The last few weeks have been an exciting one for our youngest scholarship class. Before half term they were taken to a centre in Leicester to experience the Philharmonia Orchestra’s touring installation “The Virtual Orchestra”. Here they were guided round by a member of the orchestra, exploring the different instruments whilst experiencing Holst’s the Planet’s being performed. They could get up close to written scores, see close up video footage of individual musicians and read lots of little facts about instruments, the music and the planets. There was also a section of percussion where they were able to explore playing some of them. At the end of the tour, they had the opportunity to experience a virtual reality walk through an orchestra, filmed during a rehearsal in a top concert hall.
On the 29th and 30th October, the Philharmonia Orchestra came back to Rushey Mead to provide a two day workshop with our year 8’s. Lead by a composer who works with the Philharmonia and supported by some of their musicians, students got top tips and guidance from some of the worlds best, whilst exploring interesting rhythms and techniques they can use to play their instruments. Using Holst’s “The Planets” as a source of inspiration, they created a series of original ideas that eventually came to form their own “Planet’s Suite”. They then performed to an audience all the pieces they had created, as well as a few solos and duets; performing pieces they had learnt for their graded music exams. We would like to thank the Philharmonia Orchestra for such a wonderful two days, an inspiring experience and an opportunity that our young musicians will remember in the years to come. We would also like to thank and congratulate the year 8’s for all of their hard work and the brilliant performance at the end. On Friday 26th October, the Philharmonia Orchestra, came to Rushey Mead to film their annual Digital Christmas Celebration video. They came with a selection of world class musicians and a professional production team. This experience was incredibly special as they also asked for a selection of Rushey Mead students, members of our very first orchestra, to play along side them. These students were given a one hour masterclass on Wednesday 17th October, delivered by members of the orchestra who arranged a version of Jingle Bells for this years’ video. These students then came in during half term to experience the process of producing a professional video and playing alongside inspiring musicians. This was a fantastic experience for them, and is truly special that they have been able to perform alongside musicians of such calibre. They were also interviewed during the day about their experiences as young musicians, as the Philharmonia are due to launch a new campaign to get young people to have access to music. Both videos are due to launch later this year, so look out for them on our twitter sites for Creative Arts: @rusheymeadCArts and Rushey Mead Academy : @rusheymeadnews A big thank you and a huge well done must go to our four students, Tisha, Fatima, Swayam and Aadit, for giving up a day of their holiday to come in but also representing the school with real professionalism. We are very proud of them. |
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