28 September 2020
Just a quick one to say a massive thank you from all of us here at Castle school to you, Sam and John for putting together an amazing day of music for us all.
The students get so much out of your concerts and they are a massive talking point for them throughout the year, especially due to current circumstances. Thank you for restoring some musical normality to our school lives and we hope that the prevailing situation doesn’t continue too long and that we can all start making music in a more normal way soon.
Many thanks.
Charles Allison
Teacher of Music and Performing Arts
The Castle School
Newbury
Testimonials from staff and students:
Family Fun Leicester feedback January 2020
Kingfisher School, Abingdon Oxon – working with groups of children who need individual and special education.
Email from Alison Norris, deputy head Kingfisher school: “At Kingfisher we are very aware of the powerful impact that music has on so many of our children and young people. We are always looking for new and different ways to bring music to our students in an accessible and meaningful way. Finding musicians that are willing and able to provide concerts and musical experiences for our pupils can be a challenge and it is so important to have visiting musicians who truly understand and allow our children and young people to express themselves in their own unique ways. Workshops by the Orchestra of St. John’s would be a fantastic way for our students to experience a concert that is truly for them and really meeting their needs and touching them in a way that nothing but music really can.”
Kingwood Trust, Oxfordshire – working with adults with autism and Aspergers:
Email from Bob Horwood, Community Support Manager: “On behalf of Kingwood I would like to say how we fully support your application for funding of music concerts and workshops for individuals on the autistic spectrum. Being a specialist provider of care for adults on the autistic spectrum in Oxfordshire, Kingwood, and the individuals we support, have benefited greatly from attending concerts presented by John Lubbock featuring musicians from the Orchestra of St John’s at Dorchester Abbey and at Cornerstone arts centre at Didcot. Having an autism spectrum diagnosis, the individuals we support have many different sensory issues, and they particularly have problems with sounds. However, all our supported individuals who have attended the OSJ concerts have really enjoyed listening to the music played and look forward to attending each concert as soon as it is announced. Many of these individuals also have attention span issues, and have difficulty sitting and cannot concentrate on many things in their lives. The music presented by the OSJ is different however, and these individuals will happily listen and sit for a whole hour. We look forward to attending further concerts and workshops in the Oxford area.”
Style Acre community, south Oxfordshire– working with adults with learning disabilities:
Robert Edwards-Seal, Development manager:
“We’d be very interested in being involved in this project. We provide a community based day service to around 120 adults with learning disabilities through our bases in Wallingford and Didcot. As such we would be keen to be involved in a project for people with Autism in Oxford. We support a number of people who enjoy live music and would love to be involved in an activity where they can engage in or listen to classical music. We support people with a variety of abilities from people who would engage on a purely experiential level to people who can engage in making music or moving to music.”