Joanna Marsh Q&A: 80 school visits for 80 years of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

To celebrate the RPO’s 80th anniversary in 2026 you set the goal of visiting 80 schools across the country. Tell us a little bit about what a school visit from Joanna Marsh entails. 

I started visiting schools back in February in Newcastle upon Tyne in my very own primary school where I grew up, and will end in July, in Kent near where I live. By the time I reach my last school I will actually have visited over 100 schools, playing for over 20,000 children ranging in age from 3 to 18 years old. I’ve played for a variety of size groups, anything from 30 kids up to 500 in one sitting.  I will have played in many counties across the UK including Tyne and Wear, Northumbria, Essex, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Yorkshire, Surrey, East Sussex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Staffordshire, Kent and London. 

I have liaised with the most incredible music hubs and wonderful music teachers. It has been a privilege to meet these inspiring people and to support the wonderful work they are doing in schools.

My school visits consist of a 20–30 minute assembly. I start by telling them that I have a very exciting job and that all I need to take with me is a tubular case. When they’ve not known that it’s a musical instrument case, I’ve just loved some of the guesses from the younger students – a telescope, a leaf blower but my favourite was a dinosaur!

I play my flute to the kids, and include all sorts of music. I always play the pieces that were especially written for this project by composer John Rutter, the RPO's Artist Laureate. His 'Lullaby' immediately creates an atmosphere of calm in complete contrast to his 'Short Fast Show Off Piece'  where I have to play extremely fast! I also play a variety of music that I think the students will connect with and enjoy – music from movies, video games or pop songs. I’m always curious that they really sit up and listen when I play Bach, and I find it hilarious that they always howl with laughter within 5 notes of me playing the theme to Peppa Pig! I talk to them more about my job, playing my flute in the Orchestra, and how much I love being a musician. 

So far, this year, you’ve visited 70 schools across the country – from Kent to Tyne and Wear, from London to Yorkshire – what have these visits revealed about the hunger for music in UK classrooms?

As an orchestral musician I think it is easy to take what we do for granted and it’s been so refreshing to break down the barrier between the platform and audience. I’ve loved the opportunity to perform up close to  thousands of kids and to see their reactions. Some of the schools have not had access to much music education and some of the students have never been to a real concert, and it has been so wonderful to see their reactions to music, and it has been clear how much they have all enjoyed it. For some students, I am the first musician they have met and heard, and it has been a real pleasure to introduce them to live music.

What is one of the most unexpected or memorable moments to come out of these school visits? 

There have been many memorable moments during my projects but these three stand out for me:

• The first was at the end of an assembly. I quite often play while the kids leave the hall, and on one occasion after everyone had left the hall a very special little girl came running up to me and continued to dance in her own little world for a few minutes while I played, just for her. The connection between the music and her felt so special.
• The second was in another school where there is very little opportunity for music lessons due to financial difficulties. The headteacher wrote to me that after my visit the children were determined to start their own orchestra. They got together their own little group either clapping, tapping or whistling and performed to her 'The Whistling Song'.
• And finally on a personal note, I was going in to do an assembly at my nephew’s pre-school. He was so excited and proud to tell everyone who I was, that by the end of the assembly, the entire group was calling me 'Aunty Jo'!

What was a life-changing moment in your musical journey when you were at school? 

I started the flute after I heard the very famous flautist James Galway playing on TV when I was around 7 years old. I thought it was the most wonderful sound I’d ever heard. From that moment on I was totally determined to be a flautist. 

What advice would you give to any school-aged aspiring musician? 

I would encourage anyone to play a musical instrument primarily because it’s so much fun. I’d recommend choosing one that you love the sound of, because it’s going to be your voice and your way of expressing yourself. Play music you enjoy and try playing with other musicians. Listen to lots of different types of music to try and discover what you like and try to go to a live performance.

After all these years of playing the flute professionally, I still love it and think I have the best job in the world.