Symphony for all

Concert hall Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam, February 17th, 2006

In a single afternoon, conductor Jurjen Hempel and musicians from the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra prepared primary school children, students of music schools and more experienced amateurs for the performance of "Symphony for All", the first symphony in which profs and beginners play an equal role. Finally even the audience takes part.

Symphony for All is a new work, which includes children and non-professionals in an artistic symphony project of high quality.The combination of professional excellence and the energetic activity of young music players provides a dynamic range of delicate sound colors. Nature sounds, refined harmonies and virtuoso passages form a unity.

Performing a large orchestral piece is an almost supernatural experience that is largely the privilege of professional musicians. Generally, the audience is expected to humbly sit and listen, and the works are often beyond the reach of the amateur musician.

The last few years I have been running workshops where amateurs and children perform together with professional musicians. This piece places the esthetic I have been developing during these workshops into a form manageable by a professional orchestra, without getting stuck in conventional forms of notation and execution.

During the course of one day, members of the orchestra will facilitate small groups and prepare separate elements. In the evening, the pieces fit together like a puzzle, creating a world of sound, which takes over the entire space. Accidental and even chaotic parts played by the students and amateurs flow into the sophisticated professional sounds.

Symphony for All allows a large number of participants the unique experience of creating a high quality orchestral piece in a short space of time. Its primary aim, however, is not educational. It is an autonomous, contemporary piece and the choice of mixing different levels of performance experience, and the involvement of amateurs, children and the audience is an aesthetic one. This allows us to share the act of making music and provides a collective experience of harmony.

There is no boundary between the musicians on stage and the audience in the hall. The audience is both participant and spectator. Such a thing might occur at pop concerts or in clubs, but has until now never been achieved by a symphony.

Click to hear an audiosample from Symphony for All