Supporters of sinfonia ViVA

Arts Council England
Changing the face of the East Midlands

Arts Council believes that the arts are for everyone – we want to create access and participation for all. ViVA helps us meet that ambition by taking classical music to the highest level and interpreting it for a range of audiences. This approach results in a huge variety of concerts and activity – from a concert for 30,000 people in a park in Derby to a Beanbag Proms event for under fives and their parents in Nottingham.

The interaction between professional musicians and young people is inspiring and can be life changing – and is central to the work of ViVA. As a child, I remember musicians from the Hallé Orchestra visiting my school and blasting the children to the back wall of the school hall with the power of their brass section! It is an experience I can remember vividly nearly 30 years on. ViVA takes the scale of its education projects that step further – supporting young people to compose their own works and then perform them at large scale concerts. The Orchestra works with their own players and animateurs to give people hands on experiences – enabling people to really explore, and find new ways of interacting with music.

Recently I have witnessed two such events – 'Seasons' and 'Dragon Scales'. I chatted at the Seasons concert to a student participant who said he was 'blown away' by the 'awesome violining of Benedict Holland, ViVA's Leader and Artistic Advisor. The student had just performed with his college and Indian classical violinist Kala Ramnath. A couple of months later at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, I saw 150 primary aged children excitedly singing a song they had composed about dragons accompanied by three Chinese musicians and the Orchestra. These kinds of experiences connect young people with professional musicians and help create a broader understanding of all music. It also helps young people understand that it is possible to make a living from being a musician.

Alongside the very public work that the Orchestra carries out there is a wealth of work that happens behind closed doors, such as the Leicester Royal Infirmary and Rainbows Children's Hospice 'ViVA Fever' project.

It is the mixture of high quality performance and a well-constructed education programme that is at the heart of the Orchestra. The combination of opening the door to classical music for people who have little experience of this work, as well as feeding audiences who are passionate fans, is a balance ViVA nurtures and one of the key reasons why as Arts Council we support them.

As the only professional Orchestra based in the East Midlands region, ViVA plays a vital function in reaching audiences and participants through music. They provide employment and opportunities for classical players and freelance musicians who are based in the region. We are pleased to be able to support ViVA as one of our regularly funded organisations.

Arts Council also supports broader initiatives to get people involved in music and we have recently launched a scheme to help people have access to purchase their own instruments. 'Take it Away' is available in 9 shops in the region (and 100 shops all over England). We want to encourage more people to get involved in learning and playing music by removing the financial barrier that may have stopped them from doing this previously. The scheme allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly instalments (with a minimum 10 per cent deposit), completely interest free. From electric guitars to classical harps, all instruments are included in the scheme and are encouraged by Arts Council England. Additionally, to help musical development and manage costs, where available equipment and services such as music stands, amplifiers, sheet music and tuition can also be included within the loan. If you are interested please visit the web site: www.artscouncil.org.uk/takeitaway (external link).

- Beth Noble, Performing Arts Officer (Music), Arts Council East Midlands