Nurturing Talent

Newham Ensemble Project Yes!

After our highly successful ‘Fairy Queen: Three Wishes’ project in summer 2021, the Newham Music Hub  asked us to work with them on a big instrumental project called YES! during the academic year 2021-22.
After workshops with students from six Newham schools led by Raph Clarkson the project ended with a performance at the Velodrome in the Olympic Park as part of the Olympics 10-year anniversary and the Queen’s Platinum Celebrations. With an orchestra of 150 plus the OAE and over 1500 singers it was quite an occasion!

Endangered Instruments

In collaboration with our national partners, we created various projects around the country to increase awareness of and interest in playing the bassoon and oboe to help address the endangered status of these instruments.

York Bassoon Extravaganza

With the National Centre for Early Music, we created a bassoon project to encourage pupils to play the bassoon amongst the Minster Minstrels and a group of primary school children in York, with the hope that some of these children would continue playing the bassoon beyond the life of the project. We are delighted that four pupils intend to continue with their lessons.

"Thank you for the workshops on Friday – the children were enthralled!"

Teacher from St Aelred’s Primary School, York

Wiltshire double reed workshop

Steven Devine, Zoe Shevlin and Cherry Forbes ran a double reed workshop at our first residency weekend at the Wiltshire Music Centre. University students and amateur players joined for this enjoyable workshop and then also joined us to perform in the foyer after our OAE TOTS concert the following morning, where the bassoon was also showcased in our Going on a Journey concert.

"I want to do this forever!"

Bassoon student in Norwich

London Fireworks

To round off our year of double reed projects, we performed Handel’s Fireworks music at Cecil Sharp House with a massed wind band of forty-nine players.

Over the year, we started off some new bassoonists and oboists in our partner borough, Camden. Together with amateur and young professional oboists and bassoonists they came together to perform Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks with a specially-created massed wind ensemble arrangement. As well as performing the Fireworks music, our bassoon and oboe band joined forces with Camden New Voices Choir, performing a new arrangement by Sam Chaplin.