Who we are

I’m a product of this country’s music education system. Being involved in music-making from a very young age has taught me such a lot, and not just about music… I want everyone to have access to the same opportunity, whether that’s through participation or through really engaged listening, or preferably both! There are loads of studies which show that being involved in music has a huge range of benefits, in the classroom and beyond.

The main idea behind Synfonia is that making an orchestra more available to young people in their own environment is a really good way to make those benefits accessible, and to inspire and nurture the classical music audience of the future. I know that there are many schools where, for whatever reason, a trip to see an orchestra perform just isn’t possible. Of course, we’re by no means the first orchestra to go into a school! But I think we’re the only UK orchestra whose reason for being is working in schools, tailoring programmes to reflect what young people are learning in the classroom. We want to remove the possibility that an orchestra feels like something from another world, and get everyone involved so that they’re an integral part of the event. I think there are very few things as amazing as an orchestra performing live, and making that experience increasingly available to a more diverse range of young people is what we’re all about.