SERVICE DETAILS
On This, A Winter’s Night is a creative performance project for upper primary schools conceived as a celebration of song, verse, music and light to mark the turning of the year and the transformation of the autumn season into the magic of winter. With poetic and artistic responses to winter and its many varied festivals, it brings together songs from around the world from a rich mix of genres alongside original creative writing and beautiful handmade lanterns made by the participants which light up the stage of the end of project performance.
The number of singers and schools involved depends on the size of the venue for the final event. Following a CPD session with all teachers involved, Love Music delivers 4 or 5 singing workshops for each school class or choir to develop singing techniques, support teachers in the learning of the materials and provide an exciting and inspirational lift to all taking part. Class teachers and choir leaders continue the learning in between visits, and for the final workshop singers are joined by guest musicians who sing alongside the choirs in the performance event with a professional band.
Learning is supported with both written and audio resources, meaning that teachers don’t need to be able to accompany their groups, but instead can use the audio tracks provided.
The performance day is exciting, with all singers meeting each other and singing together in a massed choir for the first time. Each group has the opportunity to listen to and learn from the others as they rehearse their songs alongside the professional musicians. The rehearsal schedule is carefully organised so that each group has adequate breaks in the day and so the singers are ready to perform with enthusiasm and energy in the event!
We asked the teachers who have taken part in the project to tell us what they thought the long-term educational or personal impact of the project on their students would be, and they told us:
– Increased confidence
– Life-long memory
– Opportunity for children to understand and respect the needs of others
– Sense of pride, self-respect and achievement
– Deeper understanding of musical vocabulary
– Increased independence when singing and performing
– Improved awareness of the importance of diction
– Ability to sing in two parts – skill of listening but not listening!
Get in touch with us if you’d like us to deliver this beautiful project in your venue or for your festival.
On This, A Winter’s Night was developed in partnership with The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh.
