The virtual concert is packed with entertaining surprises and is designed to keep children engaged. The performance will feature the premiere of Jabberwocky by Paul Campbell as well as dance elements and animations from CCC’s partners at the University of the West of Scotland.
Introducing children to orchestral music, this is CCC’s third digital offering; their first two concert films were presented with the RNSO at Halloween and Christmas. The companies 20-piece essential orchestra have returned now with an Alice in Wonderland theme, performing as characters from the books.
In addition to virtual concerts, CCC has also offered a series of free music-making resources throughout the pandemic for home-schooling parents and teachers. The step-by-step guides were coined Music Sparks, and are available on their website for free. Activities include creating junk musical instruments, recording a film soundtrack and exercises linking music with nature, gaining them a community of 14,000 music-makers.
The company has also worked with sonic artist Jamie Wardrop to increase their inclusivity; they have developed a unique visual representation of music to engage with deaf audience members with British Sign Language interpretation.
CCC’s artistic director Owen Gunnel said: ‘To be honest, I never dreamt I would be presenting digital workshops from my own percussion store or from the CCC office back garden, but we made it work. The restrictions have given us opportunities to think outside the box.’
The companies creative producer Catherine Earnshaw said: ‘Catering for our family audience, we knew we couldn’t simply point a camera at a stage of socially-distanced musicians – no matter how desperate everyone was to hear the music. As we were forced to use film, we decided to be creative and explore what film can do.’
‘We have been able to push the visual dimension of our concerts in completely new ways – and we have had 100,000 views. It’s a silver lining to be grateful for, even though we are itching to get back on stage. Nothing beats the impact of a live event and the interaction with the audience.’
Wonderland will be free to view and available to stream on the CCC website from 29 May until the end of August. Registration here is required.
