LPO Music Makers

Committed to supporting music-making in school, Music Makers is the Orchestra’s creative project working with children aged 7–11 and their teachers.

Through the wonder of orchestral music, LPO Music Makers:

• Develops and builds teachers’ confidence in creative music-making
• Supports children’s creative music skills and wider musical knowledge and enjoyment
• Inspires school communities through close-up access to world-class musicians
• Supports schools in embedding music into their wider culture

LPO musicians work with two schools in South London and two in Eastbourne each year, under the guidance of animateur and music education specialist Rachel Leach.

In 2024 we were delighted to work with Ealdham Primary School (Greenwich), Twin Oaks Primary School (Lewisham), Heron Park Primary Academy and Parkland Junior School (Eastbourne).

What’s involved?

We work with the local Music Education Hubs to identify which schools will most benefit from the project. Once the schools are signed up, each of them work with us through the project stages:

• Schools take part in a bespoke half day of training for all their teaching staff. This session focuses on general music-making skills to encourage and nurture confidence in music-making in the whole school.
• Teachers leading the classes taking part in LPO Music Makers take part in further training to enable them to become classical music champions, allowing for their own personal development as well as having the confidence to share their learning with their wider school network.
• Classes have the opportunity to see the world-class London Philharmonic Orchestra performing at one of our BrightSparks schools’ concerts for no additional cost, at either the Royal Festival Hall or Eastbourne Congress Theatre, along with thousands of other children from across the country.
• We run a series of in-school creative music-making workshops with children, led by Rachel Leach and LPO musicians, focused on devising a piece of music inspired by their experience at our BrightSparks concert and concluding with an in-school sharing where the groups can perform their finished piece in front of their peers and/or parents and carers.
• A feedback session for teachers to reflect and continue peer-learning relationships that have been cultivated throughout the project, empowering them to take music-making further in their individual settings.