Summer Fun with Opera North

As everyone heads back to school, we thought we’d take a look at the activities which have kept our Education Team busy over the last couple of months.

First up was Creative Explorers, our brand new holiday week for 5 to 7-year-olds which ran in the Howard Assembly Room at the end of July.

Specially designed to ignite imaginations and inspire creativity, the activities each day ranged from music to drama, storytelling to set design. The aim was to to keep little minds and hands busy in a caring, informal setting, letting the children explore their environment in a fun, engaging way.

The children were able to come for the whole week or just a day or two which meant there were plenty of opportunities to meet new people and make new friends.

The following month saw the return of Orchestra Camp for older children. This was the third year we welcomed over 60 young musicians aged from 10 to 18 years to the University of Leeds School of Music to spend a few days playing their instruments with the support and guidance of professional musicians.

Over the course of the four days, the young players explored new pieces of music and took part in instrumental and singing activities. New this year was creative composition which gave the children the chance to create their own piece of music together.

After a side-by-side rehearsal, the young people also got the opportunity to perform alongside the Orchestra of Opera North in a special concert for family and friends.

During term-time, there are still plenty of opportunities to sing and play orchestral instruments with Opera North including Opera North Children’s Chorus, Opera North Young Voices, Opera North Youth Chorus and Opera North Junior Strings. For younger family members, there are weekly sessions of Little Singers and regular Little Listeners concerts – as well as seasonal events such as Five Little Reindeer in the Howard Assembly Room.

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