This imaginative partnership takes collaboration between professional artists and the public education system into new and exciting territory in which creativity has a part to play in all aspects of the curriculum.
Sir Nicholas Serota, Chair, Arts Council England
In September 2020 the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment moved into our school in the first residency of its kind in the United Kingdom.
Since then the partnership has continued to flourish and the orchestra has become fully embedded in the life of the school community. The OAE rehearses in our unique standalone Assembly Hall and have their offices in the main school building. They also provide a full education programme which works to enhance Acland Burghley’s curriculum offer.
This includes the Musical Connections project with the Additional Educational Needs Faculty and the creation of a community opera in collaboration with the Dance and Music departments as well as local primary schools which culminates in an annual performance at the South Bank Centre.
For students interested in the production side of managing an international orchestra, there is also the opportunity to join the Dreamchasing Young Producers Club. This innovative scheme mentors and trains young people in the skills of management, creative design and production. The OAE run sessions every week after school and students work towards producing the multi-genre live music event Live at the Hex which takes place in the Spring and Summer terms.
They began by throwing out the rulebook. Put a single conductor in charge? No way. Specialise in the repertoire of a particular era? Too restricting. Perfect a work and then move on? Too lazy. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was born. Questioning. Challenging. Trailblazing.
Find out more about their history, values and approach to playing music on their website.
