Journey – Bridging Cultures
The Orchestra of St John’s partners with the Oxford Spires Academy and the University of Oxford Faculty of Music, to explore the the power of music to break down cultural barriers while providing a platform for the expression of cultural identity.
Led by OSJ’s Associate Conductor, Cayenna Ponchione-Bailey and Composer in Residence, Toby Young, Journey brings together young asylum seekers and other Oxford Spires Academy students in year 12, to collaboratively compose and perform a multi-media orchestral composition.
Together, with the support of Toby, Cayenna and undergraduate students from the University of Oxford’s Music Faculty, Spires students have explore each other’s musical heritages, share the journeys which have brought them together today, and discuss how music is part of their individual and collective identities. Then, working with musicians from the Orchestra of St John’s and workshop leaders, the students will design a new composition for orchestra which interweaves the musical histories and identities of the group, and amplifies the voices of these creative young people within the Oxford Community.
The new work will performed by a combined group of musicians from the Orchestra of St John’s, Oxford Spires Academy and University of Oxford in an OSJ orchestral concert in SJE Arts in June 2021.
An exciting component of this project is the collaboration with Professor Samantha Dieckmann, at the University of Oxford Faculty of Music. Professor Dieckmann is a specialist in music education, community music and intercultural musical collaborations. She is mentoring two postgraduate students at Oxford who are exploring the impact of this work on the experiences of the participants, workshop leaders and audience members.
This project is funded by Arts Council England and The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities.
Journey: Bridging Cultures through Music
The Video
