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Orchestral adventures
21/02/2018
Financial support from ourselves has enabled over a thousand youngsters from South Wales to enjoy the power of a live symphony orchestra.
For the second year running, we have worked in partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), to devise the OrchestraAdventure initiative which aims to capture the imagination of children and their teachers.
At Cardiff’s St David’s Hall pupils attended a performance combining music, singing and dancing, and featuring the Royal Welsh College Symphony Orchestra and Radio Three’s Tom Redmond.
Picture caption: WPD’s Karen Welch is pictured with pupils from Glynhafod Junior School Aberdare on stage with students from the Royal Welsh College Symphony Orchestra and Conductor, Tianyi Lu.
Some pupils had also taken part in workshops at their schools attended by students from the music college.
“The children couldn’t wait for the concert to begin. There was such a great atmosphere and it was lovely to see them engage with the full orchestra,” said WPD’s Karen Welch.
“We hope that these initiatives will help children to develop their listening skills, cultural awareness and social interaction, and inspire them and their teachers to discover more about music and the performing arts.”
Presenter Tom Redmond said: “We performed some of the really well known pieces like Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker – but in bight-sized chunks, and combined with dancing, movement and storytelling. The schools learned a song called Rise to Mars and performed it with composer Oscar Castellino, who wrote the official Anthem for Mars. All the children joined in and they loved it.
“This was also an amazing opportunity for the students who are performing. This kind of work is vital to any orchestra, and to prepare and work on a project like this as a student will hopefully open hearts and minds to the idea of engaging young audiences again.”
For the second year running, we have worked in partnership with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), to devise the OrchestraAdventure initiative which aims to capture the imagination of children and their teachers.
At Cardiff’s St David’s Hall pupils attended a performance combining music, singing and dancing, and featuring the Royal Welsh College Symphony Orchestra and Radio Three’s Tom Redmond.
Picture caption: WPD’s Karen Welch is pictured with pupils from Glynhafod Junior School Aberdare on stage with students from the Royal Welsh College Symphony Orchestra and Conductor, Tianyi Lu.
Some pupils had also taken part in workshops at their schools attended by students from the music college.
“The children couldn’t wait for the concert to begin. There was such a great atmosphere and it was lovely to see them engage with the full orchestra,” said WPD’s Karen Welch.
“We hope that these initiatives will help children to develop their listening skills, cultural awareness and social interaction, and inspire them and their teachers to discover more about music and the performing arts.”
Presenter Tom Redmond said: “We performed some of the really well known pieces like Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker – but in bight-sized chunks, and combined with dancing, movement and storytelling. The schools learned a song called Rise to Mars and performed it with composer Oscar Castellino, who wrote the official Anthem for Mars. All the children joined in and they loved it.
“This was also an amazing opportunity for the students who are performing. This kind of work is vital to any orchestra, and to prepare and work on a project like this as a student will hopefully open hearts and minds to the idea of engaging young audiences again.”
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