If we have learned anything over the last year, it is the value of making music together. This is perfectly captured by the enthusiasm we experienced at the return of our series of Creative Composition Workshops.

Over the last term, 205 of our Year 3 students at all five of our Partner Schools have been teamed up with fantastic musicians such as Sanju Sahai, Rachel Leach and Paul Griffiths to make brand new music together.

Throughout the course of the workshops, whole classes of violinists, cellists and non-instrumentalists have been exploring topics related to their curriculums in a musical way. From the Romans to Rivers, Cityscapes to Volcanoes, there isn’t a corner of this planet left unexplored by our enthusiastic young musicians.

“I learned how to make pieces of your own” and “that you really have to listen to other people,” said one of our students at Ashmole Primary School. Another musician at Jessop Primary School commented that they “learned how to do new things on my violin,” as well as “how to be patient with my friends”. The workshops are an opportunity to explore their instruments, voices and bodies through techniques such as sound painting or improvisation.

For the leaders involved, the workshops were a breath of fresh air in a time where group music-making has been especially limited. Musician Esther Sheridan described the workshop as “a wonderful ‘welcome back’! Being back in school for a creative workshop after 18 months of online Covid delivery!” Meanwhile, Melanie Henry said that she “enjoyed this project very much. The children were willing to experiment with sounds, to take risks, and to take ownership in the sound painting section which was wonderful to see. I believe in creating communities with my projects and felt we achieved this – a room of confident musicians!”

Unable to perform to friends and families as normal, the students recorded their new music to camera at the end of the school day to demonstrate their newly developed music-making skills. With screenings at home and in the classroom, the performances could be enjoyed far and wide. You can enjoy all of the performances from our Creative Composition Workshops online.

“My daughter came home buzzing and has proudly shown the video to friends and family,” said one parent. “I’ve noticed she’s also started doing a bit of improvising on the piano at home since!” We can’t wait to see where our budding young composers take their new music next.