Yamaha Education News

MusicQuest runs classical music workshops for primary school teachers

Pictured here: Primary school class teachers in Croydon at one of the MusicQuest workshops in November 2009

In November 2009 MusicQuest, supported by Yamaha, ran teacher training days in Hull, Derby, Swansea, Croydon and Hastings, to help prepare and inspire primary school teachers to get the most out of the January 2010 MusicQuest concert tour.

The MusicQuest collaboration, between Yamaha, Classic FM Music Makers, the Philharmonia and Children and the Arts, is a powerful one which brings high quality classical music performance, in a programme specially designed and delivered by the Philharmonia, to primary school children who may not normally get to experience classical music of this calibre. The aim is to inspire young musicians and to help primary teachers to get lasting benefits from their involvement in the project, to feed into their own teaching of primary school music.

Five cities are visited each year and primary teachers from the participating schools get a workshop, then a visit by musicians from the Philharmonia followed by an inspiring concert, usually for around 1000 children, in each of the cities.

The training days, led by early years expert Cathy Dew and Stephanie Slack, of the Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts, which organises MusicQuest, were inspiring and this year there was more emphasis on how the teachers could work with their classes to compose new pieces of music – and hopefully enter their pieces into the MusicQuest competition, which follows the concerts. The teachers all completed five different activities from the MusicQuest Book for Teachers, developed by Cathy Dew, including learning how to dance a minuet and to use works by Handel and Stravinsky as inspiration for new compositions by the children.

Responding to the initial workshop day, the teachers said:

"I didn't feel that the children would be very interested in classical music, but finding out the 'stories' behind some of the pieces we listened to, has made me think differently!"

"As a non-music specialist I find my ideas can be limited. However today has filled me with inspiration and I can see how easy it could be to bring this into the classroom. Thank you for such an enjoyable day."

"It has given me more confidence to experiment with music and instruments in general. Really good ideas and suggestions given today by both course leaders. Great workshops!"

The MusicQuest team is now preparing for the January concerts, with the Philharmonia. Pupils involved in MusicQuest will have the chance to meet musicians from the Philharmonia Orchestra in a hands-on workshop before attending the MusicQuest concert at their local concert hall. The workshops give pupils a chance to try one of many instruments, supplied by Yamaha, and learn different percussion rhythms with a professional musician – the same musician they will then see performing on stage later that afternoon!

Experience over the past two years has shown us that MusicQuest and its music clearly touches the hearts of both children and teachers. That it excites and inspires the children is no accident though. The fact that the children have listened to and learned about the music they'll hear in the concert long before they experience the awe-inspiring Philharmonia means that the concert isn't the children's first encounter with the chosen repertoire. MusicQuest continues to demonstrate the ways in which music – classical in this case – enhances and even changes lives.

The tour runs from 25-29 January 2010.

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(Posted 7/12/09)