Story by Rob Smith
London Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra honoured Burngreave with the presence of its extraordinary diverse multicultural group of classical musicians.
Invited to the area by Creative Burngreave, their first stop was Fir Vale School, where children sat as they were about to be entertained by something really special.
Six violin players, one keyboard player, one drummer and bass guitarist along with two percussionists, began playing together, after the sound of a single violin being played. The welldeserved and respectful burst of applause came from the young audience and teachers in attendance.
Introducing The Tree Song allowed the orchestra to demonstrate the sound of a bass guitar being joined by the drum. The drum and the bass joined by percussion rattles and shakers preceding the piano skanking sound an introduction to the violin players sounding in on cue.
The ten-piece orchestra receiving humongous applause from the performance before limbering up to do a workshop interacting with this group of school children.
Their main performance was at 6.15pm at the Spectrum Centre, as part of Creative Burngreave’s launch of the new funding round, alongside an entertaining display of other creative community initiatives funded in 2004.
Prior to the Orchestra was the screening of 14 short films followed by performances by local artists and groups. Zwakala African dancing and singing, Abort Comedy, Arabic dancing, Midnight Gardener and a performance of Irish dancing.
Later I spoke to Mykaell S Riley, director of the Black Music Education Technology London Philharmonic Reggae Orchestra.
“We began back in 1989, looking at ways to represent black music via classical instruments. There is a misconception that Black people have played no part in classical. Black people have had a long-standing relationship with classical music represented by people like Samuel Coleridge and Hugh Taylor.
“We are also keen to show music played by live instruments in contrast to music created by computer technology. Also showing the role models that are reflected in the diversity of the members you see performing in this orchestra.”
This multicultural diversity Mykaell spoke about was reflected in the harmonies and music played throughout the orchestra’s performance.
“When we were in the school, I found the kids relaxing instantly to rhythm and melodies. I also felt the orchestra was more approachable, because our members look like many of their own mothers and fathers. The workshops went really well and they were fun, which is a key element.This also gives the children something to aspire towards.”