Judith Williams
Beneficiary, The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts, Education
Hello! I'm Judith - I teach at a school which has been taking part in the MusicQuest project organised by The Prince's Foundation for Children and the Arts.
The school has a catchment area which is economically disadvantaged, so many of our pupils are from underprivileged backgrounds and experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. Therefore we participated in this project as we believed it would greatly benefit these pupils, especially as they were to hear a live orchestra - an experience they would never have had otherwise.
I worked on this project with seven to ten year olds, which included pupils with complex learning difficulties. The project succeeded to excite these children and inspired them to create and compose. It was fascinating to watch their concentration and their feeling of satisfaction when playing an important part in class compositions.
They enjoyed listening to the orchestral classical music and especially the activities which involved movement. They loved marching to drum messages and creating minimal music using body percussion. We had a hilarious time learning the steps of the minuet!
We had an in-school MusicQuest workshop where the children learnt different percussion rhythms with a professional clarinettist. They were given the opportunity to hold and blow the clarinet, which they thought was "cool"!
However the climax was the MusicQuest concert at the theatre - an awesome experience! They thought the bassoonist was fantastic riding up and down on the instrument (as if it was a broomstick!) during the Harry Potter music. This was the first time for the children to hear and actually see orchestral instruments being played. The children were mesmerized!
Many pupils have expressed a desire to have instrumental lessons. The school is in liaison with the County Music Service for support. Also the local music shop has offered free taster lessons in their studios and many pupils have taken this opportunity.
MusicQuest has helped our pupils who have limited access to performances, instruments and music lessons, to gain greater experience and understanding of classical and orchestral music. It has enriched their lives and has been a most rewarding and unforgettable experience. This project has certainly been most beneficial and successful in our school.
