Education Projects
The Edinburgh University Music Society has a particular interest in its involvement with potential and budding musicians and has for many years taken part in activities across Edinburgh (and indeed the rest of Scotland), promoting music and getting children involved in classical music.
As part of this, every year we run a series of hour-long education projects aimed at P6 and P7 pupils from local primary schools, performing some classical pieces alongside a number of more contemporary arrangements.
The Event
The project is structured like a performance, with our cheerful presenters guiding the audience through the various sections of the orchestra and chorus, and of course there is plenty of opportunity for the audience to get involved (often with brilliant, if amusing, results).
The purpose of the day is to introduce the children to the world of orchestral and choral music, showcasing different sections of the orchestra and choir through arrangements of music that will be familiar to them, and music that will excite and impress (but not intimidate) them.
“I didn’t really think about classical music in films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Harry Potter. Now I think I will listen harder to films. I especially like the trombones!”
With the government’s current run of spending reviews, schools are feeling the pinch and the number of hours of music-based education has taken one of the biggest hits. Through our education projects we are able to give a large number of children the chance to experience a large orchestra and chorus whilst offering them a learning experience that they would otherwise miss out on.
This is a rare opportunity for most children, and we hope to encourage a fresh look on classical music and musicians by example: by demonstrating our passion and enthusiasm for what we do.
Getting Involved
We encourage the members of EUMS to get involved in the education project as it’s a great opportunity to explore any avenues that they might not have tried before, be it arranging a piece of music, or improvising in public, or trying to teach 400 7-year-olds vocal warm-ups!
We hope to show the various members in our society (not just music students) that promoting music is a fun and beneficial activity as well as a worthwhile profession, and we hope the project can be as much of a learning experience for our society members as for the primary schools students.
We ran a very successful day last year and are very much looking forward to sharing the experience again using knowledge gained from previous events to make it an even more enjoyable and educational afternoon. Keep a look out for the next education project which will be running in the coming spring!
If you are interested in finding out more or in getting your school involved, then contact our Community Outreach Manager at community@eums.org.uk and we will be more than happy to discuss any opportunities further with you.