This semester the Edinburgh University Music Society will be running an education project aimed at Primary 5-7 aged pupils from the local area. Continuing on from the success of several years of the project running, over 420 pupils from seven schools will be attending the event at the Reid Concert Hall.

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. There will be lots of participation opportunities for them too.

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.

This is a rare opportunity for most children, and we are looking to encourage a fresh look on classical music and musicians through example: demonstrating our passion and enthusiasm for what we do. We also hope to show the variety of people we have in our society (not just music students) to promote music as a fun and beneficial activity as well as a profession.

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 event will be running on the 21st March 2012.