The power of music
Last summer, in partnership with Bath Philharmonia and St Martin’s Garden Primary School, King Edward’s Music department delivered an impactful Community Music Outreach Project. The initiative aimed to bring live music-making opportunities to young people, particularly those in a local state primary school where, due to a number of factors, music education has diminished in recent years. The project also included an emotionally engaging collaboration with the Margaret Coates Centre Resource Base, supporting pupils with a diagnosis of an Autistic Spectrum Condition.
To mark Partnerships Week organised by the Independent Schools Council, we report on the success of the project.
A Four-Day Musical Journey
Building on the success of a similar 2023 programme, this year’s project centred around Rebecca Dale’s There Will Come and introduced tuned instruments to enhance engagement. Highlights included:
- Digital audio creation with pupils from the Margaret Coates Centre, supported by Bath Philharmonia’s Creative Learning Team and senior KES musicians.
- Observing world-class talent as pupils from St Martin’s Garden Primary watched international cellist Laura van der Heijden rehearse with Bath Philharmonia at The Forum, Bath.
- Hands-on workshops with pupils in Year 5 and 6, culminating in a live performance for parents featuring djembes, violins, keyboards, samba kit and ukuleles.
Impact and Outcomes
- Nearly 60 pupils from St Martin’s Garden Primary engaged with orchestral music for the first time and explored instrumental learning.
- Pupils from the Margaret Coates Centre accessed music as a universal language, with non-verbal participants expressing themselves through sound.
- Senior KES musicians developed leadership and empathy through mentoring roles.
- The partnership with Bath Philharmonia elevated the experience, creating a vibrant ecosystem of skill-sharing between professionals, teachers and pupils.
Voices from the Project
“All musical workshops filled our children with joy and inspiration, the children were captivated by the different styles of music.”
Tom Fogerty, Class Teacher, SMGP
“The children were transfixed by the orchestra and enthused to discover how to play instruments whilst creating their own musical story.”
Simone Homes, Executive Director, Bath Philharmonia
The outreach initiative delivered in partnership with our long-term Music partners, Bath Philharmonia, forms part of our wider outreach programme and our ongoing commitment to making a transformative difference to our community through the power of education.
