The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is strongly committed to passing on our passion through our Learning and Participation work, aiming to deliver dynamic, inspiring and participatory music-making projects with participants of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
Intergenerational project ‘Musical Conversations’:
The Academy has recently worked with a school in Newham to form an intergenerational orchestra. We invited local older people to join a composition project with Year 7 students with the aim of tackling the loneliness and isolation faced by many older people, and trained two teachers to run intergenerational music projects independently. The group worked with our musicians, a workshop leader, a filmmaker and a theatre maker to create ‘My Song for You’, a piece inspired by Dvorak’s ‘Serenade.’
‘You can start to feel very isolated as you get older. It’s wonderful to come here, make new friends and learn new skills.’ (Participant.)
Joshua Bell, our Music Director, has generously donated the proceeds of the Glashütte Award to this fund, enabling us to continue delivering intergenerational music projects in 2020.
Film by Chuck Blue Lowry
The Academy also deliver composition projects for young people internationally, inspiring young people of all musical abilities to create and perform a new piece of music. An animateur leads the project, using Academy repertoire as a springboard for young musicians to collaborate with each other and create a new piece. Academy musicians and music teachers are part of the ensemble, coaching players to perform at the highest possible standard and performing on stage with them.
Our most recent international project took place at the Sydney Opera House and was a stunning success – it was featured on the national news, was the subject of a documentary for Australian television and received a standing ovation from the audience.
View our safeguarding policies
Safeguarding Policy: Children
Safeguarding Policy: Vulnerable Adults