CC(3) AC 11 Communities and Culture Committee Inquiry into the „accessibility of arts and cultural activities in Wales‟ Submission by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales We are grateful for the opportunity to provide evidence for the Committee‟s Inquiry. The first part of our submission provides an overview of the Orchestra‟s work. The second part addresses a number of questions posed in the consultation letter. A. Background The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) is the nation‟s only full-time professional symphony orchestra. It has an established reputation as one of the leading orchestral ensembles in the UK. It has won considerable audience and critical acclaim in recent years, under its conducting team, led by Thierry Fischer. The Orchestra‟s home is the newly-built Hoddinott Hall at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, and it produces extensive output for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. With the crucial funding support of Arts Council Wales, the Orchestra has also developed a major national role, touring throughout Wales each year (this role is described in more detail in our response to question 1) and delivering a highly-regarded community outreach and education programme (please see our response to question 2). In any one season, BBC NOW strives to present a broad repertoire of both past and contemporary music to allow audiences to experience works drawn from the whole panoply of orchestral music – from the baroque to present day film and jazz. The Orchestra works with a wide range of contemporary composers and has two positions specifically for composers within its artistic roster. Both these positions guarantee a series of three commissions from the Orchestra as well as exposure for existing works in the Orchestra‟s programmes. In Summer 2008, Simon Holt took up the role of Composer-in-Association, and Guto Puw has just completed a four-year period as Resident Composer with the Orchestra. This latter post is designed to give emerging Welsh composers the opportunity to work with a professional symphony orchestra for a significant period of time. BBC NOW commissions new work from Welsh and non-Welsh composers. Recently, the orchestra premiered a cello Concerto by Adrian Williams and next spring it will perform a new orchestral song cycle by Christopher Painter. As well as the core classical repertoire and new music, the Orchestra also performs important Welsh music from the past. For example, in 09/10 the Orchestra performed pieces by ten Welsh composers, including centenary tributes to Mansel Thomas and Arwel Hughes, as well as Alun Hoddinott‟s last orchestral work Taliesin. We will also celebrate the 75th anniversary of William Mathias with a series of his concertos. The Orchestra also runs annual Welsh Composers workshops where scores from a wide-range of composers are performed, discussed and recorded. The importance of this experience for composers cannot be overestimated. “For Composers in Wales the workshops offer an unrivalled opportunity. It has given me essential training in the business of making my orchestral music work and on how to present myself to a group of professional players. Above all it has given me the best possible platform for getting my music heard. I am grateful for this wonderful experience.” Christian Morris “The project was invaluable to me personally and the experience was entirely positive, uplifting, educational and vitally useful to my continued work as a composer.” Tim Raymond B. Response to Committee questions Response to Question 1 Do you consider the Welsh Government to have achieved its commitment of ensuring that „high-quality cultural experiences are available to all people, irrespective of where they live or their background?‟ How effective has its investment in arts and cultural activities been in realising this objective? We believe the Welsh Assembly Government and Arts Council Wales have made significant progress on this matter, but we recognise that accessibility to high-quality cultural experiences remains a work in progress in Wales, as it is in many other parts of the UK. Supported by Arts Council Wales, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales plays a central role in helping to ensure communities across Wales are able to enjoy high quality cultural experiences. There are three aspects to this: touring, broadcasting and community outreach work. Touring performances across Wales BBC NOW undertakes two annual tours to North Wales; presents an annual concert series at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea; and performs regularly in Newtown, Brecon and at Music Festivals throughout the nation (including St David‟s, St Asaph, Vale of Glamorgan, Swansea and Fishguard). Schools and family concerts are also a part of the mix, along with the annual Proms in the Park. In 2009/10 the Orchestra performed 24 concerts outside of Cardiff, reaching a total audience of nearly 20,000. Broadcasting BBC NOW performs across three major BBC radio networks: BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru. This mix of services ensures that a wide variety of music is broadcast, and that we are able to reach out well beyond the more traditional classical music audiences that are drawn to Radio 3. The Orchestra‟s partnership with the BBC Wales production, Doctor Who, has also helped us to reach out beyond our core audience base. For more than five years, BBC NOW has performed all the music for this major network programme. The series‟ success has meant that our performances are enjoyed by more than 400,000 viewers in Wales each time the programme is broadcast. Education and Community outreach activity In addition to formal concerts, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales has been a pioneer in the development of Education & Community outreach, and devotes more scheduled time to these activities than any other BBC performing group. This work extends the orchestra‟s reach beyond the confines of concert halls and takes the Orchestra into schools, factories, village halls and communities. We have provided more detail about the powerful impact of this work in our response to question 2. Response to Question 2 How exactly are arts and cultural venues – including museums, libraries and archives – actively promoting access, attracting new audiences and encouraging participation in line with the One Wales commitment and the Arts Council‟s strategies? BBC NOW is actively promoting access, attracting new audiences and encouraging participation through a wide range of activity. The orchestra‟s home is the newly built Hoddinott Hall at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. It produces extensive output for BBC Radio 3 from this state-of-the-art recording and rehearsal base. The venue has also quickly established itself as a base for educational events, community workshops, commercial recordings, concerts and other public events such as the Young Musician of the Year semi-finals. As we outlined in our response to question 1, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales has also been a pioneer in the development of Education & Community outreach. In 09/10, BBC NOW undertook 18 separate outreach projects in Wales, reaching a total of 16,202 participants. Two-thirds of these projects were held beyond Cardiff. These projects offer unique opportunities for people to rehearse and perform alongside professional musicians. The aim of the outreach programme is to make music for everyone and inspire people to try something new. The BBC National Chorus of Wales also has an extensive outreach programme, reaching communities across Wales with choral workshops. The outreach activity aims to inspire young people and help them to develop an enjoyment of music and to actively participate in musical activity. In July 2010, for example, BBC NOW performed five concerts over four days in Cardiff, Newtown and Llandudno. Nearly 5000 pupils from 125 schools across Wales were given the opportunity to experience first hand the sound of a complete symphony orchestra in flow. As part of the project, pupils from three special schools in mid and north Wales were involved in a series of workshops which led to the opportunity to perform in the full concerts. Exposure to live orchestral music and working with professional musicians frequently opens new doors for children and suggests creative possibilities for them and talents that they may not have been aware of previously. The experience is overwhelmingly positive and, frequently, transformative. Concert for Special Schools, Theatr Hafren, Newtown - Wednesday 7th July 2010 “My students have gained a huge amount of confidence and self esteem from their involvement with the orchestra. I have been so very impressed with the ease with which the players have worked with our students, some of whom have very challenging behaviour. The students have felt valued and respected throughout the workshops and were so proud of themselves to have performed with the orchestra in front of such a large audience.” Adele Thomas, Brynllywarch Hall School, Kerry, Near Newtown Concert for primary school pupils - St David's Hall - Tuesday 6th July 2010 “I have just got back from the best show ever in my life. It will be the show I will never forget. The day of my first ever concert and it was amazing”. (Pupil, Baglan Primary) “The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it has certainly inspired many of the children to take up an instrument and to practise even harder.” (Teacher, Landsdowne Primary) “The concert was amazing. Thank you for the opportunity - we would love to come again. Some of the group didn't like classical music before the concert but afterwards they had changed their mind.” (Teacher, Ysgol Gymraeg y Ffin) “For our pupils, attending such a first class concert at St David's Hall was a unique experience and the only opportunity for most of them.