In Harmony News (December 09)

NORCA has had a fantastic response to In Harmony in Norwich. The enthusiasm of the children has been great to see and our after-school sessions have been well attended all term.

Since September there has been a focussing of our provision on Reception and Year 1 children (plus Year 2 at Larkman Primary because of their combine classes). A further 20 older children at each venue have been able to attend In Harmony after school, and we will be reviewing this in December to see if we can allocate more places from January. This means that we are currently working with around 400 children across our three schools.

It has been an exciting term:

On 24th November, we were visited by Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Education. Ed came along to the after-school session at Catton Grove Primary School, where he met the children, kept time on percussion whilst they sang for him and, after he had listened to their ensemble performance, played some violin.
He said:

"I thought the children were lovely. This project shows that if you give children a chance they grab it with both hands."

On 3rd December, In Harmony Norwich's orchestra gave their first performance at 'Open', Norwich's new Youth Venue. Around 140 children, drawn from Years 1 and above, performed to parents, teachers and guests, a programme of work that included beginners' pieces, alongside classical and contemporary repertoire. In the latter they were supported by musicians from the Chamber Orchestra Anglia, with the children playing simplified parts that complimented the piece. The children got a wonderful response from a large audience that included Julian Lloyd Webber and the Lord Mayor of Norwich. It was the first time that we have brought together children from all three schools, something that we hope to do on a regular basis from now on.

Norca would like to thank Stentor Music for providing great musical instruments at a really brilliant price.

Read the main In Harmony project page.

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