Age:
7 – 10
2025 Residency dates:
Spring: 15 – 17 April
Summer: 20 – 22 August
About the orchestra…
At this early stage of their musical development, our members arrive with a range of different skill sets. Each residency is designed to meet the needs of members through a variety of musical and creative activities. There are two Sinfonietta residencies each year and as our residencies are short, we are keen to find concise musical material that can be developed in a variety of ways. Using movement and singing, we learn this by ear.
Playing standard
We acknowledge that many younger players do not learn through the exam syllabus. A solid basis in string playing is what we are looking for. Grades 2 – 5 or equivalent should be regarded purely as guidance rather than as strict requirements.
Previous Repertoire
Our repertoire is chosen from traditional tunes, rounds, and strings classics.
Recent themes have included Birds in Spring (using music from Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons), and Bow Olympics.
Performances
Sinfonietta presents a workshop at the end of the Spring residency, showing examples of what has been achieved. This typically includes playing, singing and movement, framed by some examples of creative work which might be musical improvisation, poetry and/or artwork. Sinfonietta also performs in the summer concert at Stamford School.
Join us now!
Residencies: What to expect?
A day in the life…
Like the courses for older members, NYSO Sinfonietta takes place at Stamford School, but in a separate part of the campus. The children sleep in large dorm rooms of 4-5 in our lovely Sinfonietta boarding house which has a large common room and an enclosed garden. This is just a five-minute walk from the High School building where the teaching happens, and where we have breakfast, lunch and snacks.
We walk over to the main campus to join the rest of NYSO for our evening meal. All movement between buildings is done as a group with children never going anywhere themselves. As well as our Music & Creative Coaches, we have a Pastoral Team present around the clock to ensure the wellbeing & happiness of all students present on the residency.
Playing:
Full Orchestra & Sectionals
Sinfonietta generally works in bare feet as we often remind ourselves of detail by going back to movement and singing. Violinists and violists rehearse standing and perambulate at times. Typically, we only have one session split into upper/lower strings, to sort out issues that are particular to the instruments.
Dalcroze & Kodaly
Many musicianship concepts and skills are learned most efficiently away from instruments. Dalcroze believed that the body is the primary instrument. Developing an embodied understanding of elements such as pulse, rhythm and phrase is much more secure than simply having an intellectual concept. We use Dalcroze movement/movement/aural principles to embed fundamental musicianship skills and address technical issues such as how we prepare and maintain our bodies for healthy playing.
Kodaly musicianship is used to develop aural understanding. All children, whether they’ve come across Kodaly before or not, are able to access activities. We adapt these activities to support the learning of repertoire. The children find this aspect of the course absorbing, interesting and enjoyable.
Boarding
We appreciate it may be your first experience staying away from home, and so offer flexi-boarding options for Sinfonietta. We allocate all students a bed in the dorms, however if you do not wish to board overnight with us, you can arrange with us to pick up your child in the evening once rehearsals are over for the day and drop off the next morning before breakfast. As the bed is reserved, you can change your mind regarding overnight stays at any point, staying the first and not the second, or the other way around.
Creative sessions
Creative work is central to our philosophy as performing on an instrument is a communication from oneself to others. This element of musicianship training is much easier addressed in groups as everyone learns from each other. The children also take part in non-musical activities such as crafting and poetry writing. We are aiming to open up possibilities and widen horizons.
Our creative sessions explore the repertoire through the lens of other arts. There are always a number of options available so that children can try something new or go deeper into something they feel more comfortable with. Crafting and poetry writing are always popular. It’s an opportunity to work collaboratively or individually. There is often singing in the room which is lovely to hear.