BrightSparks teacher resources 28 june 2011

The London Philharmonic Orchestra has a thriving Education and Community Department opening doors for everyone to all sorts of musicmaking. Each year primary and secondary school pupils enjoy our ConcertLink workshops with visiting London Philharmonic Orchestra musicians and specialist workshop leaders. Thousands of children and adults experience live orchestral music for the first time at our BrightSparks Concerts for schools and FUNharmonics Family Concerts. For information on all these projects and much more, please visit the website: www.lpo.org.uk/education; or email: education@lpo.org.uk; or call Anne Findlay on 020 7840 4202.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra Education and Community Department would like to thank Deutsche Bank whose generosity has enabled all tickets for these concerts to be distributed free of charge to schools.

The London Philharmonic orchestra is delighted your school is attending the BrightSparks concerts for Key Stage 1. For many children this concert will be their first experience of an orchestral concert. Many teachers have reported that the more familiar children are with the music before they attend a performance the better experience they have at the concert; playing the recordings of the music at as many opportunities as possible before the concert will enhance the childrenâ€&#x;s enjoyment of the event. For instance as they arrive in the morning, while they are eating their fruit in the morning break or at the end of the day after a story. The beauty of classical music is that you can discover new things in the music every time you listen. This resource pack is structured with five lesson plans giving information about the composers and pieces followed by musical activities that cover key areas in the key Stage 1 music national curriculum.

Lucy Forde Presenter & Teacher Resource Author

The material in this Resource Pack was written by Lucy Forde. The Pack was produced by the London Philharmonic Orchestra Education & Community Department, 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP. Tel: 020 7840 4200. Fax: 020 7840 4201. Box Office: 020 7840 4242.

Website: www.lpo.org.uk Š June 2011

PAUL PATTERSON The Magic Orchestra BRITTEN Storm from Four Sea Interludes ELGAR Enigma Variations Variation IX Nimrod Variation XI G.R.S. RAVEL Mother Goose Suite: The Fairy Garden CHARLOTTE BRAY Scenes from Wonderland New commission with The Bridge Project STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1919) Infernal Dance Finale

Our grateful thanks to Naxos for providing access to the Naxos Music Library website where you can listen to recordings of some of the works to be performed at the concert. Recordings of the programme of music can be found on the LPO website, visit: http://www.lpo.org.uk/education/schools_brightsparks.html To access the recordings enter the following username and password: Username: BS280611 Password: elgar

There are 75 musicians in the London Philharmonic Orchestra and they play many different kinds of instruments.

These instruments are split into four families or sections called strings, woodwind, brass and percussion.

The sections of the orchestra combine in different ways to produce different sounds.

The Conductor stands in front of the orchestra, he/she holds a stick called a baton, and they direct the overall shape of the sound by controlling speed, balance and dynamics

Composers are the people who write the music for the orchestra to play

There are four instruments in the string family.

They look similar but are different sizes.

All of the string instruments can be played by drawing the bow over the strings or plucked with a finger.

A bow is a long stick of wood that has hair from a horseâ€&#x;s tail stretched tightly across it.

The strings are the largest section of the orchestra, there are about 50 of them.

The Violin The Violin is the smallest instrument in the string family. They are split into two sections called the first violins and the second violins. The violin is held horizontally under the chin. Since the violin is small it can play high and often has the tune.

The Viola The viola looks like the violin but it is a little bigger so it has a lower sound. It is held horizontally under the chin like the violin. The viola has a warm, mellow sound and usually plays the notes in the middle of the music to support the tune.

The Cello The cello is bigger than the violin and viola and has a lower sound. To play the cello you sit on a chair and hold it between your legs. The cello is held up off the ground by a long metal spike. It sometimes plays the low notes in the orchestra but often it is given the tune because of its beautiful sound.

The Double Bass The double bass is the largest instrument in the string family and has a very low sound. It is very tall and to play it you have to sit on a stool or stand up. The double bass often plays the lowest notes in the orchestra called the bass notes.

Photograph provided by the Royal College of Music

All of the woodwind instruments are made of wood with metal keys apart from the flute which is usually made of metal.

Woodwind instruments look like long tubes with holes in them covered by keys. To make a sound on the woodwind instruments you must blow down them.

Different notes are produced by holding different combinations of fingers over the holes/ keys. The more holes and keys the fingers cover the further the air has to travel down the tube which produces a lower pitch, releasing your fingers from the holes produces a higher pitch because the air does not travel as far.

Flute The flute is held horizontally and to make the sound you must blow across the hole on the top part of the flute called the head joint. It has a beautiful, high sound and often has solos that you can hear over the orchestra. The flute has a smaller sister called the piccolo, which is very small and even higher than the flute.

Oboe The oboe is called a “double reed” instrument because you make the sound by blowing between two pieces of wood or “reed” that are tied together with string. It is very important in the orchestra because it plays the note “A” for all the other instruments to tune to. Oboe players often play the big brother of the oboe called the „Cor Anglais‟ or „English Horn‟ which is bigger than the oboe and so has a lower sound.

Clarinet The clarinets sit behind the flutes in the orchestra. It is a “single reed” instrument because it has a single thin piece of wood or reed that vibrates against the mouth piece when you blow down it. The clarinet can play extremely quietly.

Clarinet players play all sorts of different clarinets from the small and shrill E Flat Clarinet to the large, slinky Bass Clarinet.

Bassoon The bassoon is the largest instrument in the woodwind section and makes the lowest sound. Like the oboe the bassoon is also a “double reed” instrument because you blow through two thin pieces of wood tied together to make the sound.

Sometimes the bassoon plays funny melodies that make people laugh. It has a big brother called the contra-bassoon that makes a very low sound. The contra-bassoon is so big the bassoonist has to rest it on the floor.

Brass instruments are all made out of shiny brass. All brass instruments are long metal tubes that are curled up to make it easier to hold.

To make the sound on a brass instrument you buzz your lips whilst blowing into a mouthpiece.

The metal tubes flare out at the end and we call this the bell.

Brass instruments are very loud and are often used outside in military bands.

Brass instruments often play fanfares which are short pieces of music to announce important people like the Queen.

The Trumpet The trumpet makes a high, triumphant sound. Different notes are made by changing the way you buzz into the mouthpiece and by pressing down keys called valves. There are 3 valves on the trumpet The Horn The French Horn is made of a very, very long curled tube of brass with a big bell on the end. When you unwind a horn, the tubing is around 4 metres long. Different notes are made by the way you buzz into the mouthpiece and by pressing down keys called valves. The horn has three or four valves. The first horns were made from the horns of animals and were used during hunts to give directions to the hunters The trombone The trombone has a slide that moves in and out to change the sound. When you move the slide smoothly you can make a sliding sound called a glissando. The trombone plays the notes in the middle of the brass section between the high trumpets and the low tuba.

The tuba The tuba is the largest member of the brass family and makes a very low sound. Only one tuba plays in an orchestra because they are very loud. The tuba has three valves like the trumpet to change the sound. The tuba is around 5.5 metres long when it is uncurled

The percussion family is huge. A few examples are below.

Anything that is hit or is shaken is called percussion.

Some percussion instruments play notes (tuned) and others just make sounds (untuned).

The percussion family often plays the rhythms that help keep the orchestra together.

Timpani (Tuned Percussion) The timpani are very big drums that sit at the back of the orchestra. They are also called “kettle drums� because they are shaped like big copper kettles. They have a skin made of plastic or animal stretched over the top and you make the sound on them by striking the top of the drum (called the drum head) with sticks. You can change the pitch of the timpani (from high to low) by pressing a pedal that tightens and loosens the skin head.

Marimba (Tuned Percussion) The Marimba is a set of wooden bars of different lengths mounted on a frame. The bars are struck with mallets to make the sound, the longer the wooden bar the lower the pitch. Usually there are tubes underneath each of the sticks to make the sound louder.

Vibraphone (Tuned Percussion) The Vibraphone looks similar to the Marimba but has aluminium bars instead of wooden bars.

Triangle (Tuned Percussion) The triangle is made from steel and is struck with a steel beater. It has a high pitched sound rather like a bell.

Cymbals (Untuned Percussion) The cymbals consist of a pair of brass plates. The musician holds the cymbals by two leather straps attached to each plate. To make the sound they are struck together. Cymbals can also be played in other ways, for instance they can be suspended from a stand and struck by a mallet.

Bass Drum (Untuned Percussion) The Bass drum is very large and positioned on its side . It is struck with a large mallet , the mallet head has a soft covering, the sound of the bass drum is very deep.

The Snare Drum (Untuned Percussion) The snare drum has a set of wires strung across the bottom of the drum that rattle when you hit the drum. Snare drums are good for playing rolls where the player bounces the sticks off the drum to make a continuous sound. The snare drum is also used in marching bands and in drum kits.

Harp The Harp has a triangular frame with about 45 strings stretched across it. The musician plucks the strings to make the sound. There are also pedals at the bottom of the harp that the musician can press down to alter the length of the string to produce more notes.

Piano The inside of a piano is rather like a harp. The sound is produced by the musician pressing down the keys which operate hammers that strike the strings.

In preparation for this lesson you can hear the sounds of the orchestra here www.playmusic.org

Activity 1, Orchestral Families • Talk to the children about the different instruments in the orchestra and show them pictures.

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Ask the children to draw the instrumnts and allocate an instrument to each child in the class

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Using the plan of the orchestra on page 5 (you may wish to expand this on to A3) help the children to place their pictures where their instruments should go.

Activity 2, Human Orchestra • Now help the children make a class orchestra in a large space where each child sits in the position of the instrument they have drawn.

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Using the names of the instruments make up a clapping rhythms for each section using the syllables of the words e.g. cla-ri-net (3 claps) for the woodwind section or trum-pet (2 claps) for the brass.

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Invite different children to be a conductor at the front. The conductor will point to each section to clap their rhythm and will tell them to stop using palms facing forward.

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) Benjamin Britten was a British composer, conductor and pianist..

He was born in Suffolk and lived in Aldeburgh, a fishing village beside the sea for much of his life.

He first started composing when he was 5 years old .

He liked writing all sorts of music but he particularly loved writing opera.

Storm •

“Storm” is one of the „Four Sea Interludes‟ from an opera called Peter Grimes

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Peter Grimes tells the story of a lonely fisherman who lives beside the sea.

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An opera is a story told in music in a theatre, so the „actors‟ sing their parts rather than say them.

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The Four Sea Interludes are played by the orchestra whilst the set is changed on the stage and paint wonderful musical pictures of the sea.

This lesson focuses on listening, creating music with your body, dynamics (loud/soft) and creating musical pictures using instruments.

Activity 1 – Setting the scene •

Ask the children to close their eyes and to imagine they are relaxing on a boat in the middle of the sea.

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The water is very peaceful and the sun is overhead. The only sounds are the waves gently splashing against the side of the boat and the birds above.

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Suddenly it starts to feel colder and the wind starts to blow. A storm is brewing… what happens next?

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Ask the children to think about what happens in a storm at sea and how it builds. What sounds do you hear first? The wind?

Rain? The waves getting bigger? Does the boat rock from side to side? How long does it take before there is thunder and lightening? What happens as the storm goes away?

Activity 2 – Listening •

Listen to „Storm‟ and ask the children for their first impressions and write these ideas on the board.

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After a discussion ask the children to draw a picture of the storm they heard

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By now you should have talked to the children about some of the instruments in the orchestra.

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Split the class into four groups and allocate them one section of the orchestra (brass, woodwind, strings and percussion). They should now be familiar with the sections of the orchestra from Lesson 1.

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Play the music again but this time ask each group to raise their hand and pictures every time they hear their section play.

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Go back to the children‟s first impressions of the music. Ask them which instruments match with the sounds they heard e.g. Low brass for the waves starting to get bigger.

Activity 3 – Making a storm with the body •

Place the children in a circle and ask tell them to copy the sound that the person beside them teaches them e.g. you make a sound and pass it to the child on your left, they copy it and pass it on to the next child so that gradually each child starts to join in.

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It is important that they wait until the sound is passed to them before they join in.

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Pass on the following noises to gradually build a storm with the class…

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Silence

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shhh‟ sound with voice

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rub hands together gently

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tap hand with 1 finger, 2 fingers, 3 fingers

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clapping slowly, then quickly

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tapping knees very quickly and loudly

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tapping the floor loudly (like thunder)

Then reverse back through the sequence to finish with silence.

Activity 4 – Dynamics • In music the louds and softs and everything in between are called dynamics.

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Dynamics are very important because they make music much more interesting and exciting. If we didn‟t use dynamics, music could be a bit dull.

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In music we use Italian words for dynamics “forte” means loud and “piano” means quiet.

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If we get gradually louder we call it a “crescendo”

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There were dynamics in the storm we made with our bodies

What happened in our storm?

1. Silence 2. Quiet (piano) 3. Gradually louder (crescendo) 4. Loud (forte) 5. Gradually quieter (diminuendo) 6. Quiet (piano) 7. Silence Conducting Dynamics • Lead the children in a “dynamics” game by asking them to tap their hands quietly when you hold your fingers close together and loudly when you hold them far apart.

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Encourage the children to practice being the leader too.

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Don‟t forget to teach them the stop sign with two palms facing forward.

Activity 5 – Creating a storm with instruments •

Draw 7 squares on the board and using the steps above, draw pictures for each of the dynamics. For example:

1. Silence (sun) 2. Quiet (waves) 3. Gradually louder (rain and clouds) 4. Loud (lightning) 5. Gradually quieter (rain and clouds) 6. Quiet (waves) 7. Silence (sun) •

Talk about which instruments could be used to make the loud sounds and which ones could make the quiet sounds.

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Experiment with the instruments playing them loudly and quietly.

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Decide with the children what instruments should play for each of the 7 pictures. Remember no one should play in pictures 1 and 7!

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Choose a leader to point to the pictures and perform your storm piece as a class.

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Try breaking the class into groups to create their own storm pieces.

Edward Elgar (1857-1934) Edward Elgar was an British composer .

His father had a music shop and tuned pianos.

Elgar taught himself to play lots of instruments.

Elgar also taught himself how to compose which was very unusual at that time.

Elgar‟s piece „Enigma Variations‟ was very popular and he became one of the most important composers of his time.

Photograph provided by the Royal College of Music

Enigma Variations •

The „Enigma Variations‟ is a set of 15 short pieces including a main tune or theme and 14 different versions or variations of this theme.

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Each variation of the theme is dedicated to a different friend of Elgar‟s.

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Elgar tried to imitate the character of his friends in the music.

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The piece is called the Enigma Variations because Elgar placed an Enigma (puzzle or mystery) in the music but no one knows for sure what the mystery is!

Variation IX (Adagio) “Nimrod” •

This variation was written about Elgar‟s great friend Jaegar. Elgar‟s nickname for Jaegar was „Nimrod‟.

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Nimrod is a beautiful slow version of the main theme

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Adagio is an Italian word meaning „slow‟

Variation XI (Allegro di molto) "G.R.S.“ •

This variation is about Elgar‟s friend called George Robertson Sinclair

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Elgar wrote the music not about George but his bulldog called Dan who fell in to the River Wye chasing after a stick.

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In the music you can hear the splash as Dan falls in the river, and him frantically trying to scramble up the bank again.

This lesson focuses on responding and moving to music, learning about tempo (fast/slow) and „theme and variations‟.

Activity 1 – Movement game •

Ask the children to curl into a ball on the floor of the classroom or hall with their eyes closed. They are going to be seeds in the ground who will slowly grow to become trees.

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When you tap each child on their head they will curl very slowly out of a ball and stretch their legs, then stretch up to be a tree moving its branches (arms) slowly in the wind. Encourage them to move very slowly.

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Play Variation IX - Nimrod on a CD player

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Wait until the music has been playing for 1 minute before tapping the first child on the head. After this take lots of time to tap each child on the head so that as the music builds, more of the children stand up.

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After the big climax in the music lead the children in curling back into a ball and closing their eyes.

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This is a great activity to do at the end of the day when the children are tired.

Activity 2 – Responding to the music •

Tell the children the background to Variation XI - G.R.S. and play it to them.

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Ask them if they can hear the dog running around and falling into the river with a big splash. What instruments do they recognise?

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Now play it again with the children tapping on their knees in time to the beat of the music.

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Move the tap around the body tapping your head, shoulders etc. and walking on the spot in time with the music. Ask the children to take it in turns to be the leader of tapping to the beat around their body.

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Now play a stop and start game with the children where you change between playing the music of Nimrod and G.R.S. They need to move very slowly when you play Nimrod and then walk quickly when you play G.R.S.

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Ask the children what kind of creatures move slowly and which ones move quickly. They could also imagine that they are walking on the moon for the slow music and flying a fast space ship through the air for the fast music.

Activity 3 – Tempo Tempo is the speed of the music i.e. faster or slower. A beat is a steady pulse in music. Composers usually write on the music how fast they would like the music to go but the conductor is the person who shows the orchestra exactly how fast to go by moving their arms and baton (stick the conductor holds) at the speed they would like the music to be.

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Choose a simple song or your class‟s favourite song. If the class do not have a favourite song use the Sing Up song bank (www.singup.org) to find a new song. “A Keelie Makolay” from Sing Up is good one for this activity.

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Sing the song through until the children know it well then add clapping with the music whilst singing.

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Now try singing the song at different speeds or tempos whilst clapping along.

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Choose someone to be the conductor. They need to move their arms at the speed they want the song to be and the rest of the class must follow.

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) Maurice Ravel was a French composer born in France close to the border of Spain.

His mother was Spanish and Spanish culture was a strong influence on his life and music.

Ravel studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris.

Although he was a talented pianist he preferred composing.

His most famous orchestral piece was Bolero.

Photograph provided by the Royal College of Music

„The Fairy Garden‟ from „Mother Goose Suite‟ •

Ravel wrote the Mother Goose Suite as a piano duet for his friends‟ children called Mimi and Jean who were 6 and 7 years old. Later, he „arranged‟ or „orchestrated‟ the music to include all the instruments of the orchestra.

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There are 5 short pieces in the Mother Goose Suite and Ravel based four of them around the fairy tales Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Empress of Pagodas and Beauty and the Beast.

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The fifth piece in the Mother Goose Suite called „The Fairy Garden‟ has no story. Instead Ravel creates a musical picture of the magic land where fairies live with their spells and wonders.

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In „The Fairy Garden‟ Ravel makes the music light and delicate by using solo violin and high sounds in the woodwind. He adds sparkles with the glockenspiel (tuned percussion) and a triangle (untuned percussion) at the end.

This lesson focuses on listening, pitch (high/low), timbre (different ways sounds are combined) and using tuned and untuned percussion.

Activity 1 – Listening •

Read a short version of Sleeping Beauty to the class and talk to the children about the fairies in the story. Who are the fairies and where do they live? What would a fairy garden look like? What kind of fairies are there?

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Listen to The Fairy Garden and ask them to listen for the strings (opening), solo violin, flutes and harp (1‟30‟‟), and the glockenspiel, triangle and cymbals in the sparkling ending (2‟40‟‟). It is a good idea to ask the children to close their eyes when listening because they can concentrate more.

Activity 2 – Pitch •

Ravel uses the high instruments in the orchestra to create a delicate, magical sound. Which are the highest instruments in the orchestra? Which are the lowest? Does the size of the instrument make a difference to how high or low it is?

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Ask the children to sing an „ooh‟ sound with their voices and indicate with your finger that they should go higher and then lower.

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Ask the children to volunteer to lead the group with their finger.

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Now ask them to write their name in the air with a finger. They should imitate the shape of this with their voices e.g. if they are drawing an „L‟ their voice should start high, go down lower then stay the same. This is a good vocal warm up exercise.

Activity 3 – Timbre •

Using tuned and untuned percussion instruments try making magical sounds with the class.

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Ask them for their ideas about which instruments would sound most magical and how they should play them. Using high, tuned percussion like glockenspiels, triangles, bells and bell trees will create magical effects. Try different combinations of instruments.

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Return once more to the story of sleeping beauty and tell the story again adding the new „magical‟ instrumental sounds the class has created when something magical happens.

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor.

He is a very important composer who wrote lots of different kinds of music but became very famous writing music for ballet.

His three famous ballets are called The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring.

Infernal Dance and Finale •

The story of Stravinsky‟s ballet „The Firebird‟ is from a Russian Fairy Tale in which a handsome prince is drawn into an enchanted garden and palace where there is an exotic bird called The Firebird, who is like a good fairy.

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The prince falls in love with one of the beautiful captive princesses, but must break the spell of the evil ogre who lives in the palace before he may marry her.

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The ogre sets his guardian monsters on the prince, but the Firebird puts a spell on these magical monsters making them dance an energetic dance (Infernal Dance) that eventually sends them into a deep sleep.

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The Firebird helps the prince to destroy the ogre and everyone celebrates this victory (Finale) and lives happily ever after.

This lesson will focus on getting to know the story of the Firebird and the music through acting, dancing, singing and playing instruments.

Activity 1 – Learning the story •

Tell the children the story of the Firebird.

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Now try acting out the story with the children. The main characters are a handsome Prince, the Firebird, an Ogre, a group of princesses and lots of monsters.

Activity 2 – Dancing •

Listen to the Infernal Dance and ask the children how it makes them feel. How many instruments can they hear? Does it sound like a dance? Does it make them want to dance? How would ogres dance?

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Now make your own ogre dance with the children to the music of Infernal Dance. Ask the children for their ideas about how they could move. Here are some suggestions:

1. Do a star jump every time you hear sudden loud notes in the music.

2. Move on your tiptoes when you can hear the woodwind, stamp your feet when you hear the brass.

3. When you hear the trombone slide (1‟35‟‟) wiggle your body.

Activity 3 – The Finale Theme •

The Finale of the Firebird is the part in the story when they celebrate after defeating the ogre.

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The Finale has a main theme that is played first by the horn, the strings, the flute and finally all the instruments start to join in the theme together.

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Teach the children the Finale theme by singing the words and melody over the page (Hap-pi-ly ev-er af-ter, this is how our sto-ry ends).

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Now listen to the Finale and see if the children can spot the theme in the music.

Activity 4 – Playing instruments •

Sing the first part of the song again (Hap-pi-ly ev-er af-ter).

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Hand out an instrument to every child and play with them the rhythm of the words on the instruments. Teach the children this tune on tuned instruments if you have them.

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Now try doing the same structure as the Finale by bringing in the children one by one on this rhythm until the whole class is playing it together. The children can take it in turns to be the conductor pointing to the other children to show it is their turn.

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If you have internet access in the classroom try watching the chapter in the animated film Fantasia 2000 in which Stravinsky's Firebird music appears in an abridged version of the 1919 suite to tell the story of a spring sprite and her companion elk. You can find this on youtube.

Seventy-eight years after Sir Thomas Beecham founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra, it is recognised today as one of the finest orchestras on the international stage. Following Beecham‟s influential founding tenure the Orchestra‟s Principal Conductorship has been passed from one illustrious musician to another, amongst them Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. This impressive tradition continued in September 2007 when Vladimir Jurowski became the Orchestra‟s Principal Conductor, and in a further exciting move, the Orchestra appointed Yannick Nézet-Séguin, its new Principal Guest Conductor from September 2008. Julian Anderson became the Orchestra‟s Composer in Residence in September 2010. The London Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing at Southbank Centre‟s Royal Festival Hall since it opened in 1951, becoming Resident Orchestra in 1992. It plays there around 40 times each season with many of the world‟s most sought after conductors and soloists. The Orchestra also has flourishing residencies in Brighton and Eastbourne, and performs regularly around the UK. It is unique in combining these concert activities with esteemed opera performances each summer at Glyndebourne Festival Opera where it has been the Resident Symphony Orchestra since 1964. The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs to enthusiastic audiences all round the world. In 1956 it became the first British orchestra to appear in Soviet Russia and in 1973 made the first ever visit to China by a Western orchestra.

Touring continues to form a significant part of the Orchestra‟s schedule and is supported by Aviva, the International Touring Partner of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Tours in 2010/11 include visits to Finland, Germany, South Korea, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. Having long been embraced by the recording, broadcasting and film industries, the London Philharmonic Orchestra broadcasts regularly on domestic and international television and radio. It also works with the Hollywood and UK film industries, recording soundtracks for blockbuster motion pictures including the Oscar-winning score for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The London Philharmonic Orchestra made its first recordings on 10 October 1932, just three days after its first public performance. It has recorded and broadcast regularly ever since, and in 2005 established its own record label. Its own-label releases are widely available at record shops and can be downloaded from its website. Visit www.lpo.org.uk/shop for the latest releases. The Orchestra reaches thousands of Londoners through its rich programme of community and school-based activity in Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, which includes the offshoot ensembles Renga and The Band, its Foyle Future Firsts apprenticeship scheme for outstanding young instrumentalists, and regular family and schools concerts. There are many ways to experience and stay in touch with the Orchestra‟s activities: visit www.lpo.org.uk, subscribe to our podcast series, download our iPhone application and join us on Facebook and Twitter.