Child-friendly concert creates a buzz
- Fiona Thompson
- Jun 5
- 5 min read
Updated: Jun 23
Our children’s concert has become one of the highlights of the year for our players. It’s such a buzz to see kids dancing in the aisles to the music, bopping along on their parents’ shoulders, trying out instruments and picking up a baton for the first time.
On Saturday 31 May, we held our second free children’s concert at St Gabriel’s church in Pimlico, led by our Principal Conductor, Thomas Payne. The church was packed with parents and children who’d travelled from across London to be there. For many of our young audience, it was the first time they’d heard an orchestra play live.
For some of the adults, too. A young man who attended as the carer for an audience member said: “It was actually my first experience at an orchestra but I want to go and see more now.”
“My kids loved it!”
Jen, a mother of two children aged five and four, sent this message to Xavier Delamotte, who plays the French horn with us. “Thanks again for letting me know about the children’s concert at the weekend. It was so, so good. My kids absolutely loved it!
“The way the instruments were introduced, the music you played, the ability to try the instruments afterwards. All absolutely amazing - and you and your fellow musicians were so patient with the kids. Quinn now wants to learn the French horn.
“Also, the way that parents were put at ease at the beginning of the concert was fantastic. It meant no one had to worry about kids inevitably making noise instead of sitting quietly.”
Generous sponsorship from The Fishmongers’ Company
We are incredibly grateful to The Fishmongers’ Company for sponsoring our children’s concert again this year. Their sponsorship links to the Company’s long-standing charitable commitment to improving access to education and the arts. As well as providing financial support, they also put on a delicious ‘party tea’ for the children, which included sandwiches, crisps, chocolate cake and strawberries.
We’d also like to thank Restore the Music, which supports music education in UK schools with funding and creativity. The wonderful people from the charity reached out to junior schools in areas of deprivation in London to invite children along to our concert.
Making music fun and accessible for kids
Our free children’s concerts are part of our mission to nurture rising talent and have a positive impact on our community through outreach. We want to broaden access to music for children from all backgrounds and inspire them with a love of music.
“It can be really difficult for children to access music in school,” says our Orchestra Manager, Amanda Butler, who is also a primary school music teacher. “The curriculum is squeezed, schools are under huge budget constraints and there’s less and less time and money for music.
“And outside school, it’s really expensive for parents to take children to concerts. That’s why, as an orchestra, we’re so passionate about putting on free children’s concerts so we can inspire the next generation of players. Otherwise, music will become even more elitist.”
Thomas, our conductor, agrees. He says: “Music education has suffered so much recently, so it’s vital that we ensure young children have a pathway into music. It’s wonderful that we can introduce them to all the fantastic sound worlds that an orchestra can conjure. It really is magical.
“It’s brilliant that we can do this as an ensemble and have such great support from The Fishmongers’ Company, too. Saturday was a really special day and one that I hope we can repeat many, many times in the future.”
‘Ignition’ blasts off
The afternoon started with a bang, with the world premiere of ‘Ignition’, a work specially written for the LCO by composer Ben Morales Frost. Jasmine, our fabulous six-year-old co-presenter, gave us the countdown, and the orchestra sprang into action.
‘Ignition’ is a four-minute whirlwind tour of the orchestra, where every instrument and section has their moment to shine.
Next, the orchestra played two well-known tunes from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite: ‘Morning Mood’ and ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’.
Jasmine asked Thomas to show her around the orchestra, so players from the different sections gave short demonstrations. The percussionists got the most applause for their enthusiastic rendition of ‘The Wheels on the Bus’.
Thomas introduced Siobhan Connellan, a bassoonist with the LCO who’s also a composer, before we performed her wonderful piece ‘Winter’s Light’, which we premiered last year.
We ended with ‘Disney Dazzle’, a medley of well-known songs from Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. Jasmine, who attended her first LCO rehearsal dressed as Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, declared that Disney songs were her favourite.
“Zero stuffiness”
For the second half of the concert, children were free to grab their party tea, meet the players and try out their instruments, and have a go at conducting, under Thomas’ guidance.
On Instagram, composer Ben commented: “I haven’t raved properly yet about how incredible the LCO’s children’s concert is as a concept. Yes, they played a piece of mine, which is always lovely (yay! 😀), but way more importantly, they seem to have invented the absolute perfect format to introduce children to orchestral music.
“A 45 minute first half packed with recognisable tunes, a free buffet, then a second half where you can meet the musicians, try the instruments and have a go at conducting the orchestra.
“More orchestras should do this! We had a room absolutely jam packed with inspired kids, and it was the most relaxed and welcoming environment for them to dip their toes into music. Zero stuffiness. 10/10.”
Getting hands-on with the instruments
While two-thirds of the orchestra members stayed on stage in readiness for the first-time conductors, around a third moved over to the side to meet the children.
Musicians knelt down so kids could reach a violin or viola. Children sat on chairs, legs dangling way above the floor, as they drew a bow across a full-size cello. Kids played their first raspberries through a trumpet mouthpiece, blew valiantly into a French horn and experimented with a trombone slide.
Some tried out the clarinet or bassoon, and a few discovered the mysteries of the contrabassoon, the largest woodwind instrument with the deepest pitch. Others learned to play a glissando on the harp.
Siobhan said: “It was wonderful seeing how enthusiastic and excited the kids were about learning new sounds. I enjoyed observing the kids interacting with other orchestra members. The French horns were right opposite me and there were some amazing noises coming from the instruments.”
Tiny conductors step up
Meanwhile, a huge queue formed down the aisle, with children eager to try their hand at conducting. They could either choose fast music (‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’) or slow music (‘Morning Mood’).
Kids loved waving a stick to control the orchestra, and we saw them become more confident as they realised the impact they were having. Several queued up again for a second try.
“I especially enjoyed seeing the joy on the kids’ faces when they conducted us,” said violinist Andrew Johnson. “They were having so much fun. They were just enthralled by the power in their hands when they were standing in front of the orchestra.”
See you again soon
Thank you to everyone who came and made this such a joyous occasion.
Our next concert is on Saturday 5 July in Waterloo, when we’ll be performing Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto no.1 and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no.2. Get your tickets here: www.londoncityorchestra.com
We hope to see you there!
