Royal Northern College of Music welcomes 83 young people for a day of group music-making with Modulo

Making lifelong memories at our third meet of the spring…

After kickstarting our spring Modulo meets in Birmingham and London, the Orchestras for All team took to the road once again to bring the charity’s powerful music-making programme to students in and around the city of Manchester.

Held at the Royal Northern College of Music, the third Modulo event of the season was attended by 83 young people from six maintained schools in the UK – including Hathershaw College, Bellerive, Bridgewater, Philips, St Patrick’s and Ullswater – and with bassoons, drum kits and electric guitars in the room, what a wonderful sound they all made.

With a revitalised push for more music in schools following the national plan for music education, the Modulo Programme exists to support teachers and community music leaders in setting up a small, inclusive ensemble of their own, before inviting participating students to team up with others from across the country to play together as one giant orchestra.

From soothing warmups with our Artistic Director, Emma, and a friendly greeting from Ambassador and former National Orchestra for All member, Haseeb, to an energising orchestral rendition of of an 80s pop classic, our Modulo meet in Manchester was surely a day to remember. Scroll down for a few of the highlights!

Read more: This gallery of 108 young Modulo musicians gathering in London is the wholesome content we all need >

On behalf of everyone at Orchestras for All, we would like to thank our funders, Arts Council England, the Department for Education, 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust and the Rayne Foundation, and each of our individual donors, charity volunteers and loyal supporters who help make the Modulo Programme possible.

Keen to support a young musician on the Modulo Programme? Please donate today:

Conductor José Salazar announced as special guest at National Orchestra for All’s summer concert

Pictured: Venezuelan violinist and conductor, José Ángel Salazar-Marin

“Music shouldn’t just be for the educated; our responsibility as musicians is to find new ways of making it accessible to everyone.”

Orchestras for All (OFA) is delighted to announce that José Ángel Salazar-Marin has been appointed as guest conductor at National Orchestra for All’s forthcoming summer concert.

Titled ‘The Way We See It’, the highly-anticipated recital, which is free to attend, takes place on Friday 29 July at the Albert Hall Conference Centre in Nottingham and celebrates all that the 100-strong ensemble has achieved over the past two years – and with José leading the way, it’s sure to be an afternoon to remember.

The esteemed violinist and international Maestro first rose to fame at the age of 14 after participating in Venezuela’s prestigious El Sistema programme, which seeks to use music education as a vehicle for social change – cultivating an ‘affluence of spirit’ that today brings hope, joy and positive social impact to 400,000 children throughout the country as well as their families and local communities.

Despite growing up in a household with very little exposure to orchestral music, José’s involvement in El Sistema opened new doors of musical opportunity and the talented teenager soon found himself leading between 70 and 80 musicians in the Youth Orchestra of Nueva Esparta – earning him a media reputation as the ‘world’s youngest conductor’.

Since then, José’s career has taken him to new heights and he is currently Artistic Director at El Sistema Greece, where he hopes to inspire other young people who might wish to follow in his footsteps – making him the perfect person to lead the way at National Orchestra for All’s musical extravaganza.

Read more: National Orchestra for All is coming to Nottingham this summer with a powerful end-of-season concert >

We caught up with José ahead of the concert (watch video above), to find out more about conducting and why breaking down barriers to music-making is so vital…

Who or what inspired you to become a conductor?

“The first conductor I saw was Thomas Clamor – he was in Venezuela to work with a brass ensemble. I saw how happy he was, with all these marvellous gestures and smiles – how all this energy was just flowing around and how this environment was created.

“Apart from the music and its quality, I could feel that everybody was part of something – connected – and I just thought, ‘I want to be part of that’.”

Are you looking forward to working with National Orchestra for All this summer?

“What you do is marvellous. I’m really happy that you are the kind of organisation that is doing so much good for a lot of people. I’m excited and motivated to join you but also, I think this will be a really nice learning experience as well.

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“I’ll do the best I can working with all these talented young people but everything that I receive from them will give me a lot of ideas about how to move forward. When I talk to teachers, I say that we’re like superheroes with a belt of different tools. I think that by [working with] Orchestras for All, it will give me some tools that I don’t have in my belt, so I’m really looking forward to it!”

“I think the best conductors are those who are really connected to people,” says the young Maestro.

What is the role of the conductor in terms of supporting the wellbeing of young musicians?

“I think a conductor is a facilitator and motivational coach. You have to bring out the best in young people but at the same time, be sensible enough to recognise what they need. You need to facilitate the process in which they’ll discover what they need and then express it.

“It’s just as important to focus on the artistic quality of what we do and as a musician, I try to pass on the best qualities I can. So yes, we are an educational programme, we are focused on wellbeing and we want young people to grow and develop themselves in a human way but also, we’re giving our best artistry-wise. My mission is to bring these things at the same level and always work on them in parallel.”

Read more: ‘We need to support the next generation of change makers’ – arts expert explains why wellbeing is vital for young musicians >

Can you share three top tips for aspiring conductors?

“First of all, you have to really love music – kind of become obsessed with it! Read about it, live with it, listen to it, compare it. As a conductor, you become a bit like a researcher – you’re always looking for new ideas and have to renew the ideas that you had because times change and we need to adapt.

“The second thing is that I don’t think the autocratic image of the conductor exists anymore; it’s more about team-playing, being a musician, being part of a group and enabling people to make music or express and discover who they are through music.

“The third thing is to never lose touch with humanity. Sometimes, when you get into the music business you can become too stiff or old-school, so I think the best conductors nowadays are those who are really connected to people – who are gentle, humble and open, always trying to make people feel good.”

José Ángel Salazar-Marin will be joining National Orchestra for All this summer as guest conductor.

What is the future of orchestral music?

“There are many new and interesting things happening – the inclusion of more female composers in the repertoire, the inclusion of more female conductors and musicians, and having an orchestra running programmes for the community. It’s not only about the image of the orchestra wearing a bow-tie and a nice concert hall but also, the image of an orchestra that plays on the street for people or who sits with the audience.

“As an institution, we need to invent new ways to motivate people to come into this world of music. Music isn’t something that should just be for the educated; our responsibility as musicians is to find new ways of making it accessible to everyone.”

Why should others join Orchestras for All’s mission to break down barriers to group music-making?

“Doing something good for others is as good as doing something for yourself – we live in a community. We’re social beings and I think that when others are better, you are also part of something better. The mission of an organisation like Orchestras for All – or of organisations like El Sistema and Sistema Greece where I work – is about bringing art closer to everyone and building a better society.

“The real value of music is watching people grow – creating spaces where there is dialogue, inclusion, no discrimination, respect for feelings and emotions, and where you motivate young people to help each other, listen to each other, be patient and discover new things as a team.

“You can have an orchestra of 300 young people and maybe only three or four will become professional musicians – but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that these experiences and the training will stay with them for the rest of their lives. When they grow up and go into their chosen field, they’ll always remember these values. So, [OFA] is an organisation worth supporting for the betterment of everyone.”

Book free tickets to National Orchestra for All’s summer concert >

Orchestras for All’s Artistic Patron, Sian Edwards, shares her expert advice on how to lead an ensemble

Royal Academy of Music conductor, Sian Edwards, took to Zoom earlier this week to impart her ensemble leadership wisdom...

Whether you’ve never conducted before or are a little rusty after spending a year in lockdown, there’s plenty to be learned from Sian Edwards.

Born in West Sussex, the English musician is known for her inspiring work as Head of Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she currently directs the Masters course and Sorrell Women’s Conducting Programme.

To celebrate the recent launch of Orchestras for All’s exciting new Music Leadership Training programme – specially designed to boost the skills of music teachers and community leaders – Sian joined online audiences for a webinar yesterday (23 February) to share her conducting experience.

Before the event, we caught up with the musical maestro (see video above) to find out more about how to work with an inclusive ensemble, handy techniques for teachers and why young people should join an orchestra.

Read more: Music Leadership Training programme launches with exclusive series of webinars >

“Just remember that music is all about breath,” says music educator Sian Edwards

When asked what piece of advice she would give to a new music leader, Sian said: “Just remember that music is all about breath. Your first in-breath and how you start the music is going to have so much influence on how the music sounds – even if your musicians aren’t really watching you at first!

“I think that’s a great basis for both the players and the conductors to start off from, and it makes us realise we’re all coming from a fundamentally very human place and unifies everybody straight away.”

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Speaking to young people about why they should join an orchestra, she added: “If you’re playing an instrument, it’s great to be playing with other people!

“Sometimes orchestras can seem very noisy and the sound isn’t in tune, so it can be quite a hard thing to get started with but as soon as you get used to the fact that you’re part of a group all working together, you’re going to get something at the end that makes you really quite proud.”

Sian Edwards, Head of Conducting at the Royal Academy of Music

Since graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, Sian’s achievements have included conducting Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny for Scottish Opera (1986),  Verdi’s La traviata at Glyndebourne (1987) and the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s operatic masterpiece, Greek, at the Munich Festival in 1988.

In the same year, she made her debut at the Royal Opera House to lead musical performances of Tippett’s The Knot Garden and has also worked as Music Director at English National Opera, where she conducted Prokofiev’s The Gambler.

Find out more about Music Leadership Training >

‘An orchestra is a representation of an effective society’, says Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend

From fugues to folk music, and everything in between, meet our new Artistic Director, Emma Oliver-Trend…

What’s your earliest musical memory?

I think that would have to be recorder lessons with my mum! My brother, sister and I were all home-schooled by our mum for a while as she was a school teacher and part of that involved learning how to play the recorder, so I think my earliest musical memory was standing in the lounge with them aged four playing lots of different tunes.

By the age of five I had joined Exeter Children’s Orchestra, so I can also remember meeting in a school with my sister and other young musicians for a two-hour rehearsal every Saturday morning and sitting on these little benches because we were all so tiny! 

I think that may have been some of the most valuable musical training for me – when I first started, I don't think I could play the recorder but very quickly you learn through doing.

Read more: Music podcast highlights need ‘to take meaningful action against inequality’ – here’s how to listen >

Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend plays the violin as a young girl

Tell us about yourself and your role at Orchestras for All.

I’m very proud to now be Artistic Director at Orchestras for All and my professional career has spanned well over two decades (can you believe?) in both the arts and education sectors.

I started out at the Welsh College of Music & Drama (now Royal) before completing my Master’s degree at Dartington College of Arts. Then I worked administratively at some amazing organisations, Music Theatre Wales, Welsh National Opera and Dartington Arts.

I also worked as a producer, collaborating with vocal animateurs – but because I was a practising musician, I wondered if maybe it was my calling to be the person leading rather than producing behind the scenes.

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Later on I trained to become a secondary school music teacher as I was keen to learn more about learning – and I come from a family of teachers, so I guess this area has always been my destiny!

By then, I had a good handle on education and decided to stretch my experience, so now I’m a freelance music practitioner and really love it here at Orchestras for All. I’ve created musical arrangements, conducted ensembles and worked with Marianna and the team on forming the artistic programme. 

Emma Oliver-Trend leads the way at a concert with National Orchestra for All

I enjoy focusing my thinking on the how. Choosing the right repertoire is key, but it’s what you do with it that counts. With every community project, you seek to improve the lives of the people you’re working with – it’s important to think about musical and social outcomes.

Has this influenced the development of National Orchestra for All’s Spring theme?

Definitely! Our new theme is ‘The way we see it’ and it’s all about youth voice. While that’s presented in our repertoire, the way we actually run our rehearsals and how we involve young people in our decision-making ties in with the theme too. For me, it’s about community and the relationship between music and society. 

To get that across, we’re using ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ – an amazing composition written by Benjamin Britten – as the springboard for this season with NOFA and I’m currently working on the arrangement.

Read more: A tribute to Lucy Hale, former Young Composer-in-Residence at National Orchestra for All >

It’s often heralded as the piece that teaches young people about instruments but it’s so much more than that; it presents many different textures. The famous opening theme (the ‘Rondo’) is presented with a unified orchestra that represents solidarity. 

As the piece goes on, you have four instrument families all speaking to each other and then the variations kick in, which allow each instrument to say something unique – there are some rather strong characters in there! Britten made lovely choices when supporting these instruments – for example pairing the oboe line with the violas and lower strings.

Of course, you also have that wonderful fugue where each instrument is heard with its own entry and you get real clarity. Unlike a lot of music that you hear which has a main melody on top, fugues take on an egalitarian form. Everyone is equal and has the same challenge, which I love – you can hear so many layers!

At the end of the piece, you have this amazing moment that always brings me close to tears. The main theme comes in with the bass instruments again… It gives me goosebumps just talking about it! It’s the perfect piece to help us present the idea that an orchestra can reflect society.

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You have solidarity where everyone speaks as one, individual voices can have their say, and a diverse group of people are supported by others who they didn’t expect to meet. There are even agreements and disagreements in this music, so it’s definitely a true representation of today’s society! I can’t think of a more suitable set of principles to explore through music today. 

Alongside Britten, we’re going to be creating two new pieces with NOFA – a bespoke digital project and a live creative work.

Emma Oliver-Trend conducts the National Orchestra for All

What do you enjoy the most about working with young people?

I love the energy they give you. If you want your young people to be energetic and responsive, you need to be energetic and responsive with them. It’s important to be authentic and nurture them in an environment that has a friendly, family-like vibe as I find they appreciate honesty and openness. Now more than ever, it’s important to give young people a voice.

Are inclusive ensembles the way forward?

Oh, absolutely – and inclusivity is central to our work here at Orchestras for All. We’re always looking for ways to improve and working with a wide range of partners to develop our practice.

It’s all about collaboration and we intend to stay at the forefront of those conversations, in the hope that we can inspire and empower even more young people throughout their lives and musical careers.

The former teacher shares her expert advice with aspiring young musicians

And finally, what piece of advice would you give to other young people who are interested in joining an orchestra?

My first piece of advice would be to join an orchestra that has a strong sense of community. Like I mentioned earlier, an orchestra is a representation of an effective society and that offers some real benefits, from boosting your confidence to developing your social and communication skills.

But I don’t mean just talking to people at break time – it’s all about the playing and special musical experiences where you are working really closely with your neighbour.

Since many rehearsals only take place once a week, my second bit of advice would be to play along with the music that you are learning at home. Try to get hold of a CD or recording of the piece and get used to hearing lots of different sounds while you practice your part.

Bring the ensemble into your home! When you all come together again, it’ll feel familiar and you’ll enjoy it much more as a result.

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