This summer, RPO Resound had the pleasure of collaborating with Orchestras Live and Deep Roots, Tall Trees (DRTT) to deliver a series of music workshops at a youth club in Corby. Through youth-led exploration of a variety of instruments and musical styles, the workshops resulted in a sprawling and adventurous EP, co-written between the young participants and RPO musicians.
RPO Resound works to find imaginative ways to facilitate impactful musical experiences for communities across the UK who might not otherwise have access to a rich musical life. Northamptonshire is one of our key residency areas, where we have a significant history of activity, including our Noisy Kids concerts, open rehearsals and work in SEND schools. Having already fostered connections within the city, we are excited to further strengthen our involvement across the county by establishing relationships with local community leaders in Corby.
Our team worked with Yvette Riby-Williams, a musician and active workshop leader in many community projects both within and outside the Northampton area. Alongside RPO musicians, Yvette worked closely with the DRTT youth leaders to aid the young participants in exploring their own musical interests through a variety of activities, encouraging collaboration and knowledge exchange while fostering a sense of belonging within the local youth and arts space. The young people had the opportunity to tap into their own musical identities by learning and speaking about music with one another, trying out different instruments, and participating in group songwriting and composition.
DRTT youth leaders were pleased to observe how the young participants developed their own creative instincts in different ways, with some young people taking to particular instruments with excitement and enthusiasm, and others gaining confidence over time, growing increasingly comfortable to share their musical ideas with others. Their different interests and learnings eventually came together in the form of an EP that showcased the individuality of each person’s contribution while also facilitating a sense of collectivity and agency among the group:
‘[The EP] had sections influenced by different things that the young people were interested in, what they were reading, what they were listening to, what they were talking about. So it very much came from them,’ explains Tilly Woodhouse, RPO Resound’s Community and Education Project Manager.
Many young people shared that the workshops inspired them to pursue new musical interests in the future, as well as general satisfaction and excitement to have created a piece of music that truly represented their time together:
‘I like how [the workshop] unites everyone…and we all get like different parts to bring together - the layers of everyone’s different ideas,’ shared one participant.
RPO Resound shares this sense of inspiration and excitement, as we see the successful collaboration with Orchestras Live and DRTT to have connected the group with an impactful and dynamic musical experience. The workshops strengthened the participants’ relationships to their local youth services in Corby, while allowing them to discover the many benefits of music-making. We look forward to using the momentum and excitement of the experience to further invest in the area and continue our work towards connecting communities and individuals with impactful musical opportunities.