The Dream Orchestra

The Dream is a collaboration between young people and staff from The Francis Lallart School, France and Rochdale Music Service in the UK, supported by the Vivendi Create Joy Fund.

Diane Emdin, Co-ordinator of the Vivendi Create Joy Fund, dreamt of creating a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity for young musicians in France and in the UK. The result is a cultural and musical exchange that crosses international borders, culminating in the performance of a piece written especially for them.

With their partner Orchestre à l’école, an organisation that funds group musical practice through orchestras at schools from deprived areas across France, Vivendi launched a national competition from which The Francis Lallart School was selected. In the UK, Rochdale Music Service and their young musicians were chosen by Music for Youth.

Composer Tim Steiner has spent the last seven months working with the teachers and young people in both groups to develop the piece. The starting points for the composition were inspired by improvisations by the young musicians. These improvisations threw up little “golden nuggets” of inspired musical brilliance that then became the backbone of the piece. This was  then further developed with the leaders, before finally being arranged and structured by the entire ensemble during an intensive four day rehearsal, leading to premiere performance of The Dream at the 2012 Schools Prom.

Conductor: Tim Steiner 
Age range of performers: 12-18 

Performing:
The Dream by Tim Steiner