Over the recent spring break, Big Noise United Orchestra came together for an exciting week of rehearsals surrounded by nature in the beautiful Perthshire countryside, which culminated in a spectacular concert for family, friends, and special guests, at Dundee's prestigious Caird Hall.
Big Noise United Orchestra launched in 2024 and brings together secondary school-aged young people from five Big Noise programmes in a fully inclusive, non-auditioned orchestra, that is free to take part in for all participants. Through an annual programme of rehearsals, trips, and events, members can showcase their talent at a national level, while building confidence, ambition, and maturity.
The concert saw more than 100 young people, all aged between 12 and 18, play an exciting and wide range of music, including selections from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2, music from ‘Wicked’ and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, and Scottish staples ‘The Dark Island’ and ‘Highland Cathedral’.
The performance also included two pieces of music composed for the occasion by Big Noise participants themselves as winners of a composition competition.
The concert was the culmination of weeks of rehearsals, including a four-day residential stay at the Scottish Adventure School in Crieff, with the concert's programme shaped by our very own Big Noise youth committee.
While there was lots of time dedicated to rehearsing during their residential, orchestra members had plenty of downtime to relax and enjoy some fun activities too, including laser tag in the woods and nature walks in the sunshine! Our residentials are always a great opportunity for young people and staff alike to bond and make new friends in a relaxed and safe environment.
Vicky Williams, Sistema Scotland CEO, said:
“The concert was a wonderful celebration of Big Noise communities throughout Scotland, and everything that the young people who work with us have achieved through music and nurturing relationships that Big Noise has made possible.
Including our young people and giving them a meaningful opportunity to shape their own experience is at the heart of our approach.
We are so proud to see them on stage and for their ideas to take shape and become reality.
The concert itself was the perfect end to a week of activities that bring people together and help them realise their full potential. We would like to thank our communities, funders and supporters who make this wonderful work to transform lives possible.”
Nicole, 17, from Big Noise Raploch, whose composition was performed at the concert, said:
“It was amazing to hear something I had written being performed on the big stage, and I was so impressed with everyone that helped play it so well. It was a really joyful moment for me, and hopefully we can all play it together again soon.
Another favourite part was being able to meet people from different centres. Usually we're just on our own, or maybe with people from one other centre, but to be able to get together and see everyone – even the young ones from Wester Hailes – was really nice.
The residential was so much fun. It was so nice to see a new place and be able to get to know new people with lots of fun games and laser tag.”
Vicky, 16, from Big Noise Torry, said:
“I really enjoyed going away to the residential. It was a moment in time where everyone from each centre could come together and hang out. It’s something very special because we don’t get to do it very often. The weather was really great, and performing as part of a big orchestra with everyone was so much fun.
It was so special to come together as part of that massive group to practice our pieces together and make some amazing music. Some of the other centres have different instruments to us, so it was really nice to see how people from different Big Noise centres complemented one another in different ways.
I really loved playing at the concert. I haven’t played anywhere as big as the Caird Hall before, so it was a bit nerve-racking at first to perform in a different city and to see how massive the room was – but it was so much fun when we started playing.”
