For many years, primary school students have visited Llewellyn Hall to hear the sounds of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Now the orchestra is bringing its music to the students.
The Music in My School, set up this year by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, is the first time the ensemble has brought music education into the classroom, going beyond a traditional performance.
Starting in Canberra schools recently, the program visited St Gregory's Primary School in Queanbeyan this month, before moving to schools in the Yass region.
Developed by University of Canberra music education assistant professor Anita Collins, the program is in its pilot year and will run until 2020.
"The orchestra wanted to look into how they could be more innovative and reach more students and those students who wouldn't readily have experienced an orchestra," Dr Collins said.
"While previously students have travelled to Llewellyn Hall and watched the whole orchestra play, they have a lack of a personal experience with the orchestra."
As part of the program, five musicians from the orchestra provide the soundtrack to a well-known story, with the students selecting which piece of music will be used in each section, before all works are played together at the end.
In addition to listening to the music being performed the students get to act out corresponding parts of the story.
"We've chosen pieces of classical music that already are very iconic and well known," Dr Collins said.
"This is a great introduction to this music, and this is what the CSO was searching for, not only an education experience but a musical one as well as part of the new program."
The musicians themselves aren't the only ones performing as part of the program, with actor and narrator Ali Clinch guiding the students through the performance.
While she describes Music in My School as "improvisation meets music", it isn't just the children benefiting from the program.
"The teachers get resources that they can use, and also see that music education can be fun and they don't have to be bogged down in all of the minute details of it all," she said.
"We knew that the kids would enjoy it, but the teacher response has been amazing so far, and hopefully we can inspire them as well."
The program has only visited a small number of schools in the Canberra area so far, but Dr Collins said the CSO aimed to have it up in full by 2020.
"We're very much taking it step by step, and we strongly believe in quality in how we do things, so we're taking small steps to make the end big and great."
