On March 2019 Sinfonia Viva took to the stage at Derby Theatre with pupils from Becket Primary, Firs Primary, Bemrose Secondary and Derby College.

The music that we performed with the young people was entirely their creation, both lyrically and musically. The project saw pupils showcasing their songs across two performances, performing alongside each other and with our professional orchestra.

Through their hard work in the lead up to these concerts, songs were produced based around the theme of coding. The subject itself feeds straight into the curriculum, offering educators new ways to teach challenging subjects and re-imagining coding through links to music, communication and creativity.

“The aim of the project was to develop pupils’ understanding and confidence in computer programming and this was achieved. It helped the teachers to deliver the curriculum, with more confidence.” Liz Stewart, Teacher, Becket Primary School

“Students enjoyed and engaged with the activities and you could see their confidence grow week on week” Teacher, Lauren Mitchell, Bemrose School

"People portray science and engineering as being disconnected from the arts, in fact the way we solve problems is the same way someone solves musical problems"   Matthew Neat - Rolls-Royce

“They were all obviously experts in their field, which was brilliant and inspired the children as excellent role models.” Teacher, Sophie Waller, Portway Junior School

“I really loved the theme of pioneering women in this concert – Ada Lovelace, Fanny Mendelssohn and then having Josephine Stephenson’s piece was great.  It really shows that orchestral music isn’t old, it can be new and fresh.” Raph Clarkson, Composer & Music Leader

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