THE SPLINTERS ENSEMBLE

Splinters Ensemble

Originally formed in 2016 to perform at Wembley Arena as guests of Brent Music Service, the Splinters Ensemble is an ‘alternative’ wind and percussion group for gifted and talented young musicians across Halton and Warrington, funded by the Accent Music Education Hub. Our players range from ages 11-19, with a unifying positive attitude and love for music-making that drives them forward, allowing them to thrive in a fun and positive atmosphere, in addition to being part of some amazing events!

'Splinters' have two distinct identities... The Splinters Ensemble specialises in contemporary music. This offers a less conventional approach to music-making, focusing on different performance styles and unique projects, all with bespoke music composed by award-winning composers Paul McGhee and Lucy Pankhurst. Past projects include a memorised, choreographed routine at Wembley Arena (with an extended version performed at the Music for Youth Festival the following year), Grimm Tales 2018 (a ballet, premiered at the Brindley Theatre), the Hebden Bridge Arts Festival and a performance beneath the Museum of the Moon in the Parr Hall, Warrington. To balance this, the band also perform as the Splinters Street Band, with unique covers of pop and rock songs from the 1970s to present day. Full of fun and infectiously upbeat, the band are regularly invited to perform at local festivals and events. Most recently, they were invited to perform at the Halliwell Jones Stadium to welcome the Papua New Guinea Rugby League team to the UK for the 2022 World Cup.

In August 2019 Splinters embarked on their first tour, where they performed in several iconic venues in Belgium, such as the Cloth Hall in Ghent and the famous bandstand in Ostend. The band continued to thrive even during lockdown, with weekly online rehearsals and regular recordings for sociallydistanced videos, which were released on their YouTube channel. They were also a huge part of the Accent Ensembles 2020 and 2021 Christmas Advent Calendars when in-person concerts were not possible, the players and music staff worked incredibly hard to create a series of videos (social distanced in 2020, ‘live' performances in 2021) which were released in December during the lead-up to Christmas. Now that we are able to perform together in concerts again, the band have an increasingly busy concert schedule. They are also currently working towards several projects this academic year, including