Top musicians head back to school to inspire pupils
THEY belong to the most culturally diverse community in Scotland, a corner of Glasgow home to the country’s richest melting pot of nationalities and languages.
Yet this week, children from schools across Govanhill, on the south side of the city, will be united in a single aim: making music with the country’s oldest professional orchestra.
Musicians from the BBC’s Scottish Symphony Orchestra have decamped from their base in the Merchant City to a Govanhill high school in a unique project designed to unite, inspire and entertain children from backgrounds.
Around 1,500 pupils from six schools are taking part in a week-long series of music workshops, collaborations and performances at Holyrood Secondary, culminating in a public concert tomorrow, when young French conductor Chloé van Soeterstède will lead the orchestra in the school’s gym.
Music workshop leader Lucy Drever is one of a number of music professionals working with children from Govanhill’s primary schools as well as students from Holyrood and Shawlands Academy.
While it’s a boon for any school to have one of the world’s most prestigious myriad orchestras decamp to their classrooms, Ms Drever insists the residency will be a reciprocal learning experience.
“It’s really important for us as professional musicians to listen to people, follow, and take our lead from what they’re doing. It’s a two-way thing,” she said.
“It’s so special to have these kids from such different backgrounds, pooling their ideas from such different heritage.”
Earlier this week pupils worked with musicians in a songwriting collaboration in which they were encouraged to generate lyrical themes. The process revealed a common issue.
The project sees the SSO partner with Big Noise Govanhill, run by Sistema Scotland. Of the country’s four Big Noise projects designed to provide over 2,000 children from disadvantaged areas with access to classical music, Govanhill’s is the largest, with around 1,200 children attending rehearsals each week.