Education ViVA

ViVAce
Thursday 24th February 2004
Assembly Rooms, Derby

ViVAce was the title of the project, and the 'brisk and lively manner' defined by the word was everywhere to be seen. This was the ninth time the Orchestra had staged its highly popular annual celebration of music making in Derby. In this, the Culmination Concert, over 100 students from Noel-Baker School, the Sinfin Community School Ensemble, Derby College and Oakwood Junior School came together with ViVA at the Assembly Rooms to show the results of their weeks of collaboration to an enthralled and enthusiastic audience.

Before the interval, the audience was treated to a performance by ViVA of the four pieces that had formed the basis of the music workshops in which students from the different schools and colleges had participated in the weeks leading up to the concert. The works were Britten's Soirees Musicales, Turnage's Release, Fitkin's Ardent and a folk tune by Percy Grainger entitled Green Bushes, arranged for the concert by conductor Patrick Bailey.

"I felt big and brave... I felt like I was actually a musician." - Participant

The second part of the concert was given over to the premiere of the new work by composer and animateur Tim Steiner which had been devised during those same workshops. The much anticipated performance of the unnamed piece was remarkable - energetic yet wonderfully controlled, highly accomplished in the skills displayed by the student musicians who were confident and sure-footed throughout, in part because of the excellent support and guidance from the assembled ViVA musicians.

"[It was great to work with ViVA musicians because] you thought of musicians like that on tape, not you listening to it there and then." - Participant

The music, centred around the adventures of Oakwood Juniors' school cat, was undeniably powerful, the rhythms strong and involving, with clear references to the works heard earlier surfacing and resurfacing, intertwining throughout. The reworking of Green Bushes was particularly clever and the interaction between the different groups of players and singers was seamless - great credit here to the coordination between Tim and Patrick who effectively shared conducting honours, so large and varied was the group of musicians before them.

"I absolutely enjoyed it. If I had a clock that turned back time I would definitely do it again." - Participant

The resulting fusion of classical instruments with electric guitars, several brilliantly synched drum kits, and a host of other instruments, added to precise and emotive singing, created a sound that was absorbing to the listener and a credit to the inventiveness and perseverance of the performers. When it was over, as the applause echoed around the Assembly Rooms, it was the smiles on the close-up faces of the young musicians on the giant video screen behind the orchestra that told the real story.

"The best aspect of the project was the students working altogether on a professional level. The learners challenged their abilities and learned new skills. Working with such supportive, professional musicians was a bonus. The climax of the project was the performance which we all thoroughly enjoyed." - Teacher

Images from the project...