Group: Vache Baroque
Project: A History of Sound – educational workshops
Grant: £5,530
Fund: Thematic Arts, Culture & Heritage
Vache Baroque aims to bridge the gap between classical music and poverty, through live classical music performances and participation engagement. This grant enabled Vache Baroque to create an educational outreach programme for primary schools in deprived areas across Buckinghamshire. With two partner schools, Vache Baroque held workshops called ‘A History of Sound‘.
The ‘A History of Sound’ project enabled diverse communities who would not ordinarily have the funds to experience similar arts and culture events, to engage with classical music and its history. Children were able to create their own music and write their own songs, helping improve their mood, and provide them with a valuable creative outlet. This allowed the children to engage in school more positively through higher levels of concentration, resulting in the children making large progress with their learning. Listening to classical music improves memory and reduces stress, which greatly improved the children’s mental wellbeing. Performing their songs increased their self-confidence with over 86% of children reporting a desire to sing more or play an instrument. Through the post-workshop activities and signposting to local opportunities, such as choirs, the impact of the project has had a long-lasting effect, with more young people attending after school activities and increasing their socialisation skills.
Due to the success of A History of Sound, Vache Baroque are developing a programme specifically for SEND young people. This will allow even more children to experience a live classical performance, which they may have been unable to due to accessibility.
Case study
After participating in a History of Sound session pupil A said he wanted to learn to play an instrument and be part of a musical group.
He stated that the workshops made him feel happy. He was completely invested in the participatory element of the workshop and stated that he’d played both the drum and the violin. During the session he stated that he had learnt to play an instrument and also understand the science of sound waves.
In response to how the session made him feel, he responded with “It felt like I was in a different world”.
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