So what’s this Pick’n’Mix thing all about?

It’s great to see sign-ups coming in for our summer events – so we thought it was time to tell you more about what’s happening in our online course week, running 13-16 July!

We’ve teamed up with our fabulous course tutors to give your child the opportunity to try their hand at all sorts of things we don’t usually have time to touch on during the SScOT course. Each day we’ll cover composing, conducting, and improvising, with a bonus session on something completely different!

• Susie Dingle, our wind band conductor extraordinaire, will demystify the role of the conductor. What are they there for? How do you know how to beat different time signatures? How do you show the musicians you’re working with what you want them to do? Maybe you’ll get a taste for giving it a go yourself!
• Composer Katrina Gordon will guide participants through the creative process of writing their very own music. We’ll delve into sources of inspiration, make a graphic sketch score, scribble on some manuscript paper and finally, if you’re brave enough, share a performance of your work for the SScOT YouTube Channel!
• Not all music is notes on a page – join our brass conductor Fergus Kerr to explore concepts and techniques in improvisation. This will include the use of film and graphic scores as stimulus; exploring different sounds and textures that can be made using our instruments and our bodies; comparison of the common aspects of composed music and improvised music. Over the week we’ll work up to putting together a free piece performed live on Zoom in the final session.
• Joanna Petrie, conductor of SScOT’s string orchestras, delves into some of the darker side of classical music – which composer lived in a cupboard? When can conducting be really dangerous? What happens when you play a cursed trumpet? Plus madness, witchcraft, murder… don’t ever let anyone tell you classical music is boring!
• Sometimes performing can make us nervous, or sometimes we just feel like we can’t concentrate: Katrina Gordon explores some mindful breathing and movement exercises that can help all of us bring our focus back when we need it, whether that’s mid-exam, mid-performance or just during every day practice.
• The percussion section is truly the special effects section of the orchestra – in this session percussion tutor Polly McMillan shares some of the secrets of the sound effects you can make using things in your own home. No instruments required!

The workshops run 9.45am-12.30pm from Tuesday 13th to Friday 16th July and are open to anyone under 16 who plays an instrument at grade 2 upwards – and of course they can then join our Play Away Day on Saturday 17th July. The workshop week costs just £50, and £10 for the Play Away Day – or book them together for £55. Financial support is available for those who are unable to pay: contact [email protected] for more information.

We hope to see you there – Find out more and book online now!