The day starts at Sandwick Junior High where all the primary years (82 pupils) gather, and we introduce our instruments - the clarinet, oboe, cor anglais, bassoon and violin. The pupils are bright and curious, with many questions! We play a short concert of pieces that feature each of the instruments from our project repertoire of Renaissance dances and Spanish pieces. They listen well, and we teach them to sing Cabrillas Galopando (Galloping white horses - referrring to the white crests of ocean waves) in 5 parts, and finish up with Warlock’s Mattachins (Sword Dance) from the Capriol Suite.
On to Dunrossness Primary where we meet with 95 pupils, plus some of the nursery children who are curious to see what is going on in the hall and come in and out. We start with the introductions and concert (more excellent questions from the pupils), then take lunch - a tasty lentil and ham soup from the school kitchen, sandwiches, yoghurt, fruit salad and brownies. It is John, the janitor’s last day at the school after 37 years there. There are extra treats to mark the occasion in the staff room, and we dedicate the afternoon’s Sword Dance music and choreo extravaganza to him.
After lunch we collect all the pupils together again with rhythmic clapping games led by Stu, then Caroline teaches a basic Pavane step. Thus primed for the next activities, those children who have brought their musical instruments to join us go off with Stu and Caroline to put the music of Mattachins together whilst I take everyone else for movement accompanied by Lydia on oboe and Jo on bassoon. I warm them up with a slo-mo goblin version of Grandmothers Footsteps, instructing them to freeze in their best grotesque shapes and faces when I turn - two groups, taking it in turns to be the watchers and the goblins. It’s hilarious, yet very focused, and some great shapes and faces. Then choreography - still in two groups so there are “Elizabethans” vs “Armada” and they face off from opposite ends of the hall - a Renaissance-dance inspired Sword Dance with fierce battle faces and strong “sword” arms. They pick up the moves quickly and in the space of 45 minutes we have a complete dance.
The musicians return to the hall and we pull the whole piece together - music and dance. We are impressed by how quickly the pupils have picked things up, and the levels of focus and engagement all round.
After this we head to Hymhus for Bigton Band - run by Alice and Annelie - with 12 student musicians ranging from primary to secondary, on a variety of instruments. A few had just done Mattachins with us at Dunrossness so Stu encourages them to teach this to the others, and uses this as a basis for a Sword Dance jam with drones underscoring melodic variations. Stu invites Ruben on bass (Shetland Junior Musician of the Year) to lead, Caroline - who is leader on violin for CHROMA - teaches him how to indicate the start with an extra movement of the bow, allowing time for the wind musicians to breathe first. The resulting improvisation on a theme is rather brilliant. We round off the session with a lively go at the 5 parts of Cabrillos Galopando made all the more fun by the arrival of Jonathan who joins his sons to form the tenor section.
After such virtuosity from all the young folk we’ve worked with we stagger back to our hosts’… very tired but very happy. We then head into Lerwick for fish and chips supper (excellent, of course) and gently chew over the day as a group.
After which I drop into Alice and Jonathan Ritch ‘s to unspool the end of the day with them and the children. We talk about rubic cube algorithms, Harry Potter characters good vs bad vs all mixed up, Paradise Lost and learning French. I am always impressed with how much conversation the children of Shetland have. Never short of a topic to chat about!
Our thank yous today go to all the youngers in schools and Bigton Band - wonderful to work with you all! - to the teachers at Sandwick and Dunrossness who facilitated, joined in and were general cheerleaders for the day, to Alice and Annelie for the fab work you do with Bigton Band.
Blogging by Claire Shovelton
