Orchestra set to encourage musical youth

In Harmony Leeds will take place at Belle Isle’s Windmill Primary School after grants were awarded from the Arts Council and the Department for Education.

It will be the first chance for many of the pupils to get up close and personal with the power of a full orchestra in action.

Each child at the school will also receive their own musical instrument in January as well as taking part in daily music lessons, choirs and orchestras.

Rebecca Walsh, director of education at Opera North, said: “We are so exited about launching In Harmony Leeds with this event, which really places the children we’ll be working with at the core of the action.”

Windmill Primary School, where 92 per cent of pupils are from families classified as ‘hard-pressed’ and 60 per cent are eligible for free school meals, was selected through consultation with the local education authority, based on the potential to create the greatest impact for children and their families.

Ms Walsh said: “They will have a privileged, close-up view of an orchestra playing some of the most famous pieces of classical music just for them, including works by Britten, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Saint-Saëns.”

She added: “In Harmony Leeds is the first project of its kind to be delivered by an opera company, so singing will also be a major part of their day-to-day experience of the project – something that all children can relate to and participate in right from the start.”

Opera North have described the project as a ‘substantial investment’ in an area of Leeds which is among the most deprived in the country.

Sally Sumpner, headteacher of Windmill Primary School, said: “This will really change the nature of the school and leave children with a life skill. They absolutely loved the launch.”