News and Reviews

News: Lincoln Pupils Join Music Project
Nov 27 2009

Media call: Wednesday December 2nd 2009, 10.30am: Nettleham C of E Aided Junior School, Mill Hill, Nettleham, Lincoln, LN2 2PE: Pupils join the final workshop of the project before the public performance.

Nearly 100 pupils from three Lincoln schools are gearing up for a special concert at Lincoln Drill Hall on Tuesday December 8 when they will perform their own musical compositions on the stage alongside professional musicians. The schools have joined forces with the East Midlands' only professional orchestra, sinfonia ViVA, and Lincoln Drill Hall for the third annual creative music project in the area.

This year's project, entitled 'In The Space Between' has involved nine to 11-year-old pupils from Monks Abbey Primary School and Nettleham C of E Aided Junior School and GCSE and A level music students from The Priory Academy LSST who have been working alongside the sinfonia ViVA musicians and composer James Redwood to create original music.

Their work literally fits into the spaces between the pieces by Stravinsky, Varese and Weill that feature in the concert programme and which they will perform on the night with musical instruments, percussion and their voices.

The performance at the Drill Hall will be under the baton of ViVA's Principal Conductor André de Ridder who will make his debut in Lincoln for the Orchestra.

ViVA Education Manager Marianne Barraclough explained: "The project has concentrated on contemporary classical music from composers who were pushing the boundaries in the 1920’s. This era is often not fully explored in the school curriculum so the project has broadened the young people's experiences of music from the traditional repertoire that they may already know.

She continued: "The Orchestra on the night is mainly made up of wind instruments so the music is very exciting and explosive which the young people have thoroughly enjoyed. We also have all sorts of surprises in store for the Drill Hall, including some of the young players performing from amongst the audience."

David Gibbons, Headteacher of Nettleham Church of England Junior School is very excited by the whole project: "The opportunity to work with an orchestra is one that we could not turn down. Our children have been looking forward to this project immensely and it will enhance so many aspects of their education – from music to maths to thinking skills."

The project has been supported by Rolls-Royce plc, Orchestras Live, Lincoln City Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Lincoln Drill Hall, Bergne Coupland Trust, Peter and Gwyneth Hodgkinson Trust and Arts Council England.

Media enquiries: Sarah Jenkin-Jones - Tel: 01332 515102/07951 945 665 sarah@jjpublicrelations.co.uk