The Big Opportunity at Sadler's Wells

Yesterday the New London Orchestra was invited to participate in The Big Opportunity's conference - a forum for representatives of the Third Sectory (voluntary organisations, and charities such as us), to get together and discuss the legacy to come out of the 2012 Olympics.

As well as sitting in on discussions with a panel of experts from across different fields including Muhammad Bari MBE from LOCOG and Caroline Diehl from the Media Trust, and a talk from the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell (see the picture!), we were also asked to provide a musical interlude. We wanted to show the sorts of community work we do in Newham, and decided to invite the Luton Road teams that had participated in our In Training concert to come and sing. They did an absolutely fantastic job, singing loudly and confidently and I just about got away with playing the piano to accompany them! Feizal Rajabally, one of the Senior Contract Manager's for Look Ahead came to speak to Julian and I before the performance to thank us for the opportunity. He said the group had grown in confidence and their self-esteem had been boosted by being asked to take part in New London Orchestra events, and their family and friends had been really impressed with the transformation in the individuals over the last year, thanks to their involvement in music making with us. We're really glad bringing music to the Look Ahead communities is making an impact, and we'll be discussing with their Arts Manager, Louise O'Reilly, ways we can develop this relationship in the future.

Thanks to Paul and Chloe for all their hard work organising the event, we had a great time!

In Training - Cumberland Sessions

This morning I was back at Cumberland School for the second session with the dance group. It was a hot day and everyone was finding it difficult to concentrate but we eventually got a routine together, combining the verse and chorus the group had come up with before half term and a brilliant dance routine created by the group in their own time. This was all set to a rhythm played by NLO muso Genevieve - check out the video to see what you make of their final rehearsal!

What really helped was having the basketball team there at the end who performed their own anthem. The groups were really watching and supporting each other and giving constructive feedback on the performances. The basketball team managed in just 3hrs to come up with a brilliant anthem of their own to rival the dance group's, using basketball bounces to enhance the rhythm. Come along to the final concert on 9th June and see the groups and more, live! Go to www.nlo.co.uk for more details.

In Training at Cumberland School

This morning five of our musicians were at Cumberland School with the GCSE Dance group, working with them to create their own anthem. There were five NLO musicians working with the class, and so we were able to break off into groups and discuss the class's thoughts on being a team and what words and feelings they associated with dance. Then when we'd brainstormed and put all the words down on the board, Baden (our performance poet working on this project) asked the class to give us a demonstration of their dancing skills. The musicians created the backing music and so began the dance off! Whilst the team seemed reluctant to show us their stuff, Aga seemed the most excited by the music - check out the video of his moves! I left the team at the break, but have been sent the final anthem... you'll have to come along on the 9th June to the Rex to check out the final piece.
Go to www.nlo.co.uk to get your tickets.