The Nonesuch Orchestra has just returned from a concert workshop at Stoneydown Park Primary School in Walthamstow - another new school for Nonesuch and a day to remember for everyone who was there.

We played excerpts from Holst’s St Paul’s Suite, Bach’s 3rd Brandenburg Concerto, and Stravinsky’s Concerto in D. We showed how classical music can range from beautifully simple to deeply complex, but all the time telling a story. The pupils of Stoneydown Park shared how each piece made them feel, had a conducting lesson, and came up with some wonderfully creative ideas for the stories they heard in the music.

To finish, a delightful and talented group of Stoneydown musicians joined with Nonesuch to perform “Fire! Fire!” by Tony Osborne under the experienced hand of Robin Wedderburn.

It’s perhaps best left to teacher Fay Lenner to sum up the morning:

“Please pass on a huge thank you to everyone from all of us here at Stoneydown! It was lovely to meet you all. The children and staff loved it and I had so many wonderful emails from parents whose children had gone home and told their parents all about it!”