The Noise, our more mature orchestra, have also been working hard every Wednesday evening and have their own Christmas concert next Wednesday. They will be playing some interesting versions of some very well known tunes, come along and see who you can spot in the orchestra, you may even see a famous head teacher!

In other news this month, the Big Noise Brass Band had a very successful first outing when they participated in the Scottish Brass Band Championships held in the amazing Perth Concert Hall. The band played a 10-minute programme consisting of five fun pieces, this took a lot of hard work from each and every member. Their hard work paid off when they achieved a bronze award in the preparatory section.  The official photos will follow soon….

For those of you who would like to hear a sample of the Big Noise Brass Band, Wind Band, Symphony Orchestra and all other ensembles, we have an action packed concert series everyday next week, culminating with the Big Noise Symphony Orchestra Concert on Monday the 19^th. Hope to see you all there!

Having a wee play on your fiddle and that’s all there is to it?

I don’t think so…

It’s all about to change, musicians of Raploch. The transformation has started. A little bird flew by recently, and made the astounding observation that our young musicians are improving faster now than ever before. She asked some of the teachers, “have the children of Raploch started to really practise?”

And so we said, “Of course!”

Practising can sound like a scary word, but really it’s not. Actually, it just means getting better at what you do. Even a little bit a day can make a huge difference, and the better you play, the more FUN it is!

And, with the Big Concert coming next June, we really do want to make the Venezuelans proud. All of us! Now keep up the great work!!

So. If you thought this was all about fun – the real FUN hasn’t even begun…

My chickens had the opportunity to interact with members of the Stirling Orchestra. 

It was very interesting to watch – they were nervous at the beginning of the night but as they played the music they gained more confidence every time.

Music as a universal language once again proved to be a wonderful way of sharing friendship and a tool to express ourselves better and gain confidence in ourselves.

Amanda, Anne and I amazed by the sound!

As the tutor of The Noise I’m very proud of the immense effort everyone made.
I want to thank Stephen Broad, director of the Stirling Orchestra and Joëlle Fenna for making such a memorable night for all at the Noise and thank you to members of the Stirling Orchestra for participating.

Well done everyone and let’s keep making a big noise!

Click on this link to watch the video!

On Thursday last week we announced our ‘Big Secret’ to the children and families of Big Noise – the news that our Venezuelan friends from the Simon Bolivar Orchestra will visit us in June 2012 to perform alongside some of children in a large scale concert to be held here in Raploch. The event will follow a week long residency here at Big Noise, where the orchestra and their conductor Gustavo Dudamel will work, play and make music with the children and community of Raploch. The final concert at the end of the week will also be the official Olympic launch event for Scotland – so a great reason to do lots of practice and hard work to make sure we are ready to play our best!

Our wonderful Purple Orchestra had their first external concert of the year recently – we were invited to perform at Beech Gardens Care Home where we received a very warm welcome from the staff and residents there. After a short chat and some introductions we got set up in the front room to prepare for our performance, a short and sweet programme featuring ‘Jackeroos’ and ‘Chocolate Treats’ as well as some energetic and fun action songs to get everyone up and moving. The children played really well, and seemed to really enjoy the experience of performing to an audience – we even received an encore for a repeat performance, as well as an invite to come back again next term!

Sistema Aoteroa is run as part of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and you can find out more by following this link http://www.apo.co.nz/sistema_aotearoa.aspx

Since we’ve been back we have been busy getting into this year’s programme. I mainly work with the Rinconada Orchestra and our focus this term is really getting through the great new books we have just started, which means PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE!!!! So if you hear even more gorgeous tones coming out of Raploch then we are definitely travelling in the right direction. This year we are going to put on even more concerts with lots of new pieces and we can’t wait.

There’s time for chamber music and mass singing games in addition to the normal bread and butter of orchestra.

Soon we’re having a bbq for children and families with the musicians………… we’re all so chilled!

(D0 sign up if your children are coming to summer school – Friday 22nd at 12.15 we need to know numbers to order burgers!)

Jen

Raploch’s New Maestro

Sistema Scotland is delighted to announce the appointment of one of the UK’s finest music educators as its Director of Music.

Violinist Francis Cummings is currently Director of Music at St Mary’s School in Edinburgh – Scotland’s only full-time specialist music school.

He will take up the new appointment in August, overseeing a drive for musical excellence at the Big Noise orchestra in Raploch, Stirling and future Big Noise centres around the country.

Modeled on Venezuela’s world-famous El Sistema, Big Noise was launched in 2008 and aims to transform the lives of children through music.

As a founding member of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Francis worked extensively with eminent conductors and soloists including Claudio Abbado, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, George Solti and Lorin Maazel, appearing in festivals throughout Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA.

He has worked regularly with a number of UK orchestras including the BBC SSO, Manchester Camerata, Northern Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Hallé, Liverpool Philharmonic and The Orchestra of the Golden Age.

Francis has held teaching posts at the University of Huddersfield, University of Lancaster and Chetham’s School of Music. He is a former leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland and took up the post of Director of Music at St Mary’s Music School in April 2007.

Sistema Scotland Chairman Richard Holloway said: “A recently published evaluation commissioned by the Scottish Government shows Big Noise is having a huge social impact in Raploch. Good behaviour, confidence, self-esteem and pride are on the rise.

“We are proud of the music that has been made too, and the work of our existing team of 16 musicians – but we are upping the musical stakes now. The children have given us no option. Many of them have revealled a talent and a hunger to excel which we feel obliged to match.

“We are matching it with Francis Cummings. I am utterly thrilled that we have secured the services of such an eminent artist and educator. St Mary’s is very highly regarded and we want the same excellence for Raploch.”

Sistema Scotland Director Nicola Killean said: “Francis is a dream addition to the team. This community, which three years ago had no tradition of orchestral music-making, now has access to the very best musical influences imaginable.”

The appointment follows the arrival of four new board members also enhancing the organisation’s musical intelligence – Nicola Benedetti, Kathryn Jourdan, Paul Jourdan and Fergus McWilliam. (See Notes below for biographies)

For further information contact George Anderson on 07900 891691.

Notes for Editors
Summary findings of a recently published evaluation of Big Noise commissioned by the Scottish Government can be viewed at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/11150907/1

Nicola Benedetti began violin lessons at the age of five. In 1997, she entered the Yehudi Menuhin School, where she studied with Natasha Boyarskaya. After leaving the Yehudi Menuhin School she continued her studies with Maciej Rakowski in London. She is currently taking lessons from Pavel Vernikov in Vienna.

In recent seasons Nicola has performed with almost all of the UK and Ireland’s major symphony orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony orchestra and the RTE Orchestra. She has received invitations to work with a list of international orchestras including the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra in Berlin, the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, NDR Orchester in Llubjiana, Het Brabants Orkest, the Orchestre de Picardie, KBS Symphony and the Japan Philharmonic. Nicola’s busy schedule has also seen her perform in North America with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and with the Vancouver, Colorado, Phoenix, Toronto and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras.

In addition to her performance and recording activities, Nicola has devoted herself to humanitarian and educational causes. She is already involved with Big Noise as our “Musical Big Sister”. Since 2005, she has visited schools throughout the United Kingdom in conjunction with the CLIC Sargent Practice-a-thon, in which she encourages pupils of all ages to pick up their instruments and enjoy classical music. Nicola is also a UNICEF Celebrity Supporter.

Kathryn Jourdan studied music as an instrumental award holder at Clare College, Cambridge, then viola with Simon Rowland Jones at the Royal Northern College of Music. Whilst in Manchester she taught violin and chamber music at Chetham’s School of Music, and was a practice supervisor with special pastoral responsibility for 11-14 year olds. She freelanced with the Manchester Camerata, BBC Philharmonic and various chamber ensembles and on leaving college in 1990 she joined the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where she was a member for five years, taking an active role in the outreach work of the orchestra in the inner city education and community settings.

On leaving the orchestra Kathryn returned to Cambridge to train as a secondary music teacher whilst playing in a London-based string quartet for three years. In 1998 she moved to Edinburgh, where she freelances with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and other chamber groups.  Kathryn coaches chamber groups at St Mary’s Music School, teaches the viola at George Watson’s College and trains junior choristers for Old St Paul’s Church.   She is currently completing a PhD in music education based in the Faculty of Education, Cambridge University.

Paul Jourdan studied music at Clare College, Cambridge, and then violin
with Roger Raphael at RNCM in Manchester, teaching as Roger’s assistant at Chethams School of Music, where he also coached chamber music and conducted the school’s string ensemble. Having worked with Manchester Camerata, Liverpool Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic, he went on to join the first violin section of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 1990-94, where he was also involved in the orchestra’s community and educational outreach work in the inner city area. From 1995-98 he completed a PhD at Clare College, Cambridge on Mendelssohn’s Visits to England, 1829-37, looking at the early development of the modern music profession, whilst also performing regularly with the Jourdan String Quartet, including a South Bank debut concert and a residency series at Highmore Hall.

Paul was a founding board member of the Dunedin Consort, and in 2010 he became a director of Hebrides Ensemble. After a few years on the Strings Advisory Board Paul was appointed a Governor of the RSAMD.

Since 1998 Paul has also worked extensively in the Edinburgh financial sector. In January 2010 he led a management buy-out to acquire Noble Fund Managers, and re-named the company Amati Global Investors.

Horn player Fergus McWilliam was born in Scotland and grew up in Canada where he began his musical studies. Further studies were undertaken in Amsterdam (Adriaan van Woudenberg) and Stockholm (Wilhelm Lanzky-Otto).  

From 1972 to 1979 Fergus was a member of several Canadian orchestras and chamber music ensembles before joining the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Antal Dorati. From 1982 to 1985 he was a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony under Raphael Kubelik and Leonard Bernstein.

In 1985 Fergus was appointed to the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan. In addition to the orchestra’s two most recent Musical Directors, Claudio Abbado and Sir Simon Rattle, he has also performed as a Berliner Philharmoniker with Carlos Kleiber, Günter Wand, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Eugen Jochum, Klaus Tennstedt, Sergiu Celibidache, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti, Pierre Boulez, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, James Levine and Daniel Barenboim. Other historical figures with whom he performed, collaborated, or by whom he was personally influenced include Aaron Copland, György Ligeti, Leopold Stokowski, Mstislav Rostropovich and Glenn Gould.

Fergus also teaches students from around the world and he has given master classes at a number of leading music schools in many different countries. Not only has he taught at both the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy and the Hanns-Eisler-Musikhochschule in Berlin; he has also been a visiting lecturer at, for example, the Royal Academy of Music and Guildhall School in London, the Paris Conservatoire and the Tokyo University of Fine Arts. He currently maintains a teaching commitment at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow and continues his decade-long active involvement with El Sistema’s brass programme.

He has been active in orchestra politics for over 20 years, chairing and serving on commitees responsible for the Berlin Philharmonic’s famous self-administration and as a member, both of the orchestra foundation’s Board of Trustees, as well as of the Board of Directors of the Berliner Philharmonie GmbH.

The wicked weather marred the Christmas activities but we still managed to put a great version of We wish you a merry Christmas and some excellent brass solos together for our informal concert. After the holidays the brass team embarked on an epic voyage to the Bridgewater halls in Manchester to see the Venezuelan Brass ensemble. It was very impressive and the children were amazed by the golden eggs the brass players put in their bells that changed the whole sound of the instrument!( Mutes!).

When we got back we started working towards our side by side concert with the children playing alongside the BBC SSO. It was a great experience and a really moving moment for a lot of the parents and even some staff! We then started working on the 3^rd birthday concert. A concert with a mix of things from the BBC Side by side, WWBP Wind band, Purple and Red orchestras playing a tremendous version of Joelle’s Mission Mars, small chamber groups from the BBC SSO and a very interesting infomercial by someone called Dr. O’Hagan that you can now find on the Big noise website! As for my involvement in the concert, I conducted the wind band and the symphony orchestra for the piece ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’ or as you might also know it, the music from 2001: Space Odyssey. It was a great moment for me personally and the children played their hearts out. The whole concert was a great success and all involved were buzzing for days after it. You can see more photos from the concert here

Phew… Almost finished! Looking back at this blog, I’m amazed at how much we’ve fit into less than a year. The little tales I have spun are just the highlights. There have been countless more trips, outings, performances and residential courses throughout the year. The amount of blood, sweat, tears, hard work and everything else the musicians have put in over the year has been so impressive and I’m proud to be part of such a great team.

Well, that’s it from me except for one thing. Big Noise now has a new enrolment of string, brass and woodwind students! Primary one strings have been introduced into the purple orchestra and, after a host of entertaining and enlightening demonstration concerts by the WWBP team, the remaining primary four and five pupils have chosen a woodwind or brass instrument and are now attending summer school. Ok. I’m definitely going now. Bye!

JP