Feeder and Induction Workshops review: September and October 2015 at Wellington School

The Feeder Workshop Series has a new home in the music department of Wellington School, Somerset. The first two workshops of the academic year took place in September and October bringing together 35 young musicians on the Feeder, Feeder Plus and Induction programmes playing a wide range of instruments and genres and all working within the theme of ‘Interplay’.

In the first workshop, course leader Matt Harrison and his core team of tutors, Dean Brodrick and Kate Graham, divided the players up into three smaller groups to practice an ensemble piece written by Matt. This was brought together and performed by the whole group along with another piece devised by Matt based on a children’s story featuring a group of unruly animals. The orchestra provided appropriate sound effects for each animal in a fun final performance.

The second workshop, in October, took its cue from the second movement of the Fifth Symphony by Sibelius, particularly the Swan’s Theme. The students were broken up into smaller groups this time: Matt, Kate and Dean were joined by guitarist Andy Moore and all-rounder Mary Keith, exploring themes suggested by Sibelius’ melodies. There was also an afternoon session on performance and stagecraft given by the noted Headbangers theatre workshop group leaders Sandy Akerman and her son Dan, which proved a big hit with the participants. The final concert showcased the smaller group work which segued into an ambitious attempt at playing a significant part of the symphony itself.

The students are looking forward to the next pair of workshops, in January and February 2016, which will explore the theme of ‘Creativity’. A big thank you to all the tutors and to Andrew Trewhella, the Head of Music at Wellington School, for making us feel so welcome.