IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL!
Founded i n 2012, the i n i t i a l goal of founder Sarah Marshall was to set up a standard format symphony orchestra, whi c h mai n ly played fi l m musi c and fi l led a gap i n provi s i o n for musicians leaving education who wished to continue to perform at a high standard. Initial auditions immediately showed a real need for a new format of orchestra - there were so many great flute players that it became impossible to choose just two. So, the orchestra became a true community orchestra by accepting everyone, regardless of instrument, who could play to the standard the orchestra demanded. ''Six years on it doesn’t matter if you haven’t picked up an instrument for 20 years or you can’t make every rehearsal'' says Orchestra Manager Liz Read, ''everyone is always welcome''. The People's Orchestra epitomises genuine equality of opportunity, whereby musicians from every socio-economic and ethnic background, from teens to seniors, come together to share the joy of music making with one another, and with their ever-increasing audiences in live performance. Based in West Bromwich Town Hall, in Sandwell, England, the orchestra plays a wide variety of film, TV and show music as well as light popular tunes. Sarah Marshall has been the Artistic and Managing Director of The People’s Orchestra (TPO) since she created the orchestra back in 2012. Coming from a non-music background, Sarah set out to prove that orchestras could be set up, run differently and still wow audiences with a high standard of performance. Despite pressure in the early years to lower the entry level for musicians, the orchestra stuck to its word and kept a Grade 7 entry (good sight reading being the key to playing with this group), opening up sections to an infinite number of players, encouraging all types of instruments to join and reducing financial barriers to play. The orchestra is now 70 strong and growing and the organisation also has a choir, Rusty Player Orchestra (which may or may not have looked at a certain orchestra here in NZ for inspiration for it's name!), and a fledgling Youth Orchestra. The People's Orchestra first came to the attention of OCT back in 2017 but it's taken a lot of phone calls, emails, and even a visit to their HQ by OCT Chair Katie Mayes, to get to the point we are at now. ''Add in a pandemic that meant musicians have been confined to home, and the perfect storm has been created to fasttrack collaboration'' says Orchestras Central's CEO Susan Trodden. ''We knew right from the start that there were fantastic possibilities ahead in working with the 'TPO', we just had to find the right projects''.
Initial surveying of OCT musicians for interest in being involved in a collaboration was met with loud enthusiasm, and as a result, musicians are now participating in an international project. John Koutselinis is an award winning freelance music composer who has been composing film scores for short and feature length films for many years. He was commissioned by the TPO to write a new work, titled 'War of the Titans'. Performed by musicians playing their part in their own homes, the invitation to participate was extended to Orchestras Central, and to musicians from the Orchestre Philharmonia Mundi de Montréal. The last piece that TPO commissioned from John has been recorded and is currently in the Dreamworks library awaiting a film, so this is a truly exciting opportunity for our musicians. Players receive music and a 'click track' to play along to, and are required to perform the piece for both an audio and video recording. Once John has received all the recordings from around the world , he will then create a video montage for publishing. This will then be shared with the world! The second stage of the partnership involves setting up a 'musical pen-pal' system. Musicians will be matched with someone who plays the same instrument, and we hope to see some interesting musical partnerships emerge. This will be particularly interesting for players who don't have anyone to make music with whilst the pandemic lock-down continues. There are other projects in the pipeline, and with the Commonwealth Games on the horizon, and the opportunity to involve our youth orchestras - and maybe even some singers - the future is bright to make the world a little smaller through the shared love of music. To find out more about The People's Orchestra, visit www.thepeoplesorchestra.com.
