The English Chamber Orchestra on stage taking part in a climate workshop
The acclaimed English Chamber Orchestra (ECO) recently visited Fulham Cross Academy.
Ahead of the COP26 conference and as part of H&F Council's Climate Carnival, the orchestra used music to illustrate the relationship between music, climate and ecology. The interactive concert, entitled ‘Memories of Summer’ was written, presented and performed by ECO cellist Alexandra Mackenzie with an ensemble of ECO string players.
The concert, sponsored by the Barratt Foundation, featured music from the Middle Ages to the present day and explored how composers have written music about summer in response to their own time, place and climate. The performance included Vivaldi’s Summer from the ‘Four Seasons’ and ‘I do like to be beside the seaside’, with a hint of the Jaws soundtrack.
There were more than 200 students from Year 7 and Year 8 engaged in the workshops.
“I liked how joyful and loud the music was. It made us all really happy, everyone was smiling,” said Max from Year 7.
“At first, I wasn’t very excited as orchestras can be boring, but this was very loud and fun. I liked it when they talked about the poems by the seaside,” said Year 7's Arthur.
“Some of the winter music was very wild and the summer music was very soothing. The first song was my favourite,” said Layla from Year 7.
Another Year 7 student, Isaac, said: “This was one of the best orchestras I’ve ever heard!”
Read more to find out what else we’re doing to tackle the climate and ecological emergency in H&F.
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