience and, once the music began, genuinely wowed by the programme we’d curated. So many people told us they felt privileged to share this moment with their community – because it truly did feel like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
That, for me, is what Britten Sinfonia is all about: creating unforgettable, impactful and inspirational musical experiences that bring communities across the East of England together.
Last year, we worked with three community brass bands and choral societies, who performed alongside Britten Sinfonia and Tenebrae. As a self-proclaimed brass-banding fanatic, nothing made me happier than watching local musicians take the stage with the orchestra – especially knowing one of the pieces was a brand-new commission by our Magnum Opus alumnus, David John Roche.
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Co-creation
Next year, we’re taking things even further. We’ll be working more closely with community choirs and secondary school pupils to "co-create" new music that will be performed as part of the concert with Britten Sinfonia and Tenebrae.
But what do we actually mean by co-creation? It’s a phrase often used in the arts, but seven years ago – when I was new to the sector – I wouldn’t have known what it meant either.
So, let’s unpack it. The Cambridge Dictionary (sorry, Oxford) defines co-creation as the act of “making or inventing something new together with one or more other people.”
When we talk about co-creation, we mean a genuinely collaborative process where professional composers and facilitators work with participants – not simply present something to them. It’s about sharing ideas, shaping the story together, and allowing the lived experiences, interests and perspectives of the group to guide the music we create.
Why is co-creation important?
When people see themselves reflected in the work, everything changes. They feel proud of where they live, more connected to the people around them, confident that their ideas have value, and excited to share what they’ve created.
For us as an orchestra, co-creation helps us build stronger, more genuine relationships across the region. If Surround Sound Playlist is about celebrating local music-making, then the music has to come from the people who actually live and make music in these places.
And for me, one of the joys of co-creation is that we don’t yet know what the final pieces will be about or sound like. Those ideas will come directly from the workshops – that’s the point. When the process is supported with proper consultation and thoughtful facilitation, the results are always exciting, inspiring and often spectacular.
If we reach our Big Give target, we’ll be able to take choirs and secondary school pupils on that journey – exploring what matters to them and shaping it into new music performed alongside Britten Sinfonia and Tenebrae.
If you’re able to, please consider donating to help us reach our goal and bring Surround Sound Playlist to even more communities across the East of England. Your support will help create new music with local people and ensure these once-in-a-lifetime moments continue to grow.