Concert brings magic of live orchestra to county schools

Hundreds of Oxfordshire schoolchildren packed out the historic Sheldonian Theatre for a special concert aimed at boosting youngsters’ involvement in music.

The Oxfordshire County Music Service Schools’ Concert 2018 featured young musicians from the County Youth Orchestra performing a mix of traditional classical pieces and music from Beauty and the Beast – complete with a live dramatisation of the story.

Around 1,700 pupils from more 34 different schools attended – including the classmates of many of the performers.

Getting involved

Head of the Oxfordshire County Music Service Angela Turton said: “Many of the children attending won’t have experienced a live concert like this before, and it’s great for our young musicians to be able to show off their talents to their peers.

“We stage this event every year as a way of encouraging more children to consider taking up an instrument and getting involved in music. We always have fantastic support from Oxfordshire schools and it was great to see so many represented in the audience.”

The concert took place on Friday 26 January.

Find out more about the Music service

Comments from schools

• “Thoroughly enjoyed the concert this morning. Never having seen a live orchestra before, they were not sure what to expect but the overall verdict at the end was "It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be!" - St Andrew's CE School

• “Thank you very much for a wonderfully inspiring concert. We all really enjoyed it.” - St Barnabas

• “We have just returned from the schools' concert at the Sheldonian and wanted to share with you the buzz that has been generated by the event. We would also like to send our thanks to Dr John Traill and the superb Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra -they're playing was as good, if not better, than some of the professional orchestras I have heard at the Sheldonian!” - St Peters