EXPERIMENTAL AUDIO-VISUAL WORKSHOP
The Marsyas Trio with filmmaker Julian Hand and composer Laura Bowler
In partnership with NMC Recordings
Trailer
Testimonial
“We’ve worked with the Marsyas Trio on a number of educational projects. Their flexible, committed and collaborative approach has led to some fantastic musical outcomes for children and young people. The trio have worked with us in partnership to provide composition workshops and performances for secondary school-aged students, demonstrating extended playing techniques and showcasing a wide variety of contemporary music. The trio will also be undertaking a week-long residency in the north-east in February 2024 to deliver in-school workshops for key stage 2 pupils following on from two live performances for schools and families of their adaptation of Three Little Mammoths. We can’t wait!”
About the workshop
The Marsyas Trio with filmmaker Julian Hand and composer Laura Bowler, in partnership with NMC Recordings, developed and presented a new outreach project ‘Salutem’, supported by funds from Arts Council England, the Marchus Trust and NMC Recordings. The aim was to introduce students to the use of extended techniques in musical performance and composition, experimental camera-less filmmaking techniques and the concept of making a graphic score.
In June 2021 we ran our first session for a group of 16 pupils (Years 9 and 10) at Canary Wharf College. The workshop resulted in the production of six short audio-visual artworks by the students.
Many students commented on how they didn’t realise that classical instruments can create such a wide range of unconventional sounds. The students were also curious to see how we used their graphic scores for rehearsals and were surprised to hear how effective their finished compositions were.
We feel that the most important outcome of the workshop is that the students will own a tangible result of their creative work, which they can keep for themselves or share with their families, friends and on social media. The final 6 audio-visual artworks (‘Boat, ‘Eesti’, ‘Heart Monitor’, ‘Beach’, ‘Spiral’ and ‘Abstract’) have been processed for upload by Julian Hand.
If we were asked the same question from the students’ evaluation questionnaire:“What part of today’s workshop did you enjoy the most and why?”, our answer would be very similar to that of one of our students: “Creating the music through art because it was something different and spontaneous”.
We were hugely inspired by the creativity of the young people and their openness towards contemporary classical music.
Below is one of the audio-visual works created by the students entitled ‘Beach’ and you can watch the whole playlist of the six Student Films here.
Soundscapes performed by the Marsyas Trio. Editing by Julian Hand.
Below is the collection of films created by the students during our AV workshop at the Mossbourne Community Academy in London in April 2022
The project is supported by
