Orbits around the Sun

It was such a privilege to be involved in Ensemble Reza’s latest community project in Crawley. It all started in May when the Silver Birch Singers and Year 6 pupils from Seymour Primary School met together for the first time and together, under Paul Griffiths’ excellent leadership, devised some lyrics based on the idea of ‘Orbits around the Sun’. These words were then given to GCSE students at St Wilfrid’s Catholic School and during the course of two workshops, were put to music. Paul and Reza’s Anna Cooper then orchestrated the piece and created parts for all the members of our Community Orchestra to play. Everybody then practiced like crazy and on Sunday 2nd July, under conductor Steve Dummer, the World Première was performed at the Hawth’s outdoor amphitheatre to a very enthusiastic audience.

For me, the highlight of the project was witnessing the different generations interacting and collaborating to produce a brand new piece of original music. It was obvious from the smiles and general buzz of excitement how much people enjoyed the process of creating something from scratch. All the children seemed inspired to contribute ideas, with several braving solos and there was even a rap. The Silver Birch Singers’ enthusiasm was infectious, even though they admitted they weren’t quite sure what to expect at the outset and the Community Orchestra rose to the occasion beautifully and responded to some rather unusual direction from Paul, which produced some very atmospheric moments. The weather gods played ball for the concert and allowed the performance to go ahead outside in the Amphitheatre which further increased the magic emanating from the stage and ensured a triumphant climax to a wholly inspiring project. Can we do it all again next year please?

Jen Withington - Schools Co-ordinator, Ensemble Reza