Summer Orchestral Weeks: There’s No Planet B

Returning to Shrewsbury for a week of music, creativity, and fun!

NCO’s summer kicked off with a week of music, creativity and collaboration at Shrewsbury School, as our 12–13-year-olds came together for an unforgettable residential.

Rehearsals were at the heart of the week. Each day, the young musicians refined their pieces, collaborated with peers, and explored new techniques. These sessions flowed into full orchestra rehearsals, where the musicians’ skills and confidence grew each day, building up to the exciting concert at Bridgewater Hall.

With Henry Cookey, Ninja Warrior and NCO wellbeing lead, the orchestra discovered new ways to build trust, communicate, and work as a team, sometimes even without words. Dodgeball, ball-throwing challenges and taekwondo warm-ups brought energy and laughter, giving musicians a new perspective. Henry reminded the young musicians,

“The moves and skills you learn can be used in different ways. They help clear your mind, make you feel refreshed, and refocus your energy. When you return to your music, you’ll feel better and play better. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy yourselves.”

Thought for the Day brought inspiring moments during the week. Early on, our French Horn tutor Helen Kuby shared her own experiences with performance anxiety and offered practical, positive ways to manage it. Later in the week, Simmy Singh invited the orchestra to explore vocalising and singing together, as well as leading tree yoga in the sunshine, a joyful reminder of how movement and music can connect us.

Midweek, Surround Sound, led by Jonathan James, encouraged the players to create their own music inspired by the themes of the planets and the environment. Mixing instruments, ideas and imagination, each group built something unique, culminating in a sharing performance full of originality and teamwork.

Social media captured the spirit of the week perfectly. The bassoon section put together a ‘thrillifying’ Wicked tribute, performing Popular in full costume with handmade props and costumes. Our French Horns performed an arrangement of music from How to Train Your Dragon, pairing it with a story they devised themselves and performing it with props and homemade Viking helmets. These moments showed not only their creativity and sense of fun but also the energy and collaboration that ran throughout the week.

The week concluded with the There’s No Planet B concert at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. Conducted by Matthew Quinn, presented by TV presenter Naomi Wilkinson, the concert shone a light on the environment as our young presenters shared their insights on each piece and the themes behind them. Pieces like Sibelius’ Finlandia, Holst’s Jupiter, Debbie Wiseman’s Carnival of the Endangered Animals and Rachel Portman’s Endangered brought the theme vividly to life, and the audience’s thunderous applause was the perfect ending to a week of hard work, creativity and fun.