Join our live webinar for music leaders this November and create unity in your mixed-ability ensemble

The virtual event aims to boost creativity and inclusivity in ensembles at a time when many of the nation’s music leaders are under-resourced.

Are you keen to take your youth orchestra to the next level? If so, join us later this month as Orchestras for All (OFA) hosts the fourth live webinar in its Music Leadership Training series.

Titled Mixed-Ability Ensembles: Finding Unity, the one-hour session is scheduled to take place via Zoom at 16:00 GMT on Wednesday 30 November 2022 and will be led by the charity’s Artistic Director, Emma Oliver-Trend.

Emma said: “What runs through your head when someone says ‘mixed-ability ensembles’ – one big compromise? A musical mishmash? At OFA, we have a ‘three-ingredient recipe’ for working with a mixed-ability ensemble: carefully created music parts, a variety of notation and music learning options as well as rehearsal techniques that create unity in the group – the focus of this session.

“Also known as NOFA, our National Orchestra for All is a 100-piece mixed-ability orchestra. We have Grade Eight-ers sitting next to complete beginners and we’ve worked this way for over 11 years – living proof that mixed-ability ensembles can be satisfying both musically and socially.”

Read more: Vulnerable young musicians supported nationwide as Orchestras for All secures new Arts Council England funding >

Pictured: Emma Oliver-Trend leads the way during a Modulo rehearsal at Royal Northern College of Music

While the webinar is free to attend, participants are invited to donate what they can to help OFA continue its life-changing work in breaking down barriers to group music-making for young people, which has become ever more vital at a time when hundreds of schools, music hubs and arts organisations are currently struggling across the country owing to lack of funding.

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Following the success of Emma’s last webinar, which explored how to redefine rehearsals and included a live Q&A, the forthcoming session will surely be a thought-provoking afternoon for both attendees and the Cornwall-based musician – a keen classical and folk violinist, whose previous roles have included Principal Guest Conductor of the Harlow Symphony Orchestra and Founder Director of the Ware Community Orchestra.

Emma has also produced several operas and arts programmes for Welsh National Opera and Dartington Arts, and collaborated with Belgian singer, Nele Van Den Broeck, to pen the stage musical ‘How to fail at being perfect’ – a Young Lyric Production performed at the Lyric Hammersmith in August 2017 and Latitude Festival 2018.

“We value equality of opportunity, removing hierarchy and accessibility to rehearsals,” says Emma

Meanwhile, Emma’s current role as Artistic Director at Orchestras for All includes orchestral conducting, creating large-scale inclusive arrangements, leading conducting training for music leaders and contributing towards the artistic programme of the charity.

Speaking about Mixed-Ability Ensembles: Finding Unity, she said: “This session aims to share our approach, practical ideas and challenges and will invite you to share yours! Our starting point is to invest in a strong community – a culture of social and musical equality that is essential to making a great orchestra.

“We also think it is vital to acknowledge and activate the wide range of musical abilities that young musicians bring. We value equality of opportunity, removing hierarchy and accessibility to rehearsals through inclusive learning.”

Mixed-Ability Ensembles: Finding Unity comes after music education consultant, Professor Nate Holder, and music producer, Jack McNeill, also delivered live webinars this year as part of OFA’s Music Leadership Training series.

Orchestras for All’s Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend announced as host of new webinar for music leaders

“If you’re keen to energise the musicianship and community of your ensemble through thoughtful rehearsal practice, this session is for you!”

Orchestras for All (OFA) is delighted to announce that its Artistic Director, Emma Oliver-Trend, will be hosting a live webinar as part of the charity’s Music Leadership Training programme.

Titled Flip the Script: Redefining Rehearsals, the one-hour session – which is the third event in OFA’s dynamic online series – is scheduled to take place via Zoom on Wednesday 21 September 2022 at 16:15 GMT and will explore the theme of critical listening when leading a young ensemble in classrooms and music hub contexts.

The National Orchestra for All conductor explains: “In the conventional rehearsal model, the ensemble plays a few bars, they stop, the conductor tells them what went wrong and how to fix it and then they try again. Okay, that’s a blunt description and perhaps unfair as this rehearsal practice can easily bring musical progress and great concerts. What’s not to love?

“At Orchestras for All, we value the discipline of ensemble rehearsals and we love it when they’re full of music-making and not too much talking. However, overall this rehearsal practice is not entirely fit for purpose. It’s simply not effective enough in delivering our aims and supporting young people’s musical, personal or social development.

“We are experimenting with rehearsals where active critical listening is owned, explicitly, by everyone. So, if you are interested in energising the musicianship and community of your ensemble through thoughtful rehearsal practice, this session is for you! We’re redefining rehearsals, we’re on a journey and we’d love to share your ideas, so do join the discussion.”

Read more: Watch this epic live concert starring one of the world’s most inclusive youth orchestras >

Pictured: Artistic Director, Emma Oliver-Trend, leads the way at National Orchestra for All’s summer concert

It will surely be a memorable evening both for attendees and the Cornwall-based musician – a keen classical and folk violinist, whose previous roles have included Principal Guest Conductor of the Harlow Symphony Orchestra, Founder Director of the Ware Community Orchestra and a performing member of the Bishop’s Stortford Sinfonia, among others.

Emma has also produced several operas and arts programmes for Welsh National Opera and Dartington Arts, and collaborated with Belgian singer, Nele Van Den Broeck, to pen the stage musical ‘How to fail at being perfect’ – a Young Lyric Production performed at the Lyric Hammersmith in August 2017 and Latitude Festival 2018.

Meanwhile, her current role as Artistic Director at Orchestras for All includes orchestral conducting, creating large-scale inclusive arrangements, leading conducting training for music leaders and contributing towards the artistic programme of the organisation.

Discover Orchestras for All’s programmes >

While Emma’s forthcoming webinar is free to attend, participants are invited to donate what they can to help the charity continue its life-changing work with young people and music leaders nationwide.

It comes after British DJ and composer, Jack McNeill, and music education consultant, Professor Nate Holder, hosted the first two webinars in the online series.

Students from across the country team up with Emma in Manchester for a day of Modulo music-making

Music Leadership Training Programme Manager, Sam Williams, said: “This webinar will focus on an extremely important topic – how to ensure every member of your ensemble has a voice, is listened to, and feels able to contribute. Although the expertise often lies with the conductor or ensemble leader, no group should be a dictatorship, where only one person makes the decisions. To be truly inclusive, a musical ensemble should be flexible enough to accommodate the views of its members, and we really have fostered a culture of this across our programmes at OFA.”

She continued: “Our wonderful Artistic Director, Emma, really lives for inclusivity when she works with young musicians. She is always interested in hearing what people have to say, valuing their contribution and making their feedback mean something in the way she develops artistic themes each season. I couldn’t think of anyone better to deliver this session, which is suitable for music educators and ensemble leaders at any stage.”

Reserve your seat at the webinar >

‘An orchestra is a representation of an effective society’, says Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend

From fugues to folk music, and everything in between, meet our new Artistic Director, Emma Oliver-Trend…

What’s your earliest musical memory?

I think that would have to be recorder lessons with my mum! My brother, sister and I were all home-schooled by our mum for a while as she was a school teacher and part of that involved learning how to play the recorder, so I think my earliest musical memory was standing in the lounge with them aged four playing lots of different tunes.

By the age of five I had joined Exeter Children’s Orchestra, so I can also remember meeting in a school with my sister and other young musicians for a two-hour rehearsal every Saturday morning and sitting on these little benches because we were all so tiny! 

I think that may have been some of the most valuable musical training for me – when I first started, I don't think I could play the recorder but very quickly you learn through doing.

Read more: Music podcast highlights need ‘to take meaningful action against inequality’ – here’s how to listen >

Artistic Director Emma Oliver-Trend plays the violin as a young girl

Tell us about yourself and your role at Orchestras for All.

I’m very proud to now be Artistic Director at Orchestras for All and my professional career has spanned well over two decades (can you believe?) in both the arts and education sectors.

I started out at the Welsh College of Music & Drama (now Royal) before completing my Master’s degree at Dartington College of Arts. Then I worked administratively at some amazing organisations, Music Theatre Wales, Welsh National Opera and Dartington Arts.

I also worked as a producer, collaborating with vocal animateurs – but because I was a practising musician, I wondered if maybe it was my calling to be the person leading rather than producing behind the scenes.

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Later on I trained to become a secondary school music teacher as I was keen to learn more about learning – and I come from a family of teachers, so I guess this area has always been my destiny!

By then, I had a good handle on education and decided to stretch my experience, so now I’m a freelance music practitioner and really love it here at Orchestras for All. I’ve created musical arrangements, conducted ensembles and worked with Marianna and the team on forming the artistic programme. 

Emma Oliver-Trend leads the way at a concert with National Orchestra for All

I enjoy focusing my thinking on the how. Choosing the right repertoire is key, but it’s what you do with it that counts. With every community project, you seek to improve the lives of the people you’re working with – it’s important to think about musical and social outcomes.

Has this influenced the development of National Orchestra for All’s Spring theme?

Definitely! Our new theme is ‘The way we see it’ and it’s all about youth voice. While that’s presented in our repertoire, the way we actually run our rehearsals and how we involve young people in our decision-making ties in with the theme too. For me, it’s about community and the relationship between music and society. 

To get that across, we’re using ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’ – an amazing composition written by Benjamin Britten – as the springboard for this season with NOFA and I’m currently working on the arrangement.

Read more: A tribute to Lucy Hale, former Young Composer-in-Residence at National Orchestra for All >

It’s often heralded as the piece that teaches young people about instruments but it’s so much more than that; it presents many different textures. The famous opening theme (the ‘Rondo’) is presented with a unified orchestra that represents solidarity. 

As the piece goes on, you have four instrument families all speaking to each other and then the variations kick in, which allow each instrument to say something unique – there are some rather strong characters in there! Britten made lovely choices when supporting these instruments – for example pairing the oboe line with the violas and lower strings.

Of course, you also have that wonderful fugue where each instrument is heard with its own entry and you get real clarity. Unlike a lot of music that you hear which has a main melody on top, fugues take on an egalitarian form. Everyone is equal and has the same challenge, which I love – you can hear so many layers!

At the end of the piece, you have this amazing moment that always brings me close to tears. The main theme comes in with the bass instruments again… It gives me goosebumps just talking about it! It’s the perfect piece to help us present the idea that an orchestra can reflect society.

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You have solidarity where everyone speaks as one, individual voices can have their say, and a diverse group of people are supported by others who they didn’t expect to meet. There are even agreements and disagreements in this music, so it’s definitely a true representation of today’s society! I can’t think of a more suitable set of principles to explore through music today. 

Alongside Britten, we’re going to be creating two new pieces with NOFA – a bespoke digital project and a live creative work.

Emma Oliver-Trend conducts the National Orchestra for All

What do you enjoy the most about working with young people?

I love the energy they give you. If you want your young people to be energetic and responsive, you need to be energetic and responsive with them. It’s important to be authentic and nurture them in an environment that has a friendly, family-like vibe as I find they appreciate honesty and openness. Now more than ever, it’s important to give young people a voice.

Are inclusive ensembles the way forward?

Oh, absolutely – and inclusivity is central to our work here at Orchestras for All. We’re always looking for ways to improve and working with a wide range of partners to develop our practice.

It’s all about collaboration and we intend to stay at the forefront of those conversations, in the hope that we can inspire and empower even more young people throughout their lives and musical careers.

The former teacher shares her expert advice with aspiring young musicians

And finally, what piece of advice would you give to other young people who are interested in joining an orchestra?

My first piece of advice would be to join an orchestra that has a strong sense of community. Like I mentioned earlier, an orchestra is a representation of an effective society and that offers some real benefits, from boosting your confidence to developing your social and communication skills.

But I don’t mean just talking to people at break time – it’s all about the playing and special musical experiences where you are working really closely with your neighbour.

Since many rehearsals only take place once a week, my second bit of advice would be to play along with the music that you are learning at home. Try to get hold of a CD or recording of the piece and get used to hearing lots of different sounds while you practice your part.

Bring the ensemble into your home! When you all come together again, it’ll feel familiar and you’ll enjoy it much more as a result.

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