A total of 5,059 primary-aged students attended the series of concerts this January, with 1,286 attending in Bristol, 2,306 students attending in Exeter and 1,467 attending in Portsmouth.
The concerts were designed to celebrate our magnificent oceans, and featured a selection of symphonic music based on the theme of ‘Sea Stories’, as well as well-known music such as Pirates of the Caribbean and You’re Welcome (from Moana).
Students enjoy Explore the Orchestra concerts (c) BSO
Pupils had the chance to perform body percussion and sing in a mass interactive performance on the day, alongside composer James Redwood, writer and actor Lynne Forbes, and the full orchestra, under the baton of its Calleva Assistant Conductor Enyi Okpara.
Enyi said, “It’s great to be part of an orchestral series which is so accessible to children, with such a wide range of repertoire. These concerts are deeply important, as for many of the children this is the first time they have experienced an orchestra live! The fact that there are many interactive elements too means that the children can really engage with the music and take the skills learnt away with them in the future.”
As well as the Explore the Orchestra series, a selection of chamber-scale performances tailored to the GCSE music syllabus toured the South West during early February, visiting Bournemouth, Bristol, Cullompton, Gloucester, Plymouth and Yeovil, reaching a total of 1,184 students.
A group of seven musicians performed ‘set works’ from the current GCSE syllabus. Presenter Patrick Bailey helped the pupils to dissect the works to deepen their understanding of how and why they were created.
To find out more about our BSO Participate work click here
Explore the Orchestra is generously supported by the Skyrme Hart Charitable Trust, Dave & Jan Pointer, Sir Neville & Lady Simms, Christine & Jim Dipple and one anonymous supporter.