Education and Outreach
The Avison Ensemble's outreach programmes are designed to appeal to people of all ages and abilities.
Working in partnership with a number of local and national organisations we have developed an approach to working in schools that is unique and highly interactive. Our education partners include the local choir of the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas' and the Choir of Her Majesty's Chapel Royal. We sponsor and partner with the Gateshead Youth Orchestra and First Act Theatre from Newcastle.
Our annual Young Musicians' Awards scheme is for young instrumentalists and singers under 18 years of age, where the emphasis is upon personal development and improvement in professional presentation and musicianship, rather than on the winning.
We are engaged in projects in the local community not just through local schools, but also through Newcastle University and Newcastle Central Library. Our education projects are run in partnership with the Gateshead and Newcastle Schools Music Services and we partner with additional youth community groups on specific work relating to our Music Discovery Days.
We believe that our education and outreach work is a lifelong learning experience and we welcome our audiences to attend and take part in events that assist in the appreciation and understanding of our music-making and work towards helping people become self-expressed through music.
Recent highlights from our education and outreach projects
Highlights from our education and outreach projects can be seen on our Flickr photostream and YouTube channel.
'In Celebration' concert
4th March 2012
Our children's ‘In Celebration!’ concert was held in the presence of The Sheriff of Newcastle Councillor Jackie Slesenger and celebrated some of the best young musical talent in the North East.
Winners and finalists from this and previous year's Avison Ensemble Young Musicians' Awards were joined by the Boys of Newcastle Cathedral Choir, the Gateshead Youth Orchestra and the Gateshead Wind Band.
The concert included the presentation of the 2012 Young Musicians' Awards by The Sheriff of Newcastle. The Awards were founded in 2006 and this year's Awards and concert have been supported by The Sir James Knott Trust and Joel Cohen and Andrea Toon (American Friends of The Avison Ensemble).
This concert now marks an annual celebration of all that’s good about our local children and young people singing and playing music together in a mixture of styles, on a variety of instruments and from all ages and grades.
Click here to see our photos of the concert on Flickr.
Family Concert
1st October 2011
The Avison Ensemble is delighted to have continued its collaborations with young musicians in the North East region by presenting a Saturday afternoon Family Concert in the heart of Newcastle’s town centre in early October 2011.
Performing at the Brunswick Methodist Chapel the Ensemble was joined by the Strings of the Gateshead Youth Orchestra and the Gateshead Viol Consort who performed lively works from the English Baroque period. The Avison Ensemble performed Vivaldi's Four Seasons on period instruments to coincide with the release of their new recording on Linn Records of Vivaldi's 12 Violin Concertos Opus 8.
Click here to see our photos of the Concert on Flickr.
Music Celebration Week
11th – 15th July 2011
Sponsored by the Avison Ensemble and presented by Gateshead Schools' Music Service
The Avison Ensemble is proud to have sponsored this year’s Music Celebration Week presented by Gateshead Schools’ Music Service. Hundreds of children across Gateshead were involved in workshops, sing-a-longs, demonstrations and concerts, as well as a WOPPING big, music-filled picnic at Gibside!
Highlights from Celebration Week are now on Flickr and YouTube.
Click here to see our photos on Flickr.
Click here to watch our film on YouTube.
The Avison Ensemble is grateful to The Roland Cookson Fund at The Community Foundation and the Arts Council North East for supporting Music Celebration Week.
