East London Music Group visited Edinburgh Primary School last Thursday, giving special performances to the children to mark the beginning of our new school partnership programme.
ELMG’s school visit began by greeting the students at the gate with a fanfare of popular songs, from O When the Saints to The Wellerman. Performing songs that were familiar to the children on unfamiliar instruments and in a new setting provided the perfect introduction to learning more about music and the ensemble.
ELMG Artists performing in Edinburgh Primary playground
Our professional artists then led the students through to the playground, ready to start the day. The children were certainly surprised and excited by the performances, and were keen to get involved by singing and clapping - even on such a rainy day!
Showcasing the Trumpet, discussing sound production with the children.
As the students entered the school, our musicians were stationed around the building, providing pop-up solo performances that showcased the character and style of each instrument. This idea was reinforced by the main events for today: the musical presentations for each year group.
The presentations were focused towards introducing each instrument by exploring their strengths, ranges, materials, history and repertoire. Instruments were paired with music that spotlighted them, including the Flute’s O Danny Boy, the Trumpet’s Spanish Flea, the Violin’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, and more. These sessions were highly interactive, encouraging the students to participate in discussion and ask questions directly to the musicians.
ELMG Artists welcoming students to school!
“We are really delighted to be working in Edinburgh Primary School, they have a fantastic environment, very talented students, and a great commitment to music-making. We are hoping that the school can become a real beacon of musical excellence in the borough.”
We look forward to continuing our school partnership with Edinburgh Primary with a series of performances, activities and through establishing a new school ensemble. Many studies have suggested that children who take part in regular organised musical activity tend to do better academically, and this partnership will help to both support the learning curriculum and boost music learning for all students involved.
ELMG artist performing in school as the students go to class.