ROSL and the London Sinfonietta recently collaborated on three one-day workshops with GCSE music students to support them to develop and enhance their composition skills.
The workshops, funded as part of the inaugural ROSL Composition Award, were led by experienced composer and workshop leader Hannah Conway and also offered an opportunity for ROSL composition winners to hone their skills working with, sharing their experience and collaborating with young people. The workshops took place at Frederick Bremer School, Waltham Forest with Dominic Wills, Winchmore School, Enfield with Michael Small and Woodside High School, Haringey with Alex Paxton. They were all supported by London Sinfonietta musicians.
Each workshop saw the group take a piece by their composer and use it as stimulus for their own compositions. Dominic Will’s group were inspired by the lemur calls in his piece Indris, Michael Small’s group looked at antiphony and physical spacing of musicians to alter the sound inspired by his piece Antiphon and in Alex Paxton’s session the group took elements of chaos and calm from his album title track Music for Bosch People.
Claire Danso, Head of Music at Woodside High School said of the day “The students really benefited from the team's musicianship, professionalism and encouragement. The atmosphere was dynamic and buzzing!! The Headteacher loved it too! Personally I would like to inform you that the workshop was active, engaging and so cohesive! The team were so supportive and passionate about music. The students really got a lot out of the experience and enjoyed the active learning sessions. Brandon is listening to Alex's album as we speak!!”
