Small Schools Music Festival (From This Is Wiltshire)

Small Schools Music Festival

11:41am Saturday 7th June 2008 in

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STUDENTS from small primary schools in Wiltshire are taking part in the Small Schools Music Festival this summer.

The schools will be performing 'Everyman's Land' which tells the story of how a refugee girl teaches two feuding tribes about the futility of war, so that they can conquer their differences, and create a better world.

The children have been working with composer Pete Letanka and lyricist Moira Townsend Williams to create new songs for their performances. Schools are visited each term by a vocal specialist from Wiltshire County Council's music service to enhance their knowledge and skills in singing and to help them to learn all the songs.

The Small Schools Music Festival is a partnership with the county council, Wiltshire Music Centre and small schools from across the county. It is funded by Youth Music, which is a national organisation that provides grants for music-making activities with young people through lottery funding.

This biannual event gives smaller rural schools the opportunity to experience taking part in large-scale events in which they play a central part. Some children from smaller schools have never had the chance to do this before.

Valerie Hayward, head of the music service at Wiltshire County Council, said: "When the schools come together for the performance it is a wonderful experience for the children to be able to sing with so many others. The unison singing and the harmonies they produce are exciting and very fulfilling."

The Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford on Avon will host three of the shows on Friday 13, Wednesday 18 and Friday 20 of June. The final performance will take place on Tuesday July 8 at Marlborough College. All shows start at 7pm.

Tickets for all four performances will be available from June 2 through the Wiltshire Music Centre on 01225 860 100.