TYPE OF WORK
Participatory creative music-making alongside RPO musicians devising new music in preparation for a final showcase/performance.

TARGET GROUPS
Prisons, young people of all ages and cultures, young people excluded from school, homeless people, DJs, rappers, club musicians, jazz musicians, steel bands, African drummers, people experiencing problems with drug use.

GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
UK, Central and Eastern Europe

COMPANY POLICY
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) community and education department aims to create music as a motivator and catalyst for educational and social development, which should be available to people from all walks of life. It focuses on developing strong partnerships which are sustainable and mutually beneficial for all involved.

Past projects include training workshops for teachers and youth workers in which skills and expertise can be shared. Projects have also included working alongside musicians and artists from the local community and from a range of musical styles so that all participants extend their musical boundaries.

SCALE OF PROJECTS
Number of practitioners: 5–12
Number of participants: 30–250
Preparation time: Varies
Contact time: Half-day – 3 days

PERMANENT STAFF: 20
Ian Maclay, Managing Director
Ella Haines, Community and Education Manager
Cassandra Burt, Head of Concerts

Creative music projects in partnership with the Zone Youth Project (UK, 1997–ongoing)
The Zone is a youth programme that works with young disaffected people from surrounding council estates who have been excluded from school. The RPO/Zone partnership began six years ago and still continues today. Blocks of RPO/Zone workshops take place at regular intervals during the year, involving all the young people and youth workers in creative music-making and leading to an end performance. Aims focus on encouraging participants to work together, listen to and respect each other and to take creative risks and succeed in a supportive environment. Enhancing their self-esteem in line with The Zone’s usual work, mentoring sessions with the young people and staff also take place.

RPO in Kazakhstan (2002)
RPO musicians gave concerts with local professional musicians, masterclasses at the local conservatoires and worked with music students on introductory creative music workshops. There were also workshops and meetings with local NGOs, introducing the RPO community programme to them, and discussing possible ways of working together. A follow-up project is planned in partnership with the British Council after this initial visit.

Contact the company for details