Fenland school playgrounds become arenas for classical music project

Schools across Fenland have seen their playgrounds turned into outdoor arenas over the past week as part of a major project to bring classical music to youngsters.

Playground Proms is an exciting initiative that gets children directly involved in classical music through interactive workshops.

This event is supported by Arts Council England and produced by Graffiti Classics, the world-renowned comedy string quartet. The Playground Proms promises to be an unforgettable musical journey, combining fun and education in a vibrant, engaging way.

This is the project’s fifth year and the tour is the biggest yet predicted to reach 73,000 children in communities across the UK.

The tour has been in Fenland since Tuesday, March 11, and is here until Friday (21) and in that time 13 schools have had a chance to enjoy the fun.

Schools visited include Wisbech St Mary, Beaupre at Outwell, Elm Road in Wisbech, St Peter’s in Wisbech, Clarkson also in Wisbech, Kinderley in Tydd St Giles, Nene and Ramnoth in Wisbech, March Bridge in Friday Bridge, Cavalry in March, Guyhirn, Thomas Eaton in Wimblington, Burrowmoor in March and Lionel Walden in Doddington.

On Friday Mayor of Wisbech Cllr Sidney Imafidon joined the pupils for Nene and Ramnoth for their event.

The pupils, as well as the Mayor, enjoyed an hour of learning about different musical instruments and iconic pieces of classical music, as well as conducting and composing.

The children also had the opportunity to take centre stage themselves and perform a verse of the Playground Proms anthem, which they had written the week before the session.

Cathal Ó Dúill from Playground Proms said: “It is a privilege to travel the country and spread the joy of classical music to children in this way. The positive feedback from last year has been overwhelming, and we are proud of what we are building with the help of Arts Council England as well all our music hub partners and other generous donations.’’

Since its inception in 2021 by comedy string quartet Graffiti Classics, Playground Proms has already impacted nearly 50,000 children across 160 schools in the UK and Ireland.

The project began in Barrow-in-Furness in 2021 as a pilot initiative in partnership with the Cumbria Music Hub. Its popularity quickly led to expansion, with two-week projects in Cumberland and Ireland in 2022, followed by additional dates in Ireland in 2023 and performances across eight areas of the UK last year.

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