Find out what happened during our last community project with the OAE
We’ve been working with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) for more than 20 years, and this year’s project was every bit as special. On 30 June, we welcomed the OAE back to Wiltshire Music Centre for a magical performance of The Fairy Queen, bringing together professional musicians, local schools and community performers in a celebration of music-making.
Based on Henry Purcell’s semi-opera of the same name, The Fairy Queen was reimagined as a community opera project, giving participants the opportunity to perform alongside world-class musicians. In total, more than 250 young people and adult singers took part, creating an unforgettable experience for performers and audiences alike.
The first performance took place in the morning and featured 184 pupils from Chapmanslade, Holbrook, Holt and Christchurch primary schools. The second performance, which was open to the public, took place in the evening and featured Year 5 pupils from Christchurch Primary School.
We were also delighted to welcome the Random Band, a group of 22 musicians from St Laurence School, who joined the evening performance. The adult choir included the WMC Chorus, our pop-up community choir made up of enthusiastic local singers, including siblings, parents and grandparents of many of the young performers.
Alice Howick from Chapmanslade Primary School said: “Many of our children have never been in a concert hall or seen an orchestra, let alone been part of an opera performance. It’s an experience they won’t forget any time soon.”
The OAE are known as one of the best baroque orchestras and are equally celebrated for their outstanding education programme. This is led by Cherry Forbes, which brings people of all ages together to create ambitious and inspiring performances.
WMC’s Head of Creative Learning, Cassie Tait, couldn’t miss out on the project and joined the adult choir herself. Reflecting on the experience, she said: “This was a magical project. The OAE community opera project gives WMC the chance to do what we do best: bring together professional musicians with singers and musicians from our local community of all ages and abilities to create something truly special on our stage. Every musician was equal and celebrated for the part they played. We’re hugely grateful to the OAE team for our continued partnership and can’t wait for the next one.”
The scale of the production and its strong community spirit gave us the opportunity to welcome new audiences to the Centre, including many performers’ families who were visiting us for the first time. It’s always exciting to see new people experience the joy and power of live music at Wiltshire Music Centre.
The scale of the production and its strong community spirit gave us the opportunity to welcome new audiences to the Centre, including many performers’ families who were visiting us for the first time. It’s always exciting to see new people experience the joy and power of live music at Wiltshire Music Centre.
We’d like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our funders for making this project possible: The Jack Lane Charitable Trust and GSW Music Education Hub. We’re also grateful to Arts Council England and Orchestra Live, whose ongoing support and funding help us sustain our work at WMC and with the OAE.
Photos by Jim Holland. Text by Emily Sladden.