Young people from Big Noise Govanhill (Glasgow) and Big Noise Raploch (Stirling) recently took part in a very special performance for the Wester Hailes community.
Fourteen young people from Big Noise Govanhill (Glasgow) performed alongside seventeen young people from Big Noise Raploch (Stirling) for the special performance. Amongst the audience enjoying the music at the Westside Plaza was an enthusiastic audience of 6–8-year-olds, participants at our newest Big Noise centre in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh.
As part of their performance, the combined Big Noise orchestra played an eclectic and impressive collection of pieces, including a rousing rendition of Dvorak’s ‘Slavonic Dance No. 8’ and arrangement of a suite of traditional Scottish folk songs. The children from Big Noise Wester Hailes particularly enjoyed their rendition of the Jackson 5 classic ‘Blame it on the Boogie’ which had everyone in the Plaza – including weekday shoppers – on their feet and dancing.
Stewart Wilson, Head of Centre at Big Noise Wester Hailes, said;
“This concert was an opportunity for the newest members of Big Noise to see where their journey can take them. For them to see older young people who have spent years in the programme performing such a variety of music on a range of instruments was awe-inspiring and they couldn't stop talking about it for the rest of the day! We hoped the concert in the Plaza would announce our arrival in Wester Hailes and it was great to chat to community members who stopped to watch the musicians play.”
Guido de Groote, a Senior Musician at Big Noise Govanhill, said:
“Having our holiday club culminate with a concert at the Westside Plaza in Edinburgh was the perfect conclusion to another fantastic week of music-making for our young people. Seeing the children from Big Noise Wester Hailes in the audience was not just a reminder of just how far our young own people have come, but also a great opportunity for Big Noise’s youngest participants to see what they can achieve!”
Aarush, a participant in Big Noise Govanhill, said:
“Some of the pieces were really fast and fun to play like The Sailors Hornpipe, which starts slow and gets faster and faster until you're stumbling. I think I nailed it! I'd met some of the musicians before from Raploch but was really nice to play with them again. It made me want to practise harder and keep working as they're so good.”
