Applications for the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra 2019 course are now open! The deadline is midnight on Saturday 15 December 2018. Good luck!
My summer making music with the NSGSO
Written by Sian Willams
From 28 July to 5 August 2018 I participated in the National Scout and Guide Symphony Orchestra summer course in Stourbridge. The concert band summer course ran alongside the orchestral one at the same venue.
The week-long residential course provides a unique music-making opportunity to make new friends, learn new skills, improve your musical ability and have fun. The week is jam-packed with sectional and full rehearsals with professional tutors and conductors for both the orchestra and the concert band, combined social activities, and two concerts for the orchestra at the end of the week. The concert band often do informal concerts at local places of interest throughout the week as well as their own concert on Saturday. The two ensembles come together for a joint piece at the end of both orchestral concerts.
The repertoire for both is varied. The concert band often perform film music, arrangements of famous orchestral works and upbeat pieces, while the orchestra performs a symphony followed by fun and famous orchestral works.
This year’s social activities included a pretend campfire, a water fight, sports, quiz night, the famous NSGSO ceilidh, NSGSO and NSGCB Has Talent, badge swap and other traditional guiding and scouting activities.
Rehearsals are interspersed with workshops – this year, musicians from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (where our concerts were held) organized a musical murder mystery afternoon, involving all the staff as suspects. The encouragement and support of the professionals meant a safe performance space for all, where no one felt embarrassed to put their music theory to the test, share ideas and even perform in front of each other, whether individually or as part of a group.
Whether you’re Grade 8 standard on three instruments or if you’ve just taken your Grade 5 music theory, there’s a place for you at NSGSO or NSGCB. An incredible musical experience, you will have an amazing time on this course and thoroughly enjoy every minute of it!
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