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Posted on: 21/01/2015HALLÉ IN THE SUN!
“No better way to introduce children to orchestral music!”
Arriving at the Bridgewater Hall we were all full of anticipation as we knew this wasn’t going to be an ordinary concert. It was a concert performed by Britain’s longest established professional symphony orchestra, the HALLÉ. When we were seated I could feel the sense of excitement ripple through the crowd. As the camera panned through the audience everyone sensed that they were in for a special experience.
Then the members of the orchestra started to trickle out and the audience gradually faded into silence. Moderately the sweet melody of the first piece filled the auditorium and we were all stunned by how all members of the orchestra worked as one to crescendo and ultimately diminuendo. Every piece they played had an intricate backstory and the HALLÉ helped us understand those stories through pictures, narrators and scratch and sniff cards. We were lucky this year as Mrs. Reeves states, “The theme last year was WW2 so the scratch and sniff cards smelt like the trenches! It wasn’t pleasant.” All these elements helped us understand the thoughts that went through the composers head when they were writing the music and as Mrs. Bray said, “There is no better way to introduce children to orchestral music than through the likes of the HALLÉ!”
I asked my form to sum up the HALLÉ orchestra experience we endured in just a few words, here are the words they came up with: “incredible!” “Classical,” “Relaxing,” and “Outstanding!” They also said it was a great example of the positive affect of teamwork as the orchestra had to co-operate to succeed. Personally my favourite part of the whole trip had to be when the audience sang ‘Turn to Shine’ it’s not every day you get the opportunity to sing with an orchestra. But not just any old orchestra, the best orchestra, the HALLÉ! Mrs. Bray commented, “It was a well-chosen programme and it was well introduced!” This was truly an experience year 7 will not be forgetting for a long time.
Written by Amelia Chesworth, 7SRead More
Posted on: 4/01/2015Halle Orchestra Visit - January 2014
On Wednesday 4 January, during periods 1 and 4, all of the year 7 went on a school trip to Bridgewater Hall to watch the Halle orchestra perform. All through the performance, the presenter was explaining the different types of instruments and what atmosphere they were trying to create through the entire piece. They were trying to take us somewhere and make us feel immersed in the music. They made the atmosphere of sledging down a mountain in the snow and the crashing of waves against the shore. To help create these atmospheres, there were cards handed out that had been sprayed with perfume. One of the scents was of bluebells in a magical kingdom and another was of the sea air when the waves were crashing against the shore. Later on, everyone joined in with a song called 'Turn to shine' which was especially composed for the occasion. Midway through the performance, children from a primary school played trumpets, drums and maracas, which they had learnt over a few weeks, along with some talented double bass players. The orchestra also played a well known background song from Indiana Jones and everyone decided to clap along. Overall, I thought the whole experience was spectacular and I'm sure all of my friends would agree. It has given me a greater appreciation of music that I wouldn't normally listen to.
By Amy Farrow 7SRead More
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Posted on: 21/01/2015
