Saved free concert scheme 'inspiring' young people

Stephanie has been playing the violin since she was at primary school.

Now aged 15, she has had the opportunity to perform on stage at one of the city's biggest venues, The University of Wolverhampton at The Halls.

She describes being immersed in classical music as "a lifetime experience".

However, the project which offered the opportunity was at risk of ending after Arts Council England funding ended this year. But, following a funding pledge from Wolverhampton City Council, it will continue for at least three more years.

Stephanie has been part of a "super orchestra" of more than 100 child and adult musicians who performed a specially curated programme at The Halls.

So far there have been three such performances for thousands of youngsters since the pilot scheme, run by Wolverhampton Music Service and Wolverhampton Symphony Orchestra, launched in 2023.

The idea is to give children both the opportunity to be a part of an orchestra and experience live music in a rich setting.

Thousands of secondary school children from across the city have attended the performances.

The city council has stepped in, investing £90,000 over the next three years to keep the music playing.

"We've actually worked really hard not to play just boring classical music," said Ciaran O'Donnell, head of Wolverhampton Music Service.

"We've played music from movies, music from computer games, we've played music that young people would recognise from TV and film."

This year's concert in February featured former Wolverhampton pupil Jessica Lim and was watched by about 3,000 children and teenagers.

Lim, who attended the same school as Stephanie, has performed in many West End shows, and returned to the city to sing Defying Gravity from Wicked.

O'Donnell said bringing back former pupils was about showing young people in Wolverhampton "that music is for them too, and if they want to go off and do it professionally then they should feel empowered to do so".

Stephanie explained she felt inspired by live music, and her favourite piece to play was the "spooky and exciting" Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens.

"I've also made more friends in the music school because of [the concerts]," she said.

"We've been helping each other out."

Moving forward, O'Donnell said plans were being drawn up for family-friendly evening concerts, alongside the schools programme, which he hopes could also support the city's night-time economy.

"We think if we did an early evening concert we might be able to encourage people to come in, have a bite to eat in the city centre before coming to a free concert that showed young people the value of an orchestra in their city."

Arts Council England said Place Partnership projects were "always time-limited" and praised the council for allowing the concerts to continue.

"It's fantastic that the City of Wolverhampton Council has provided funding for these concerts to continue beyond the initial three years," a spokesperson said.

"The young people of Wolverhampton will continue to have access to great arts and culture."

Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.