Pupils to visit music events

3:25pm Sunday 15th June 2008

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MORE than 1,000 Winchester schoolchildren will enjoy two special musical performances this week.

The events are run by Southampton's Turner Sims Concert Hall as a key venue partner for The Prince of Wales Foundation for Children and the Arts.

On Tuesday, June 17 and Thursday, June 19, pupils from five schools in the Winchester district will have the opportunity to see performances by folk group the New Scorpion Band and jazz trumpeter Abram Wilson's Delta Blues Trio.

The folk performances on Tuesday will take place at the Theatre Royal in Winchester and will be attended by pupils from Stanmore, All Saints and Winnall Primary Schools.

The jazz performances on Thursday will take place at Winchester Guildhall and Wickham Primary School, attended by pupils from Weeke and Wickham Primary Schools.

Continuing the success of its first year of events, these latest performances follow a series of music and arts workshops, which took place in April and May.

Two musicians visited each school to perform and to explain more about their instruments and talk about life as a musician.

Following the musicians' visit, artist Alex Hoare worked with one class from each school to explore the different elements which go together to make a concert happen.

As part of the exploration each member of the class devised a poster for the event they will attend. The winning posters from each school are being used to promote the concerts.

Kevin Appleby, concert hall manager at the Turner Sims, said: "In our first year we brought the children and their teachers to experience a performance at the Turner Sims. For this second year we have taken the music into their local community with performances in Winchester and Wickham.

"Giving young people the opportunity to see a performance by these renowned musicians means that they enjoy a complete concert experience, from meeting musicians within their own school to travelling to see them perform on stage. It promises to be a special occasion for everyone involved."

In addition to support from Children and the Arts, the project has also received funding from Lehman Brothers Europe, the University of Southampton, Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council.