Britten Sinfonia and Norfolk Music Hub’s Wider Opportunities
Celebration Day
Wednesday 8 July 2015
“I didn’t like to ask in front of the children but, what on
earth is a ‘P-bone’?”
It is early on a bright, Norfolk Wednesday morning and St
Andrew’s hall, rescued some 550 years ago from the destructive orders of Henry
VIII, is decked out from stage to wall in a sea of stack-able chairs in the
monarch’s favourite crimson. These are carefully and laboriously divided into
sections each of which is identified with colourful laminated signs:
“Reserved for violins x 60”
“Cellos x 10 (plus some violas)”
“Clarinets x 68”
“P-bones x 60”
This is Britten Sinfonia’s Wider Opportunities Music
Celebration Day fuelled by the unflagging good cheer and excellent organisation
(and funding) of the Norfolk Music Hub. It is the lull before the storm as we
are expecting 60 ukuleles, 15 flutes and 30 xylophones and miscellaneous brass
in staggering numbers to join those already marked out to make up a total of
just over 300 primary school children and their teachers. They will join 11 of
Britten Sinfonia’s musicians for a celebration of instrumental learning. Today
we’ll play, sing, compose and perform together under the creative guidance of
workshop leader and composer Fraser Trainer.
Britten Sinfonia’s leader Jackie Shave is mustering her
troops before the children arrive. In addition to playing alongside the young
musicians, Britten Sinfonia have prepared a special performance, a little
taster of where they might one day be if they continue the hard work they’ve
been putting in at their instruments. “Remember”, she reminds fellow strings
Miranda Dale, Kate Musker and Billy Cole, wind players David Cuthbert and Joy
Farrall, brassers Alex Wide, Tom Rainer and Chris Smith, pianist Simon Lane and
percussionist Jeremy Cornes, “make everything big,
do what you are doing but even more
so. We’re playing for children remember and this should be the most exciting
thing they’ve ever heard or seen.”
She might have been describing the whole day which is big
and more so! The children arrive, colour co-ordinated armies, musical weaponry
in hand, under arm, or casually slung across a shoulder. Positions are jostled
for, a ukulele tumbles to the floor and a violin loses a string. Fraser wields
a microphone over the cacophony of noodling and hissing “shushes” from vigilant
teachers. He begins to sing, a call and then, a breathless moment of sudden
quiet before the sweetness and power of 300 young voices raised in melodic
response and the day has begun.
The end of project sharing is indeed celebratory, and one of
the highlights for everyone is the chance to put down their instruments and
perch at the edges of their seats for Britten Sinfonia’s performance. Anyone
familiar with the orchestra’s concerts will know that one of the highlights is
the compelling physicality of Jackie and her colleagues’ performances. Today is
no different and three hundred young faces light up when the first notes of
Stravinsky’s Ragtime ring jauntily
out through the hall. The final drum beat is met with spontaneous whoops of
appreciation and much bouncing in seats. Even the most seasoned of the
professionals on stage cannot help but crack a smile at such genuine
enthusiasm.
Afterwards the musicians - older and young - cluster in
groups to exclaim over new instruments they’ve not seen before, ask questions
“how do you make that sound?” or make
suggestions “you should play loud all the
time”. The relative merits of one instrument’s tone over another’s and
Stravinsky’s compositional technique compared to the day’s other creative
ventures are discussed in depth. The gaps in ages and experience melt away
simply leaving 311 musicians sharing their art.
At the centre of one group, our question is answered: A ‘P-bone’, it is loudly explained, “… is like a trombone, only cooler, way cooler, ‘cos
you see, get this right, you can get all different colours! Mine plays the best
because it’s blue. The blue ones are the best and I can play really loud!
Listen to this …” He waves his instrument enthusiastically, narrowly missing
the opportunity to decapitate a classmate. “Nah don’t worry” he says soothingly
when we gasp at his willful disregard of the fragility of a musical instrument
handled with such enthusiasm, “its plastic, right, so we can’t smash it, see.”
He thumps the bell as though greeting an old friend. P-bone – plastic trombone
– but clearly here is the next generation of brass player through and through!
Jen House
Creative Learning Director
Find out more about our Creative Learning team and their work
here.
