The days may be shorter and the clouds may be darker, but the start of October brought excitement, new friendships and a lot of noise to Govanhill last week!
From 2nd-5th October, after many months of planning, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra took up residence in Scotland’s largest school – Holyrood Secondary – in the country’s most diverse community. The professional musicians of Scotland’s oldest orchestra not only performed for, but also played alongside, over a thousand children and young people from across Govanhill, including around 100 young musicians from Big Noise Govanhill.
The residency featured an amazing array of activities, from specialist performance and composition workshops delivered by music presenter and singer, Lucy Drever, to side-by-side rehearsals and a huge community concert, led by noted French conductor Chloé van Soeterstède.
Music has traditionally been a powerful uniting factor in Govanhill, where there are estimated to be over 50 nationalities living together. Big Noise Govanhill – established in 2013 – is already an integral part of the community, working with over 1,200 children from local nurseries, primary schools and secondary schools (including Holyrood). Recent evaluation of Big Noise Govanhill by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health shared feedback from local teachers that taking part in Big Noise helped children to improve their confidence, discipline and focus. It also highlighted that the Big Noise programme particularly helped children to acquire English, where it was not their first language.
The Govanhill Residency has been a truly inspirational experience for the participants from Big Noise Govanhill, many of whom have said they found it exciting and inspiring. And they weren’t the only ones!
Sistema Scotland are delighted to have enjoyed a strong partnership with BBC SSO for over a decade. This unique urban residency was brought about through the collaboration of BBC SSO, Sistema Scotland and Holyrood Secondary School, with support from Glasgow’s instrumental music service CREATE.
