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YCat musicians to give classes in musicianship
COMFORT AND JOY: For the first time, the UK’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) pre-recorded its annual festive concert ‘A Classical Celebration’ so that audiences could enjoy the seasonal tidings online. Recorded at St Albans Cathedral, the performance featured members of vocal group Voces8 and conductor John Rutter, well known for his settings of traditional Christmas carols. ‘We have particularly cherished our audience this year – whether virtual or in person – and look forward to performing for them and sharing the Christmas spirit,’ said RPO managing director James Williams.
Photo: courtesy RPO
In a new partnership, music education charity Music Masters and the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCat) are producing a series of sessions called Meet the Artists. For this project, a YCat artist will give a 20-minute session each month in 2021 to a Key Stage 2 Musicianship class via Zoom, where they will perform and talk about their life and music.
The musicians, who will engage with a total of 350 students across the year, will be challenged to design and deliver sessions themselves, with support from the Music Masters team.
This initiative follows US violinist Randall Goosby being named YCat’s inaugural Robey Artist in partnership with Music Masters in 2019. The Robey Artist undertakes an ambassadorial role for Music Masters, working closely with young students and becoming a classical role model. According to Music Masters, it is important for children to explore music and instruments from different cultures at an early age.
‘Bringing incredible musicians and our young students together has always been important to us,’ said Dafydd Evans, Music Masters’ senior learning manager. ‘We’re thrilled that YCat sees the valuable role their artists play in inspiring our young musicians. We will also be supporting the artists involved to take the lead in planning and delivering these sessions themselves, and ensuring they’re even better equipped to bring this type of work into their future music making.’
Randall Goosby
KAUPO KIKKAS