Music in Schools: Islington Instrumental Inspiration Week

Young Artists inspire during Islington Instrumental Inspiration Week

Violinists, trumpeters and other talented Young Artists (YAs) recently took part in Islington Instrumental Inspiration Week. Run in collaboration with Music Education Islington, the week-long project set out to inspire youngsters to get involved with music through the GSMD introduction to music course or instrumental course.

Trumpeter Eliza Talman, one of 20 YAs involved, said: “This fun experience involved workshops at three primary schools, starting at Whitehall Park School with violinist Lily Harwood.

In front of 40 Year 3s, we began our first ‘inspiration’ session by playing duets ranging from ‘Over the Rainbow’ to Mozart, before introducing ourselves and our instruments. For a bit of fun, I took out the mouthpiece from my trumpet to spark a discussion on how it produces sound. In a later workshop, trumpeter Bradley Jones attached the mouthpiece to a piece of hosepipe – a technique I’ve used in participation projects – so the students could try making a sound themselves. Lily demonstrated the violin’s dynamic range.

To showcase the trumpet’s range of sounds and emotions, I played a popular Star Wars fanfare, contrasting it with a classical piece, Prince of Denmark’s March. Keeping things interactive helped to hold the pupils’ attention during the hour-long workshop so we played a game where they guessed who was playing the loudest, highest or lowest notes. We also got everyone involved with the “Tony Chestnut” song – a fun tune with playful wordplay and actions that had everyone pointing to different body parts. It brought plenty of smiles.

Using hands, the pupils had the chance to act as conductors while Lily and I played a duet. This activity helped them develop an understanding of music concepts such as tempo and rhythm and increased their awareness of their own musical genius!

Following the session at Whitehall Park School, I delivered similar ‘inspiration’ workshops at Vittoria and Canonbury primary schools alongside Chris Brewster (trombone) and Bradley Jones (trumpet). These sessions were shorter, with a greater emphasis on brass, but just as enjoyable. In one classroom, the pupils were creating newspapers called The Bugle, which made for a perfect introduction to our focus on brass instruments!”