Playing music without music: Southampton's Young Musicians get creative with London Sinfonietta

On Saturday 12 February 2022, 37 young musicians from Southampton Youth Strings (SYS) and Southampton Youth Wind Band (SYWB) took part in a workshop day led by London Sinfonietta. Participants worked on a creative piece and another contemporary piece and it was a fantastic opportunity to work with some of the country's leading performers on a repertoire written by living composers.

John Hanchett, director of SYWB, says:

“its been a great day allowing the participants to explore a new style of music that gives them freedom away from the constraints of the written music.”

Patrick from London Sinfonietta says:

“All the performers made huge progress on two pieces, one about rhythm and one about sustaining a beautiful sound. They got used to extreme ideas quickly and embraced the challenge. They gave a musical performance to an enthusiastic audience.”

Sophie, a member of SYWB, says:

“Who knew you could play music without music!'

Ellen, a young musician from the day, added:

“It is different from anything I've ever done before. It was really nice to play something in a different genre, and it wasn't possible to get it wrong!”