By Mia Abeyawardene
Welcoming a group of students from universities across Greater Manchester, Nicholas Collon conducted the rehearsal, sculpting the sound of a fifty piece orchestra in an intimate setting.
The BBC Philharmonic offers a special deal for students at their Bridgewater Hall concerts, with ticket prices at £3 from the box office, and £5 online. However, it would appear that not many students are aware of these great deals.
Following the rehearsal, the student reps reconvened for a focus group session on engaging Greater Manchester’s student population with classical music. As an icebreaker, the group were asked to think of a musician or particular piece of music that represented their personality. Answers were eclectic, ranging from Bjork and London Grammar to the noughties pop rock band Chumbawumba.
The students were then split into smaller groups, creatively named after composers, to complete a short classical music quiz. (Surprisingly, every team chose the correct answers so a bonus question was added last minute to determine the winner!)
Following the activities, a discussion was lead led by Elizabeth Alker (BBC 6 Music / BBC Radio 3), focusing on the red brick sessions and changing perceptions of classical music. She referred to deeper listening, The Theory of Everything film score composer, and Mark Simpson’s drag opera Welcome to the Pleasuredome, highlighting the range of crossover that classical music has with popular culture.
Students were then invited to brainstorm ways in which more students could be exposed to the BBC Philharmonic and classical music as a whole, drawing from their own experiences.
At the end of the session, the winning quiz team received BBC Philharmonic mugs and organiser, Jenny Whitham, provided every representative with two complimentary tickets for their concert at The Bridgewater Hall.
Jess Stoddard, first year Multimedia Journalism student at Manchester Met, attended the concert, saying: “My favourite part was when the full orchestra performed Beethoven’s 5th in C Minor, it was such a full sound and very moving!”
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