School & Family

Aimed at 7 to 11 year olds, you can learn Baroque Dance, take part in a brass fanfare, dig out your recorder or even build your own instrument in a day of free workshops from 10am-3pm. The day will culminate in an afternoon concert at 3pm by the Orchestra and they will be joined by Suffolk musicians to perform newly commissioned pieces by James Redwood as part of the OAE 2012 education project Anthem for a Child.

Tickets: Workshops free, concert £5
Venue telephone: 01284 758000
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To download a flyer with more information about the day’s events, click here

Past School Concerts at Kings Place
Music for a Fair but Fickle King: Summer 2011

These school concerts were designed to enable children to take part in a concert in a professional setting alongside the Orchestra together with workshops in schools to prepare for the event. Past concerts have included performances of commissions of specially written works to enable the children to play simple parts, using their instruments from the Government’s Wider Opportunity scheme. The children also get the chance to hear a baroque or classical work in each concert and sing with the Orchestra.

Our final school concert of 2011 was based on Handel’s Water Music and Boyce Symphonies, with a twist.
We commissioned composer Harvey Brough to composer a special piece for local children to sing and play simple parts with the OAE, and he created a wonderful piece about a Fickle King who wants something new and exotic every day of the week, but quickly becomes bored of whatever he is given.

Intertwined with Boyce Symphonies from our fictional King’s time, the music was narrated, sung and played not only by the OAE but hundreds of school children playing violins; whistles; trumpets, and fifes, from their seats. Performances from Handel’s Water Music on period instruments also illustrated to the children the difference in sound, timbre and feel from period to modern instruments.

The role of the King was taken by Steven Devine, OAE harpsichordist, who entertained the children, whom he called ‘his royal subjects’ in full baroque costume. He was joined by Cecelia Bruggemeyer, OAE double bassist and Cherry Forbes, OAE Education Director and oboist, who helped him to present the concert.

‘A wonderful opportunity for our budding string players. This is just the sort of musical opportunity which brings all the work done in weekly lessons to life.’
David Stowe – Head of Music, Wandsworth Music Service

‘I enjoyed the lovely music which relaxed me.’
Primary school student who took part in the concert

Mozart, Music and Maths: Spring 2011
During spring 2011 we held a series of Mozart ‘Music and Maths’ concerts presented by James Redwood and members of the Orchestra at Kings Place.
For each movement, James had written songs to compliment Mozart’s music concentrating on groups of numbers and how they fit together. As typical of classical composers from that era, James borrowed bits of Mozart’s music to make up his piece which the students were encouraged to look out for amongst James’ new music.
As ever, the students weren’t allowed to sit and do nothing; they sang the songs to the OAE’s accompaniment. They sang all about how ‘two and three fit happily’, how we were ‘dancing in a minor key’, how ‘semibreves plod’ , that ‘minims walk twice the speed’ then ‘crochets march four in every bar’and how ‘quavers, they move faster than the rest, twice as fast as crotchets they’re the best.’
James also led our enthusiastic audience in games to figure out how the beats in the bar were grouped. It was a great way of asking them to think about maths but also asking them to figure out something musically which they might not have thought they could do.

In amongst all this, the students also listened to the whole of Mozart’s 40 symphony and got the chance to see each different instrument of the orchestra and how they were used by Mozart to create the best sound possible.
Most of these students have been invited back to either watch, or perform in another series of school concerts called Music for a King. As these ones are based on baroque music, they’re being taken back in time so they can see the wide range and different types of music the OAE performs.

‘I want to come to another school concert at Kings Place because I want to hear how you all play together. It was really fun and exciting – maybe I can go with my family!’
Islington Primary School Student