THE LEADING Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has committed herself to staging more large educational projects in Scotland after teaming up with more than 300 young violinists in Dundee.
The Festival of Strings, held in the Caird Hall, Dundee, was the culmination of three tutorial sessions for young string players led by the award-winning musician.
These tutorial sessions, called Super Strings, have been held in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling, and were organised with the Big Noise youth orchestras.
Ms Benedetti said she had been moved by the coming together of the more than 300 young players in Dundee and would be "definitely doing it again."
"To see some of the strongest and great players in the country, and the children who have not been playing very long, all playing together is special - the collective spirit is really quite amazing," she said.
The children involved play violin, viola, cello and double bass and had previously attended one of the Super Strings Sessions for beginner, intermediate and advanced string players.
They were joined by teachers and children from the four Big Noise projects in Raploch in Stirling, Govanhill in Glasgow, Torry in Aberdeen and Douglas in Dundee.
The musica, which was led by conductor Félix Briceño, included ‘Polka Dot Polka’, movements from Warlock’s ‘Capriol Suite’, ‘Tempest’ by James Redwood and works by Sibelius and Grieg.
Benedetti, who has previously stated she wants to increase the amount of educational work she does - fitting it in her busy schedule of concerts and recording - tutored the children in technique and the sound of their instruments.
The sessions are part of the events being held to celebrate the 10th birthday of the establishment of Sistema Scotland, the charity which runs the Big Noise programmes.
Benedetti added: “This has been an immense opportunity for me, personally, to give something back to Scotland as part of my work advocating for high quality music education and the impact it can have. I have enjoyed every minute of playing and interacting with these children and young people, hearing their thoughts and opinions and being a part of everything that is great about making music together.
“The transformative power of music is clear.
"It brings people together, creating a sense of unity and community and fosters collaboration and learning.
"I have seen at first-hand how the children’s confidence, concentration and playing has improved and how creative and passionate they are about their music.
"It has been a fantastic way for me to help celebrate the 10th birthday of Sistema Scotland and Big Noise."
Nicola Killean, Chief Executive of Sistema Scotland, said: “The Festival of Strings is a brilliant finale to the Super Strings Sessions which were a huge success. Working with Nicola Bendetti has been truly inspirational for the children and the teachers."
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