Band in innovative link set to inspire the musicians of future
AN INNOVATIVE link between Tredegar Band and the National Orchestra of Wales aims to help end community isolation and loneliness.
Tredegar Band has just completed this musical initiative thanks to a grant from the Welsh-Governmentled Connected Communities; Loneliness and Social Isolation Fund. The band worked in partnership with the National Orchestra of Wales to provide access to live performances of classical and brass band music.
The aim is to inspire local children to take up peripatetic music lessons in local schools and hopefully to join local community brass bands, including Tredegar’s own Learner and Community Band ensemble.
The project has already seen players from Tredegar Band join forces with the brass section of the orchestra to produce a live broadcast to 65 schools and more than 3,200 pupils across Wales.
There is a link with education specialist Paul Fisher to provide access to his fantastic teaching and videos which will be accessed free through the band’s website. 50 children were taken to see the National Orchestra of Wales at the Hoddinott Hall at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre.
National Orchestra of Wales education producer Beatrice Carey told 4BR: “We were so thrilled to be involved and to round things off by welcoming the youngsters from Tredegar area to our special ‘Drawn to Music’ schools’ concert.”
While at the Hall the children enjoyed performances of Glink’s Ruslan and Lyudmila and The Little Train by Villa Lobos, Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition – the latter being accompanied by drawings made in real time by artist James Mayhew. At the end the children were joined by National Orchestra of Wales trumpet stars Philippe Schartz and Robert Samuel, who presented them with one of the sketches of Mussorgsky’s Gnome.
Ian Porthouse, musical director of the Tredegar Band, said to 4BR: “This has been a great project to work on with three strands which we hope will inspire youngsters to take up brass band and classical music in the future. Incredibly not one of the children had ever heard a live performance before and nearly all had never been to Cardiff to the Millennium Centre.
“Their reactions were incredible – absolutely transfixed by what they heard and to meet Philippe Shartz and Robert Samuel. It really brought it home the inspirational qualities of music making and my thanks go to everyone involved in the project. It’s been such an uplifting experience which we hope will trigger a great response.”