Our Journey to the Moon
The beginning of November was particularly special for us – we all went to the moon together!
During lockdown, we have been harnessing the power of digital technology to connect with schools and young people across West Sussex.
To celebrate the fantastic work of some of our special schools – Littlegreen Academy, Queen Elizabeth II, Silver Jubilee School, Manor Green College and St Anthony’s School – we held a special event on 3 & 4 November at Chichester Cathedral. ‘Journey to the Moon’, synchronised perfectly with Luke Jerram’s artwork, Museum of the Moon an installation that has been at the Cathedral
Under the ethereal blue light of the moon, our young musicians gathered to make music together. From the start, everyone was captivated not only by the landscape before them, but also by the music so masterfully put together by the team from West Sussex Music. The students moved seamlessly between singing, playing rhythms, improvising and responding to create a landscape of music using a dazzling array of tuned and untuned instruments.
Looking at their eager faces, you could see how inspired and engaged they were by the whole experience; as were passing Cathedral visitors, an added bonus to their Journey to the Moon experience.
Judith Finlay, our Inclusion Project Manager shared her thoughts on the day:
“What an amazing couple of days with these inspiring young musicians.
After introducing repertoire and resources through online sessions, an accidental benefit forced upon us by Covid-19 our young people arrived at the Cathedral ‘in the zone’ and ready to travel to the moon!
We all loved being a part of these workshops, watching our young musicians explore and create confidently in a beautiful setting, but with familiar leaders to support their journey. These workshops were all about the creative process, the journey, but there was a real sense of pride and excitement around creating a finished piece and performing too!”
Rosie Gilbert from QUEII school shared her experience of the event:
“Once again West Sussex Music has gone above and beyond to create an incredible and memorable experience for our pupils. Today was magical and all our pupils loved it. There was so much learning taking place and activities to take part in and we all had a blast! Including myself. Thank you again for being so accommodating for our pupils!“
This Journey to the Moon workshop was created as part of our orchestras inc accessible music programme – A youth music funded project.
Music is an incredibly powerful tool providing positive benefits to children’s personal and social development. To find out more, click here.
