What we do
Inspiring the classical audience of the future
Synfonia is an orchestra of young professional musicians at the start of their careers. We take classical music into schools, working with children of all ages to inspire them within a familiar setting. Partnering with each school to create interactive programmes, we showcase the greatest pieces of classical music – famous works alongside those which are less well-known.
With so many perceived barriers to the enjoyment of classical music, our mission is to help children find a way in by connecting it with other aspects of their lives, in school and beyond. Using the stories and themes surrounding the music, our multi-sensory programmes encourage participation for children of all ages and abilities, whatever their musical background. Taking part in our events will enable children to access all the benefits that taking part in music activities can bring, from improving communication, teamwork and emotional intelligence to helping with maths and language skills. And along the way we’ll be nurturing a stronger and more diverse classical audience for the future…
Our parallel mission is to provide vocational training for young orchestral musicians taking the next steps in their careers. In an industry where early opportunities can be hard to come by, we give players the chance to hone their skills in a professional environment, whilst also offering additional experience in an educational setting. What’s more, working with musicians in their early 20s means that we keep the age gap between children and performers as narrow as possible, enhancing their relatability and further strengthening the impact of the events.
To find out more, or if you’d like to support us, please get in touch here.
Schools
The focus of Synfonia is one-hour events in schools – the feel of the events is lively and informal, and the children can get involved with the orchestra. Alongside the full orchestral events, we run workshops which help to create a relationship between the children and the musicians; their smaller-scale nature encourages an environment in which all children can feel able to participate.
Community
For our community concerts, we recreate the atmosphere and format of our school events in local non-traditional venues, staging occasional evening concerts for the whole community. This helps bridge the gap between the school events and a full concert experience.
Concerts
This is a longer-term aim – for the orchestra to stage concerts in mainstream venues. A proportion of the tickets will be available at a subsidised rate to those who have seen the orchestra in their local area.
