New Connections was a Knowledge Exchange project designed and delivered collaboratively by Leeds Conservatoire and Orchestras Live in spring-summer 2023, as part of a three-year partnership. The pilot project was made possible through funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Research England.
Some of the participants, all Year 5 pupils, from Burley and Woodhead Church of England Primary School. Photo credit throughout: Chris Milnes
It was designed to explore how, through partnership and co-design, the conservatoire can engage with community groups and trial new ways of creating relevant orchestral experiences while supporting students to develop their creative leadership skills. You can read an earlier piece about the launch of the project here.
Leeds Conservatoire students took part in a series of skills development workshops prior to delivery of the creative community projects with a professional artistic team.
“I loved the sessions! [skills development workshops]. I learnt a lot from the experience, a lot of which I will take forward with me in the future.”
Leeds Conservatoire student
Amina Hussain (second from left) from Manchester Camerata facilitating a session with participants from Meeting Point’s Women’s Group
New Connections succeeded in establishing new partnerships between Leeds Conservatoire and three community partners: Burley and Woodhead Church of England Primary School; Made with Music’s Sunshine and Smiles music group for young people with Down Syndrome and their families; and Meeting Point, a community support group for refugees and asylum seekers. The professional music leaders, Manchester Camerata and Leeds Conservatoire students worked with each community group to co-create brand new music to perform together with the orchestra at the final concert as part of a varied musical programme.
Culmination concert in The Venue
New Connections culminated in a concert on Friday 23 June in The Venue, Leeds Conservatoire’s main performance venue. The concert was attended by participants and their family and friends, an invited audience and members of the public.
Manchester Camerata were joined by members of the conservatoire’s New Music Collective ensemble, made up of students. They performed a varied programme including works by Béla Bartók, Marc Mellits, Georges Bizet, Damien Harron and Anna Meredith, alongside the new pieces created by project participants, who joined the orchestra on stage to perform.
“Everyone was very involved in the performance, the co-created music was brilliantly arranged and it was really joyful seeing some of the groups dancing along to the music we were playing, I thought that was a really good idea.”
Leeds Conservatoire student
“Professional orchestral playing is not a career I’ve seen as ‘for me’ or considered as normally I find it more stressful than enjoyable. This concert has changed that for me as I can see myself playing in more orchestras that have a community focus.”
Leeds Conservatoire student
One of the sessions with Made With Music’s Sunshine and Smiles music group
The concert opened with ‘Music Brings Us Together,’ a song arranged by James Redwood that all three community groups had learned. James, who compered the concert, taught the audience the lyrics, Makaton signs and body percussion sections and they were invited to join in with the ensemble and participants.
“Wowwwwwww. What a fantastic concert. It's my first experience with such type. I'm very proud that exist such creative and big hearted people – musicians.”
Audience member
“It felt amazing that the orchestra had learnt our song and were playing it to accompany us. It gave us so much energy and made us feel electric.”
Participant
The project engaged an external evaluator, Kirsty Halliday, Red Sands Arts Management, to assess the effectiveness of the co-creative process for community groups and the skills development for students, with recommendations for how the partnership develops this work further.
The full New Connections Evaluation Report and Executive Summary are now available here.
What Happened
- 15 community workshops
- 5 skills workshops
- 3 new pieces of co-created music
- 1 culmination concert
Who We Engaged With
- 3 community partners
- 76 community participants
- 17 Leeds Conservatoire students
- 21 professional musicians
- 186 audience members
Outcomes
Feedback surveys demonstrated very positive outcomes for the community participants and audiences reached through the project. A full summary of the survey findings is available in section 3.3 of the Evaluation Report.
- 93% of participant survey respondents rated their experience of the project as very good, 7% as good.
- 89% of audience survey respondents had a good time, were proud of their community and felt the concert had a positive impact on their own wellbeing.
- 88% of participant survey respondents said that they did something they didn’t know they were capable of.
- 89% of participant survey respondents said the project made them feel more confident about doing new things.
“This project really helped me feel a part of something big, thank you. It was so special to be part of it, to have my family there to see me doing something special. I have new friends and I have a wonderful experience, thank you.”
Participant
“I'm now a lot happier and believe I can do a lot more than I thought. Thank you.”
Participant
“My child is living on cloud 9 and high as a kite….You have fulfilled one of their dreams to be with an orchestra!! They've spent years watching them on their iPad! My dream too, to be beside all those amazing people and instruments too.”
Participant
