August 15th 2018
In spring 2018, NCO's Under 13 Orchestra were tasked with creating their own piece of music. Here's what 5 of the young musicians made of the experience!
Until having this opportunity, I never realised that I could be part of creating something that sounded so new and exciting. The energy from everyone was amazing and John was inspirational; he not only made us believe that we could do this, but that we could do it really well.We experimented with different ways of how to express our emotions through the music, like the harps putting paper between their strings to make the effect of shivers down the spine, which represents the anxiety we feel when waiting for our results. Our aim was to share with the audience, the different emotions that we go through from the time of auditioning, then waiting for our results, then joining the course and making new friends, and finally the excitement of performing in the concert. I felt lucky to be part of this experience and really hope that I get the opportunity to do something like this again.
Alfie Weinberg
This was my first NCO course and it was incredible, the best week of my life so far! I did not know what to expect but my favourite part was composing our own piece. To start we began clapping rhythms and then picked out the best ones. We added tunes to each rhythm, and then put the rhythms with tunes in each one of the four sections… and suddenly we had done it!
It would be fantastic to get to compose our own pieces again. I learnt that if people work together they can get so much more accomplished than they ever thought they could.
Alex Miranda Zezula
I found this experience very fun and interesting. It was great to see the piece progress from just an idea to a full piece being performed in the concert, in only three days! Unlike the other pieces we were rehearsing, we did not have sheet music - just a sheet of the main tunes and a cue sheet. I think the main challenge we faced was that everyone had a different idea of what the piece should sound like, and we had to work as a team because we could not include every idea, which meant there were many brilliant ones we could not use!
I would definitely like to have this opportunity again in NCO. The composition process has enabled me to see that a small idea can transform into a brilliant piece of music. I am enjoying spotting what the composers’ original small ideas might have been in the new pieces I am learning!
Beth Parker
No Place Like… NCO was a unique experience for the Under 13 Orchestra and a very interesting process of evaluation; cutting unnecessary bits out and above all use our imagination.
I think it was a wonderful opportunity for composers in the making, and helpful for us as orchestral players because it put us in the shoes of a composer. I think after this experience, I understand more about compositions and music works in general – an understanding that can only come with this unique experience.
Emma Demetriades
It was so brilliant to be making up something completely new with so many talented people. Hearing completely separate ideas and little sections come together was just like magic. Having made such a long and complex piece, writing it all down in a clear way proved to be a problem. However, John brought in a very long sheet of paper so we could all figure it out. Then the next day, we had our own music written out that we had only just composed ourselves!
It was such a great experience, and I think I would definitely like to take part in another composition again. I think making a whole piece from scratch made me really think about how complex and exciting music is – and that we should always put a lot of effort into performing it as the composer would have wanted it, with the correct dynamics and such. I was so proud to play it with John at the final concert in Basingstoke.
Olivia Tredre
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