An Aberdeen school beat lockdown to make connections with musicians across Europe for a virtual concert.
Albyn School pupils debuted their first production – the Erasmus+ 2021 Virtual Concert – on Youtube last week. They worked with students from schools in five other countries: France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Lithuania.
Albyn the ‘driving force’
Albyn music teacher Shirley Magill said that her students led the way in organising and producing the concert, which introduced students to music and culture from around the world.
She said: “Albyn is the driving force behind this project and will host and lead each stage of the process. This initiative is designed to make our pupils more aware of different cultural perspectives and become more globally minded.”
The six schools broke off into pairs to collaborate on their songs. Albyn students joined with students in Italy to perform four pieces that drew on features and qualities of their country’s native heritage.
The first piece featured in the concert, “Antidotum Tarantulae,” has its roots in Southern Italy. Tarantellas refer to a group of folk dances that are loosely connected to tarantism — a form of hysteria that emerged in the 15th and 17th centuries.
The disease has been loosely connected to a poisonous bite from a tarantula spider, from which victims were supposedly cured through wild dancing.
“It felt good to be able to connect with people from all Europe, even without being able to meet them face to face.
-Tiegan Rennie
Upper 4 student Tiegan Rennie played clarinet and sang during the concert. She said that it was a great experience to engage with the music from another part of the world.
“It felt good to be able to connect with people from all Europe, even without being able to meet them face to face. I really hope that we will be able to travel to Italy sometime next session and perform alongside the students from our paired school in Lombardi. It will be great to meet them!”
A taste of home
As much fun as they had experimenting with new styles and new inspirations, the Albyn students also shared the sounds of Scotland with their international cohorts.
Hannah Magill, Upper 2, said:
“I particularly enjoyed playing the recorder in ‘Farewell to Stromness’ because it is such a beautiful piece and very Celtic sounding. It is amazing that technology allows us to join with students from all round Europe and play alongside them as if they were standing next to us!”
And the youngest member of the group, Lower 7 Jonny Turner, said that he enjoyed his first taste of international stardom.
“I am so grateful to be part of such a big scale project. Getting involved with all these pupils across Europe is such a privilege. It is always tricky to record in isolation and can be quite stressful, but our teacher gave us a guide track which make it much easier to record alongside and keep in time.”
Much more to come
The Albyn School virtual concert is just the first part of a two-year project through the Erasmus+, an EU programme geared towards promoting international collaboration. Ms. Magill said that her students’ next challenge will be to compose a “Symphony for Europe” together with input from all six schools.
She said they have their fingers crossed for a return to international travel in 2022, when they hope to bring all six schools together for a grand finale.
“The climax of this exciting two-year project will hopefully see Albyn hosting all six schools in Aberdeen towards the end of 2022 for a collective concert featuring individual items from each participating school, culminating in the premier performance of the newly completed Symphony for Europe.”