New children’s orchestra

A new orchestra for children will be launched by the University of St Andrews on Wednesday 7 September.

Pupils from P1 to S2 are invited to take part and all orchestral instruments are welcome. Players must be of Associated Board Grade 2 ability and over; there is no upper grade limit.

Children will have the opportunity to play a wide range of styles, including classical, jazz and folk, challenging them to improve their individual abilities and develop their musicianship, orchestral and team skills.

The orchestra’s first pieces will include the recent pop hit All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor, which reached number 1 in the charts, part of Handel’s Water Music, Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King, and the folk tune John Ryan’s Polka.

Gillian Craig will conduct the orchestra, commenting: “I’d like to invite all children up to S2 age who play an orchestral instrument to come and join us. As a child my greatest joy was the training orchestra where I first went as a (very bad!) clarinettist, and the fun and challenge we had learning to play together. There’s no audition, so come and try it yourself.”

Rehearsals will be on Wednesday evenings from 5.15pm to 6.15pm in the Younger Hall, St Andrews, during university semesters with breaks to coincide with school holidays. The orchestra will perform regularly, with the first concert taking place in St Andrews on 23 November.

This new group adds to the existing range of music groups for children provided by the University Music Centre, including classes for beginners in violin, guitar and bagpipes, and three children’s choirs, as well as individual lessons in a wide range of instruments and singing.

Membership of the children’s orchestra and the University Music Centre costs £30 per year. For further information, visit the Music Centre web pages, email [email protected] or phone 01334 462226.

Image: ‘Children making music’ by Carle van Loo (1705 to 1765) courtesy of Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest; retrieved 18 August 2016. Photo (c) akg-images/Universal Images Group

Issued by the University of St Andrews Press Office. Contact 01334 467 310 or email [email protected].