Nonesuch Orchestra’s final school workshop of the season was at Sebright Primary School in Hackney. The enterprising Head of Music, Mr George Bunn, had been teaching his pupils about the ground bass - a short foundational theme, usually in the lowest register of the music, which is constantly repeated while the other parts weave melodies and harmonies around it. In the hands of the right composer it is a powerful and compelling device - we explored Walton’s heart-wrenching Death of Falstaff from the famous film of Henry V, and Purcell’s rarely-heard Three Parts on a Ground, with three different age groups of attentive pupils.

In the final session of the morning, we had the chance to give the first performance of compositions by six students from Year 5. They were thrilled to hear their work performed by a proper orchestra rather than a computer, and we were hugely impressed by the enthusiasm and quality of the work Mr Bunn is engaged in with his young scholars. Strong foundations are certainly being laid at Sebright Primary School!