Awards for Young Musicians (AYM)
Open Academy worked with Awards for Young Musicians and City of London Sinfonia on their Attune 2022 project titled ‘A London Journey’. AYM invited nine young musicians to the Academy for four workshops on chamber ensemble performance led by Paul Sherman, double bassist and AYM collaborator, with the support of Open Academy Fellows and elective students. The project culminated in a concert in the Angela Burgess Recital Hall on Sunday 20 November 2022 for friends and family. Huge congratulations to all the students who participated! For more information about the project, please click here.
Double Projects at Rhyl Community Primary School
Open Academy visited Camden's Rhyl Community Primary School for two projects in November.
Academy students visited the school to present two assemblies, introducing the pupils to a range of instruments including flute, clarinet and bass trombone. Postgraduate student Enyi Okpara described his role as a conductor, and in the following assemblies the children conducted Academy students in their own improvised performances!
Later in the month, John Webb, composer and workshop leader, visited the school with small groups of OA Fellows and elective students. Two Year 4 classes (aged 8 – 9) spent a day each composing a song exploring the theme of social responsibility. The classes each wrote four songs, complete with dance moves!
4 Lilac had a full day of music-making today with composer John Webb and students from @RoyalAcadMusic It was a truly creative workshop resulting in a song and a 6-minute piece of music involving all players with a theme of 'Be the Change'!@camdenmusichub @JohnWebbCompose pic.twitter.com/wTCxQ8TAAc
— Rhyl Community Primary School (@rhylprimary) November 22, 2022
MUSICAL CREATIONS AT EDITH NEVIILE PRIMARY SCHOOL
In November, Edith Neville Primary School welcomed OA Fellows and students for two full-day workshops led by Luke Newby. Year 5 and Year 6 were encouraged to devise and invent their own fictional characters and develop a story featuring their creations. The children developed musical themes to match their narratives, using a variety of percussion instruments alongside the Academy students’ instruments.
Throughout the day, the children heard various instruments, including the harp and trumpet. One highlight among many was the performance of Léo Delibes Flower Duet by undergraduate students Hannah Walker (soprano) and Paloma Camarasa (mezzo-soprano) to a very appreciative audience.
Image: Academy postgraduate student Enyi Okpara conducts Rhyl Community Primary School pupils