Education at the heart of BBC Concert Orchestra’s Great Yarmouth residency
Harriet Clifford
Thursday, February 3, 2022
Every primary school in Great Yarmouth will be offered a BBC CO workshop and invitations to free school concerts.
The BBC Concert Orchestra (BBC CO) has taken up a three-year residency as part of Create Yarmouth, a programme led by Orchestras Live in partnership with Norfolk Music Hub and other arts organisations.
Beginning last month, the residency is set to focus on education, young people, and community engagement through music, and is billed as part of the BBC’s wider commitment to ‘better serve audiences across the UK’.
An ongoing project, Create Yarmouth aims to ‘raise aspiration, provide learning pathways and improve peoples’ wellbeing’ through a range of collaborations with professional musicians, digital artists, producers and arts managers.
As part of the BBC CO’s residency, every primary school in Great Yarmouth (around 40) will take part in workshops with the orchestra, and have the opportunity to attend free school concerts.
The BBC CO will also work with young composers and producers in the area, developing their skills and providing opportunities to showcase their work.
Other projects planned for the residency include orchestral concerts for the general public with reduced ticket prices, and pop-up performances in public spaces across the area.
'Discovering, creating, producing and performing music together'
Stuart Bruce, senior creative producer at Orchestras Live, said: ‘After working with the BBC Concert Orchestra on several amazing projects at Great Yarmouth in the past, I’m so excited that we are now embarking on a more sustained residency as part of our Create Yarmouth strategy.
‘Over the next three years, the Concert Orchestra will be bringing a range of inspirational activity that will involve many local young people and adults discovering, creating, producing and performing music together, developing skills, broadening of audiences for orchestral music, and contributing to the cultural infrastructure and living heritage of east Norfolk.’
Director of the BBC Concert Orchestra Bill Chandler added: ‘The BBC Concert Orchestra is committed to serving communities across the UK and bringing the joy of orchestral music to everyone.
‘We’re proud to be collaborating with Orchestras Live and the brilliant work they do, and this exciting residency will allow us to immerse ourselves in the cultural life of Great Yarmouth.’
The BBC CO has previously worked on other educational projects, including taking a leading role in the BBC Ten Pieces programme, and being a partner in the BBC Young Composer competition and the BBC Open Music programme.
BBC Concert Orchestra
www.bbc.co.uk/concertorchestra
