Orchestra Unwrapped Resource Pack

Orchestra
Unwrapped
Resource
Pack
A digital fusion of orchestral
music and communities in
Plymouth, Torbay and Cornwall
Orchestra Unwrapped
Resource Pack by John Webb
Welcome to Orchestra Unwrapped! This engaging orchestral concert has been especially
devised to introduce your class to the amazing Philharmonia Orchestra. Your students will
discover music by the world’s greatest composers, experience a diverse range of musical
styles, and explore the instruments of the orchestra in a fun and interactive concert
experience.
Our concert programme will feature:
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
The Flight of the Bumblebee
Arthur Honegger
Pacific 231
Hans Zimmer
Pirates of the Caribbean
Astor Piazzolla
Libertango
Aaron Copland
Fanfare for the Common Man
Edward Elgar
Enigma Variations: Nimrod
Igor Stravinsky
Firebird, Finale
Tim Steiner
A Traveller's Guide
Contents
Introduction
2
The Philharmonia Orchestra
3
What’s an Orchestra?
4
Orchestra Bingo
5
Orchestra Bingo Answers
6
The Conductor
7
Create your own orchestra!
8
Make music with your orchestra (1)
9
Make music with your orchestra (2)
10
Going to Brazil: the Samba
11
The pieces you’ll hear
12
Appendix
23
1
Introduction
This pack supports the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Orchestra Unwrapped concert for schools,
part of the iOrchestra project in the South West of England.
Children attending the concert will have a really exciting, inspiring and interactive
experience. The concert’s title is:
Philharmonia Orchestra: A Traveller’s Guide
The pieces you will hear, and the activities you and your class will take part in, are about
journeys and destinations. The concert is led by Tim Steiner, who will:
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introduce the orchestra, instruments and players
show how the orchestra works together
explain the repertoire and encourage active listening
encourage audience participation elements, including singing and body percussion
This pack supports the concert with materials about the orchestra and the pieces you’ll
hear, and activities teachers can use with their class, either before the concert or as a
follow up.
The concert is completely self-contained: you don’t have learn anything before you attend,
but children may get more out of the experience if you prepared them by doing the
activities.
Enjoy the concert and have fun when you work musically with your class!
2
The Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is internationally renowned! It often tours Britain and the
world playing concerts with famous conductors.
© Benjamin Ealovega
Becoming an orchestral musician takes years of training, and hours of practice. The
players probably started playing their instruments when they were children, and when
they went to study music at college they would have practised several hours a day. Some of
them still do!
As well as playing in concerts, the orchestra also records for films and video games, some
of which you might have seen or played:
Recent Films:
 Iron Man 3 (2013)
 Thor: The Dark World (2013)
 Great Expectations (2013)
Sound tracks for video games:
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Harry Potter Series
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Dante’s Inferno
Command and Conquer
Medal of Honour
The Orchestra was founded in 1945 and has been recording film scores since that time,
including several really famous Ealing Comedies such as Kind Hearts and Coronets and The
Lavender Hill Mob, both starring Alec Guinness, and Hamlet starring Laurence Olivier
Watch a video about the orchestra recording the music for Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows video game at:
philharmonia.co.uk/orchestra/hire/films_and_games
Find out more about the orchestra’s film music recordings:
philharmonia.co.uk/explore/films/104/the_philharmonia_orchestra
Find out more about the orchestra’s history at:
philharmonia.co.uk/orchestra/history
3
What’s an Orchestra?
An orchestra is a group of musicians playing together on a variety of instruments. In a
standard orchestra, there are four families of instruments:
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Woodwind: Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon
Brass: Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Tuba
Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass
Percussion: Drums, cymbals, shakers, scrapers, xylophones, etc.
The strings are the quietest instruments, so there are more in their family than in the other
families and they sit closest to the audience.
There are a fewer woodwind players, because they are louder, and they sit behind the
strings.
The brass and percussion, who are the loudest (though they can play quietly too) sit at the
back. Sometimes you will see a clear perspex screen in front of the brass players, which
helps to shield the ears of the players in front!
Sometimes more unusual instruments visit the orchestra:
Piccolo – a small flute which plays very high (and can be heard over everyone else in the
orchestra even if they’re all playing really loud!)
Bass clarinet – a lower version of the clarinet
Contra bassoon – a lower version of the bassoon
Saxophone
Piano
Celeste – looks like a small piano but makes a sound like bells
To find out more about orchestral instruments, look at the
Philharmonia Orchestra’s videos at:
philharmonia.co.uk/explore/instruments
4
Orchestra Bingo
Use the internet to work out what these instruments are and to find sounds for them.
There are 2 standard instruments from each section, and then some more unusual visitors
to the orchestra.
1
2
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5
7
4
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9
5
Orchestra Bingo Answers
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Bassoon
Double Bass
French Horn
Oboe
Violin
Trombone
Piccolo
Timpani
Clash Cymbals
Audio clips of lots of instruments can be found at:
philharmonia.co.uk/explore/make_music
Video guides to musical instruments can be found at:
philharmonia.co.uk/explore/instruments
6
The Conductor
The person at the front, leading the
orchestra, is the conductor. He or she
is in charge, and through their
movements, show the players how to
play the music. Before a concert he or
she rehearses the orchestra, but will
probably make slight changes to what
he or she wants during the concert, so
the players have to watch the
conductor carefully all the time!
Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Philharmonia’s Principal
Conductor © Clive Barda
With their movements they can show:
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The speed of the music
The character of the music
The volume of the music
Individual players and groups how to shape a particular moment
A conducting game – ‘Hi-ya’
This game helps to understand what the conductor does and is suitable for all ages.
1. All the participants stand, or sit, in a circle.
2. A member of the group is the conductor. They show a ‘hi-ya’ karate chop which
everyone must do simultaneously (i.e. not copying the conductor, but
simultaneously with him/her).
3. Everyone says “hi-ya!” when they do the action. Anyone in the group can conduct –
so make sure turns are taken!
As they play this game the group could think about:
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When is it easy to follow the conductor and when is it difficult?
What does the conductor do to make it easier or more difficult?
Conductors can think about:
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How they can make the group do a gentle or an aggressive ‘hi-ya’
How they can change the volume/speed of the group’s ‘hi-ya’
How can they catch the group out?
To find out more about conducting:
philharmonia.co.uk/explore/conducting
7
Create your own orchestra!
It’s possible for the class to create their own orchestra out of everyday items which can
make interesting sounds. Be imaginative and exploratory in your choice of materials!
Here are some ideas:
Orchestral instruments:
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Flute: Blowing across the top of a water
bottle to produce a pitch is how the flute
produces a sound. Various amounts of
water in the bottle changes the pitch.
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Oboes and Bassoons: Use straws to recreate instruments like oboes and bassoons.
1. Flatten one end of the straw. In this end cut a point.
2. Put the point carefully between the lips and blow down it. You’ll need to
experiment to get exactly the right position, but when you do, the straw will
produce a buzzing sound and you’ll feel it vibrating.
3. Cut small finger holes at intervals in the straw. When they are covered you will
get different pitches.
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Strings: Elastic bands in boxes can be like plucked string instruments. By
stretching the band to a different tension, or by placing a finger along it before
plucking you can produce different pitches.
Percussion instruments:
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Shakers made from two plastic beakers taped together with rice or lentils in them
Scrapers made by scraping wooden spoons down the outside of ridged water bottles
Different sized saucepans hit with wooden spoons will create different pitches
Saucepan lids hit together can be cymbals
Upturned bins or washing-up bowls make good drums
You can also use classroom percussion instruments alongside the home-made ones to make
music!
Be imaginative in what you try to make and the resources you use: source a variety of
different metal and wooden objects to see what sounds they can make.
The ensemble STOMP makes good use of everyday objects to make music in their stage show.
There are videos of them in action on YouTube, and further ideas for using everyday objects for
making music in the classroom at:
funmusicco.com/classroom-music/teaching-ideas-for-using-stomp-in-a-general-music-class/
bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/using-everyday-objects-to-create-music/13985.html
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Make music with your orchestra (1)
The class can decide how the instruments you’ve made can be organised into groups – like
the Philharmonia is organised into Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion.
They can be organised by the sound they produce or by what they’re made of.
Hi-ya conducting
Appoint a conductor and try the ‘hi-ya’ conducting game with the instruments – this time
the group plays their instruments instead of saying ‘hi-ya’.
Various conductors can take turns and try to extend the ‘hi-ya’ game. Using just their
actons, can they make the orchestra play:
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loudly
quietly
Fast
slow
steadily
angrily
creepily
Encourage the conductors to explore different shapes, not just the up-down hi-ya
movement. For instance wiggling fingers might mean a quiet, shaky sound.
Extension
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How can the conductor make different groups of instruments play in different ways?
What does the conductor need to do to make one group of instruments play, but not
everyone else?
What signals can the conductor use to show that one section should continue
playing in the same way, whilst he/she leads another section?
How can a conductor stop one section of the orchestra without stopping all of them?
The conductor will have to be very specific, looking everyone in the eye very carefully to make
sure they’re going to follow him. The orchestra must follow the conductor without getting
distracted!
9
Make music with your orchestra (2)
The class orchestra can compose their own music together. You can either use classroom
percussion instruments or the ones the class has been making themselves.
Generally, the different sections of a symphony orchestra do not all play the same thing as
each other. Instead each section adds a different layer to the music – and thinking in
terms of layers is a useful way to start creating music with them. Each layer is distinct, but
when combined they all work together.
Mad Machine Music!
Chorus
1. Each family of instruments in your class orchestra work together to decide upon
two different sounds – i.e. two different ways of playing their instruments. The
groups have to remember them and be able to play them together.
2. Out loud everyone counts 1-8 steadily, repeating a few times.
3. Each group decides on a number and instead of saying that number, they play one
of their sounds. Try and avoid groups choosing the same number.
4. Now, each group adds their second sound on a different number.
The result should sound like a weird repetitive pattern, like a crazy machine. Practice the
pattern until it’s solid. Then, everyone should stop counting aloud and count in their heads
instead.
This pattern, repeated a number of times decided by the class, we’ll call the ‘chorus’.
Verse
For the ‘verse’, each group creates a rhythm on their instruments which they repeat – if
they want to they can also vary this, but they must all be able to play the rhythm and any
variation all together. The group can then choose if they’d like another group to add one
of their sounds, and where they’d like it to go. They’ll need to explain what they want to
the other group(s) and rehearse it with them.
The complete piece can be put together like this:
Chorus – Group 1 – Chorus – Group 2 – Chorus – Group 3; etc.
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How does the piece end?
Could the machine get faster and faster and explode?
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Going to Brazil: the Samba
The theme of the Orchestra Unwrapped concert is
travel and destinations. You and the class will hear
pieces evoking different modes of transport and
places.
Building on Mad Machine Music, have a go at
recreating a Samba, which is a style of dance and
music from Brazil often used in carnival processions.
Mad Machine Music is a kind of (weird!) samba, but
you can also teach a real one to your class, using either body percussion or classroom
percussion instruments.
For this samba, notation is given, but also words, which can help everyone remember the
patterns.
Group 1 – shakers (this part is really hard!)
Group 2 – two-tone wood blocks or agogo bells
Group 3 – Claves or wood blocks
Group 4 – Drums
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Don’t be afraid to use other instruments, but make each of the four percussion
groups sound distinct, so that the musical layers can be heard.
This section acts like the chorus in Mad Machine Music. The ‘verses’ (or ‘breaks’) in
Samba might be when everyone stops except for one group, who play on their own.
In Samba its fine if the leader (or conductor) loudly counts into a break (“4, 3, 2, 1”)
pointing at the group who will carry on playing. They can also count out of a break
to bring everyone back in.
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The pieces you’ll hear
The following section gives a short introduction the pieces and the composers in the
concert. There’s also an activity, either for listening or making music related to each piece.
Before attending the concert, you may find it useful to try some of the activities with the
class, but the concert is self-contained and you are not obliged to do so.
Russia
Flight of the Bumblebee
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer and this is
probably his most famous work. It comes from an opera The
Tale of the Tsar Sultan which is based on a traditional fairy
tale. A Prince in a Royal court gives birth to a son, but the
Queen’s sisters are jealous and have mother and child thrown
into the sea. The sea and a magical swan take pity on them
and save them. When the Prince grows up, he is homesick
and the swan transforms him three times – firstly into a
mosquito, then a fly, and finally a bumblebee. Each time he
returns home he causes havoc and stings one of his evil
relatives! Eventually though, he wants to be married, at which point the swan is revealed as
a beautiful princess!
Rimsky-Korsakov travelled the world as a naval officer before becoming a composer. He
was a member of a group of composers who called themselves The Mighty Handful. They
wanted Russian music to really sound Russian, feeling that previously it was too influenced
by German music. So, they used folk tales and songs as a basis for much of their music,
giving it a distinctive Russian feel.
Activity
Flight of the Bumblebee has become a virtuosic piece in which musicians show off how fast
they can play. Research the piece on YouTube, finding versions on different instruments –
which one plays the fastest?
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Firebird, ‘Finale’
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Firebird is a ballet based on a traditional Russian tale. Prince
Ivan enters the magical realm of Kashchei, the immortal.
There he chases and catches the Firebird, who promises to
help the Prince in return for its eventual release. Ivan
discovers Kashchei is holding 13 princesses prisoner. He
decides to ask Kashchei for the hand of one in marriage, but
they begin arguing and Kashchei sends his magical creatures
after Ivan. The Firebird helps by making the creatures dance energetically, and tells Ivan
that Kashchei’s soul lives within a huge, magical egg. Ivan destroys the egg, killing
Kashchei, marries the princess and releases the Firebird to freedom.
Stravinsky wrote Firebird for a ballet company called the
Ballet Russes and attended the first performance in Paris in
1910. Although a Russian composer, he lived most of his
adult life in Switzerland, France and America. He is one of
the most important 20th century classical composers and his
famous Rite of Spring is the music used in Walt Disney’s
Fantasia for the section with the dinosaurs.
Activity
The Finale to Firebird is a triumphal piece of music! With your class, listen to a recording
on YouTube. It has 3 sections:
1. a slow, mysterious opening,
2. a section starting with a French horn solo, which gets bigger and louder
3. a fast section, based on the French horn tune
Using what you know of the story, decide what might be happening on stage, and create a
dance/mime to show this which fits to the music.
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Other Russian works to explore:
Sergei Prokofiev – Peter and the Wolf
A famous piece for children, with the distinctive sounds of the orchestral instruments used
to represent the characters in the story
Stravinsky –Rite of Spring
Not bunnies and lambs leaping in the fields, but a depiction of imagined pagan rituals for
the coming of spring, including human sacrifice! Don’t be scared though: the music is
vibrant, visceral and dramatic and goes down really well with kids as it’s so rhythmic. It
also caused a riot at its first performance.
Why not take your school to visit RE-RITE, the Philharmonia’s digital installation which is
based around this piece? See iorchestra.co.uk for further details.
Mussorgsky – Pictures at an Exhibition
A sequence of short pieces depicting pictures at a gallery, including the monumental Great
Gate of Kiev and the creepy Catacombs.
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Europe
Pacific 231
Arthur Honneger (1892-1955)
Pacific 231 was a French steam engine. The composer,
Arthur Honegger, had a passion for locomotives, saying
“for me they are living creatures”, and the piece is an
evocation of a massive engine gradually building up
momentum before slowing down again. The piece feels
very evocative and mechanical – pistons moving, steam
being churned out – as it gets faster and faster. Watch
out for several solo spots for instruments such as the bassoon and trumpet as the piece gets
faster. After reaching a climax, the engine comes to quite a quick and dramatic halt.
Pacific 231 has a companion piece, Rugby, which takes the sport as its starting point.
Arthur Honegger was a Swiss composer who lived and worked
for much of his life in Paris. He was a member of the group of
composers called Les Six, which included Erik Satie and Francis
Poulenc, and who made it their aim to compose music which was
lighter and more humorous than their predecessors. During the
Second World War, Honegger was unable to leave Paris and
became a member of the French Resistance!
Activity
Create some short phrases describing a railway engine. Make sure they’re rhythmic (such
as “the train is very fast” or “clickety clack, over the track”). The class creates their own,
then divides into groups to each repeat one – all the groups must go at the same speed!
Decide how to layer the repeated sentences – which one starts, which joins in next. Create
an order of events, and then once this is established, the class can have a go at speeding
the music up and slowing it down, keeping together the whole time!
15
Enigma Variations: ‘Nimrod’
Edward Elgar (1857-1934)
Nimrod is a very famous piece which you may have heard before. It comes from a much
larger piece called Enigma Variations. In each variation, the theme (heard at the start of
the whole work) is varied to describe the character of one of Elgar’s friends, who are
indicated in the score by their initials. ‘Nimrod’ is a description of Augustus J. Jaeger, who
helped Elgar when he was very depressed and wanted to give up composing. Though
Jaeger was very encouraging, he could also be very critical of Elgar’s music, something
which Elgar really appreciated.
Elgar was born in a small village near Worcester. He was largely self-taught and played a
wide variety of instruments, but it took him a long time to be recognised as a composer. It
wasn’t until nearly 1900 that he became known beyond the Worcester area. In 1901 he
wrote Pomp and Circumstance March No 1 which was a great success, the middle section of
which became the popular tune Land of Hope and Glory.
Activity
Try creating some class musical enigmas:
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Create a musical code using all the letters of the alphabet. A to G can be
represented by the pitches A-G.
For other letters, use the same notes, but repeated a number of times (so H is the
note A repeated twice, I is the note B repeated twice, etc.).
Using this code, groups in the class can code their names into musical language, and
send that ‘message’ to another group who have to decode it!
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Other European pieces to explore
Vaughan Williams – Fantasia on Greensleeves
The famous tune Greensleeves is given a British pastoral feel in Vaughan Williams’
arrangement.
Satie – Parade
A very silly piece, with lots of catchy tunes, depicting a circus parade. Includes a variety of
unusual instruments: typewriter, gunshots, foghorn, milk bottles….
Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody no 2
Originally a virtuoso piano piece, but arranged for orchestra too. Made famous in a Tom
and Jerry cartoon, with the pianist (Tom) chasing Jerry around and through the piano!
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The Americas
Pirates of the Caribbean
Hans Zimmer (b.1957)
Hans Zimmer is an award-winning film music composer
who has created music for over 100 films, including: The
Lion King (1994), Gladiator (2000), The Dark Knight
(2008), and Pirates of the Caribbean (2003). His mother
was very musical and his father was an inventor, so
although he didn’t enjoy the discipline of formal music
training, he enjoyed experimenting musically –
attaching chainsaws to pianos, for instance – to the
horror of his mother, and delight of his father! His
career began by playing keyboards in bands and writing advertising jingles, before he
started writing for film.
The music from Pirates of the Caribbean which you’ll hear in the concert, is a selection of
highlights from the film.
Activity
Find some clips of films on YouTube – for
instance a panoramic shot of the Grand
Canyon in America. Try playing different
music to the clips to see what effect it makes
(you can mute any sound in the film clip, and
open the music clip in a different YouTube
window).
For the Grand Canyon clip try: Fanfare for
the Common Man (see below), Flight of the
Bumblebee (see above) and Elgar’s Nimrod
Variation (see above).
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Which piece does your class think works best?
Do different choices of music imply different potential stories?
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Libertango (Argentina)
Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) arr. Julian Malone
Astor Piazzolla was an Argentinian musician
and bandoneon player, whose whole music
was based on the Tango, a distinctive dance
from Argentina. The bandoneon is the
instrument you can see him playing in the
picture – it’s a bit like an accordion. As a
child, his family moved to New York, where
he lived in the rougher areas, and it was
there his father spotted a bandoneon in a
pawn shop and bought it for the young
Astor. Throughout his life, Piazzolla played
in tango bands, but also took lessons from
classically-trained musicians, including several years in Paris with the very well-known
teacher Nadia Boulanger. With her, he initially tried to hide his tango roots, only showing
her classically-based works, but it wasn’t until he finally showed her one of his tangos that
she was truly enthusiastic. This was a turning point for Piazzolla, who went on to write
many pieces, often for internationally famous musicians, and had them performed all over
the world.
Libertango was published in 1974. The name comes from merging the words ‘Libertad’,
meaning liberty, with ‘tango’ and represents Piazzolla’s move away from traditional tango
to ‘tango neuvo’. Remarkably, the piece has been released 500 times in various versions by
many artists!
Activity
Clap along to Libertango:
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In a regular rhythm count 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2.
Keep counting aloud, but clap on all the 1s as well.
Now continue clapping on 1s, but stop counting aloud.
The rhythm you are clapping is the one Piazzolla uses in Libertango and continues
throughout the music. This rhythm occurs in a huge amount of pop and rock music – see if
you can spot it in any of your favourite songs.
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Fanfare for the Common Man (USA)
Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Fanfare for the Common Man, written in 1942, is written only for brass and percussion, so
you’ll notice that the other orchestral sections have a rest! Its title comes from a speech
made by American President Henry A. Wallace when the United States of America entered
the Second World War proclaiming the arrival of ‘the century of the common man’. The
work is big and spacious, with thundering timpani, drum and tam-tam (the big gong)
answering the magnificent brass music. So evocative was the music that it has been used
many times on film and TV, even having a version of it made by seventies rock group
Emerson, Lake and Palmer in 1977.
Aaron Copland’s music has come to be seen as characteristically American. He took
American themes for his music, writing works such as his ballets Appalachian Spring,
Rodeo and Billy the Kid. But his music is not the fast cars and bright lights of the city;
instead it is the wide open spaces of the prairie, or the monumental landscapes of the
Grand Canyon or Mount Rushmore. His music is tuneful and sometimes incorporates well
known melodies such as Simple Gifts, the traditional American Shaker hymn in
Appalachian Spring.
Activity
Watch an orchestral version of Fanfare for the Common Man on YouTube (a good one will
come up if you search the title and ‘Proms 2012’). The class is going to join in with the
drums when they play – can everyone learn the drum parts, just by listening? (Clue: often
the drums interject at the end of brass phrases and sometimes they copy a brass phrase).
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Other Music from the Americas
Zequinha de Abreu – Tico Tico
A famous tune which uses lots of samba rhythms (see page 12).
Leonard Bernstein – ‘Mambo’ from West Side Story
A fast, exciting dance from the composer’s famous musical West Side Story which was based
on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It includes the whole orchestra shouting the word
‘Mambo!’ (and possibly the audience too given half a chance!).
Aaron Copland – Quiet City
A complete contrast to the two dances above. This piece evokes an empty city, perhaps at
daybreak, and is quiet and subdued. It features solo parts for trumpet and cor anglais – a
member of the woodwind family related to the oboe.
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iorchestra.co.uk
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Appendix
Orchestra Unwrapped Concert Details
Orchestra Unwrapped is an educational initiative offered by the Philharmonia Orchestra as
part of the iOrchestra project in Plymouth, Torbay and Cornwall. It gives hundreds of
primary school children the opportunity to experience live music making in an engaging
and exciting way. Providing an accessible introduction to the orchestra and its instruments,
Orchestra Unwrapped enables students and teachers to deepen their understanding of
classical music whilst having fun
Concerts:
Plymouth
Monday 12 May 2014, 11:00am
Plymouth Guildhall, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 2AD
Torquay
Monday 9 June 2014, 11:00am
Princess Theatre, Torbay Rd, Torquay, Devon TQ2 5EZ
Truro
Monday 14 July 2014, 11:00am
Hall for Cornwall, Back Quay, Truro, Cornwall TR1 2LL
Further details:
Tickets
Tickets will not be issued, but the venue stewards and Philharmonia staff will escort school
groups to their allocated seats.
Concert
Teachers do not need to bring anything to the concerts. Information packs will be
distributed to teachers upon arrival, including programmes. We ask that you do not
distribute these to the children during the concert.
iOrchestra Contact Details
If you have any further questions about the INSET, the concert, or iOrchestra in general,
please contact your regional iOrchestra Coordinator:
Plymouth: Gemma Ward (gemma.ward@philharmonia.co.uk / 07943 377 301)
Torbay: Laura Forster (laura.forster@philharmonia.co.uk / 07943 376 893)
Cornwall: Rachel Caccia (education.assistant@philharmonia.co.uk / 07943 377 239)
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Additional iOrchestra Events
During 2014 and 2015 a very special music project is coming to the South West.
Communities in Torbay, Cornwall and Plymouth will join with the Philharmonia Orchestra
to present iOrchestra – a huge programme that combines the latest digital technology with
live performance in a multi-faceted exploration of music.
MusicLab
MusicLab is a new mobile interactive digital installation. Housed in a 13.5m purpose-built
trailer, the Philharmonia Orchestra is developing a flexible, pop-up orchestral experience
that can reach targeted communities in Devon and Cornwall. Using cutting-edge digital
technology and innovative interactive design, MusicLab will offer a series of hands-on
musical experiences and interactions, designed to put you in the shoes of a composer,
performer, producer and conductor.
To find out when MusicLab is in your area, please visit iorchestra.co.uk/music-lab
To book your school visit to MusicLab, please contact your regional iOrchestra Coordinator
(details above)
RE-RITE
RE-RITE is a ground-breaking, immersive digital installation and a musical experience like
no other. Using high resolution video projections onto the walls of a temporary venue in
three locations in the South West, RE-RITE creates a life-size virtual orchestra. These
projections, together with fun, interactive elements, enable the audience to conduct, play
and step inside the orchestra. From playing along with the percussion section to
controlling every section of the orchestra from the conductor’s podium, the installation
provides a unique insight into what it is to be part of a world-class orchestra performing
one of the twentieth-century’s iconic pieces of music, Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.
Armada Way, Plymouth: 29 April - 10 May
Torre Abbey Meadow, Torquay: 26 May - 7 June
Lemon Quay, Truro: 30 June - 12 July
To book your school visit to RE-RITE, please contact your regional iOrchestra Coordinator
(see details above). Visit iorchestra.co.uk/re-rite to find out more.
Community Concerts
On the final day of each RE-RITE installation in Plymouth (11 May), Torbay (8 June) and
Truro (13 July), the full Philharmonia Orchestra presents a 75 minute-long, open air
Sunday afternoon concert, situated at the RE-RITE site, in a specially chosen programme
to appeal to families and those new to orchestral music.
Sunday 11 May 2014, 5pm: Armada Way Piazza (Plymouth)
Sunday 8 June 2014, 5pm: Torre Abbey (Torquay)
Sunday 13 July 2014, 5pm: Lemon Quay Piazza (Cornwall)
The concert will be ideal for the families of your students, and is a perfect environment for
sharing musical experiences as a family in a friendly environment. Visit
iorchestra.co.uk/live to find out more.
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Biographies
John Webb, music education specialist
John Webb is a composer and music educator with a wide experience working with community and
educational contexts. He has worked on projects for London Philharmonic Orchestra, Academy of
St Martins in the Fields, Philharmonia Orchestra, English National Opera, Spitalfields Music, Royal
Academy of Music, Operahouse Music Projects, The Stables and Britten Sinfonia. For several years
he has led the Wigmore Hall’s Early Years programme, Chamber Tots, and the Philharmonia’s
Stepping Stones KS1 Project. Recent projects have included work with the Academy of St Martins
in The Fields and Slough music service exploring composition with A level and GCSE students,
work with vulnerable adults, dementia sufferers and intergenerational projects, as well as early
years and schools-based projects. He has written two operas for children to perform: ‘Lionhunt!’
(for KS1) and ‘The Ballad of Slippery Jack’ (for KS2), commissioned by English National Opera, and
in 2012 his piece ‘Nelson’ was performed by Royal Academy of Music musicians and 120 children
from Tower Hamlets Primary Schools. Recently his work was shortlisted as part of the Britten
Sinfonia’s Opus 2012 prize. He is currently working with the National Theatre on an interactive
production for 5 year olds.
Find out more at sites.google.com/site/johnwebbcomposer/
Tim Steiner, presenter
Tim Steiner is a composer with a specialty in devised and collaborative performance. He has
directed hundreds of creative projects throughout Europe. This work entails collaborations that
bring together people from all sectors of the community to make music in all kinds of ways. Last
year, together with the Philharmonia Orchestra, he directed a musical setting of Edward Lear's
‘Nonsense Poems’. A new 250-piece ensemble was created that included a singing group for people
with Alzheimer's, a late starters string ensemble, a youth gospel singing group and their band,
communities of Polish, Italian and Indian families, an adult choral group, a youth orchestra, a
primary school class, and various other individuals who just seemed to be hanging around. In 2012
he wrote ‘Hunter Gatherer’ with family orchestras from Devon and Cornwall together with the BBC
Concert Orchestra. Based on folk songs from Cornwall and Devon this was performed as part of the
BBC's Music Nation and broadcast live on Radio Three. Tim is the conductor of ‘Stopestra’, a 100piece Portuguese rock band, and was the creative director of the BBC’s ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘I’d Do
Anything’ and ‘Play it Again’ live events. Other projects have included ‘SCORE!’ – a performance
by 5000 young people in Birmingham City's football stadium, work with a brass band in an
orphanage in Azerbaijan, and Operacão Oliveira - a huge performance in the Portuguese city of
Guimarães. This autumn he will be working with the Bulgarian city of Ruse to create a new citywide performance. He has developed particularly strong links with Portugal and Norway and has
ongoing training and project leading relationships with the Casa da Música in Porto and the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has long term relationships with the
Philharmonia Orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Singers. Tim has worked
extensively with the BBC orchestras in addition to directing work for the London Philharmonic
Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Britten Sinfonia, Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Viva, Det Norske
Blåseensemble and the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.
Tim grew up in Exeter and studied music at Exeter College before moving on to the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama in London.
Find out more at timsteiner.co.uk
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iOrchestra is supported by…
In Plymouth
In Torbay
In Cornwall
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