🎶Opening creative doors
🎶Forging connections in the Cambridgeshire community
🎶Inspiring young people with the joy of music
A collaboration which brought Cambridge Philharmonic together with five Cambridgeshire schools, students from Clare College, Cambridge, and creative professionals working across music, drama and dance.
Funded by the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Pye Foundation, the project was also generously supported by Cambridge Philharmonic members both financially and with their time and expertise.
May 2023 – Shakespeare concert
The pilot part of our project brought together some year 7 and 8 students from Swavesey Village College, year 5 and 6 pupils at Pendragon Primary School, and The Three Inch Fools: an innovative touring theatre company acclaimed for their fast-paced and musically driven approach to theatre.
Our Shakespeare theme tied closely to the school curriculum: extracts from Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet were discussed and students explored setting the texts in different ways with words, actions and music; they also learnt a song from The Tempest and composed the accompaniment. The students performed their work as a pre-concert showcase in the foyer of West Road before joining the audience to watch the concert.
January 2024 – charity concert
Students from Chesterton Community College and Mayfield Primary School attended the family concert then worked with facilitators to create a story from the musical themes of the concert. They then wrote musical accompaniment, songs and sound effects to create a mini-opera, and worked with Cambridge Philharmonic members to develop a final version.
They performed at the Cambridge Guildhall as part of the Mayor’s charity concert, fundraising for Parkinson’s UK.
“I enjoyed having freedom and creativity but also a structure as well” (participant)
July 2024 – Turandot
Students from North Cambridge Academy learnt the children’s chorus part for Turandot, and worked with facilitators to create a mini-opera based on the same themes.
They performed the mini-opera as a pre-concert performance at Saffron Hall, before joining the rest of the performers for Turandot.
May 2025 – Refuge
Fifteen students from North Cambridge Academy worked with university students from Clare College to rehearse the children’s chorus part for Jonathan Dove’s Odyssey, before being part of a very memorable performance at West Road.
A larger group of 40 students then participated in a two-day workshop on the theme of refuge and journey, learning extracts from the opera and exploring creating their own story. They were encouraged to improvise and be imaginative, and created a piece that combined words and music. The workshops ended with a performance in school to friends and family.
“A huge thank you for last week! It was a real privilege to watch and hear you all work. The finished performance was a testament to your combined teamwork, talent and generosity of spirit. In addition, you took the time to get to know the students, listen to them and mould something out of all their ideas that was rather wonderful and powerful” (teacher)
What next?
We’d like to keep inspiring young people with the joy of music – but what’s the best way of doing this? Could you help?
We’ve demonstrated that securing funding, contracting creative professionals to deliver creative activities in schools, and providing performance opportunities at our concerts works. This is labour-intensive but effective.
In the short-term, are there simple ways we can continue our relationships with schools? Perhaps connecting our repertoire with the school curriculum and providing free concert tickets to school groups?
Longer-term, what would support young people best to explore choral and orchestral music in ways that inspire?
Are you a teacher who could advise Cambridge Philharmonic’s trustees? Or perhaps a Phil member or supporter with time to develop an idea into reality?
Please get in touch: secretary@cam-phil.org.uk