Striking Together

Striking Together is one of the outstanding projects granted the prestigous London 2012 Inspire Mark, the badge of the London 2012 Inspire programme which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games.

The Inspire programme is an opportunity for everyone to be a part of the London 2012 Games: a broad participation programme spanning sport participation, education, sustainability, volunteering and business opportunities and skills.

Striking Together for Bronze

On 27th June 2010 the immense forces of the Cambridgeshire Music percussion team gathered under bright skies at Long Road 6th Form. The students had already been practicing the music that had been presented to them six weeks earlier when Lord Coe visited for the project launch evening. But today was the day when we put the whole, huge piece together.

The student assembled nervously, the huge battery of percussion instruments drawn from all over the county was assembled and finally we began. The rehearsals were difficult and very, very hot but it is amazing how much the thought of a public performance at the Birmingham Conservatoire in less than 24 hours focuses the mind!

Despite the heat, the students worked tirelessly on the huge programme which consisted of over an hour of music and included difficult contemporary music, improvised drum solos and body percussion. By the end of the day, all was not quite perfect but a good nights sleep would help to embed everything that had been rehearsed.

Early on 28th June we left Cambridge bound for the Birmingham Conservatiore ready for our 11am performance at the Birmingham Percussion Day. Everyone’s positive spirit was soon tested as the Coach driver attempted to drop us at a restaurant in Edgbaston called ‘The Conservatory’ with our short rehearsal time ticking away. We finally arrived in the awesome Sir Adrian Boult Hall where all of the percussion had already been set up for us. We felt like super-stars!

After only 20minutes remaining of our allotted rehearsal time we were ready to perform the premiere of “Striking Together for Bronze” all 30+ minutes of it! Mr Aldous nervously explained the concept to the audience of percussion teachers from all over the country.

“Standing behind me we have students of all abilities from different backgrounds all working together, sharing, playing and learning from each other. For some students this is another concert on their CV for others this is the first time that they have every played in front of an audience”

And so after a few more such words the magic began. Everyone focussed and upped their game to create a breath-taking and electric performance of power and raw energy.

A week later, on July 4th, we brought the show home to the Cambridge Corn Exchange where we were joined by even more muscle. Community groups including Sawston Samba and Steel, Panic Steel Band and the professional duo Maraca2 all joined to create an orchestra of 100 players.

The final performance was everything that the composer had intended – and more. The sight of a single drum stick flying into the air in a silent bar just before the final climax somehow summed up the whole experience – uninhibited and energetic music making at its very best.

We raised the profile of percussion playing amongst a wider group of young people, children and community musicians. Participants were encouraged to develop new percussion skills and were exposed to styles and instruments that they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to access.

Photos taken at the concert are available to see in our photo gallery In Pictures.

The Striking Together Philosophy

In September 2007 an exciting new workshop and performance event for young percussionists was born in Cambridgeshire. The original format was to encourage young percussionists of all skill levels to combine for a weekend to work on separate and joint repertoire as a showcase of all percussion with a particular focus on the often neglected Orchestral Percussion family. Area and school percussion ensembles were invited to take part and worked alongside Cambridgeshire Music Percussion Teachers and the professional duo “Maraca2".

The main focus was the “Striking Together” piece - a sectional work written to the strengths of the differing ability levels by Mark Aldous of Cambridgeshire Music.

While preparing the whole event the intention was always to achieve differentiation, ensuring that all students had another level to aspire to, hence the inclusion of the visiting professional duo.

The success of the event can be measured by the positive feedback received after the event. Most importantly, participants, parents and invited guests still talk about the weekend. The continuing development of the Cambridgshire Music percussion ensembles can be in part attributed to the Striking Together weekend.

Striking Together Again

To continue the excellent work started in September 2007 it was agreed that a follow-up event would take place in October 2009. Striking Together Again took as its model the 2007 event. No new elements were introduced but the Striking Together piece was re-written to encompass the changing nature of the various ensembles. Guest percussionists were the duo Duplicity.

To see pictures of this concert at West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge please have a look at the Striking Together feature photographs In Pictures.