An Aberdeen primary school pupil has told of her excitement and pride at performing alongside Scotland’s national orchestra.
Somi Sodienye-Cookey, 11, from Greyhope Primary School in Torry, was one of 22 pupils who took part in the performance with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) at Aberdeen’s Music Hall recently.
The young musicians took to the stage as part of the Big Noise programme, which has been part of Torry for the past 11 years.
The joint orchestra, led by acclaimed RSNO conductor John Wilson, performed five movements from Bartók’s ‘Romanian Folk Dances’ in front of a packed audience on Thursday night.
The performance drew praise from the RSNO, who said the children’s joy and enthusiasm was ‘infectious’.
Somi joined Big Noise as a primary 4 pupil and plays the violin. She said the music sessions had helped her make new friends as well as learn a new skill. She has her sights set on becoming as good a musician as possible in the future, and dreams of performing in front of packed concert halls.
The concert was designed to give young people the chance to develop their confidence and performance skills as well as showcase their work to friends and family.
It is another way that Big Noise works with the community to help grow confidence and resilience in children and young people.
The programme, which launched in Aberdeen in 2015, now supports around 700 children and young people through work in Greyhope and Tullos primary schools, and Lochside Academy secondary school.
It sees children and young people learn music after school, creating a community orchestra which supports children and young people to gain vital life skills such as confidence, resilience, creativity, and aspiration.
Since launching in Raploch in 2008, Big Noise has grown to support more than 3,500 children and young people every year in six centres in Torry in Aberdeen, Douglas in Dundee, Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, Govanhill in Glasgow, and Raploch and Fallin in Stirling.
Run by the charity Sistema Scotland, it uses music and nurturing relationships to strengthen communities and support young people to fulfil their potential.
Somi. Photograph credit: Alan Richardson.Somi Sodienye-Cookey said:
“I love Big Noise because I really like to learn new skills. It is fun to play with other people, and I’ve made a lot of friends through it as well. It’s just a very social place where we can have friends learn a skill which could help you in the future.
“My dad, my sisters and my mum were all there to see me. I was excited but also nervous, because there were a lot of people who had been doing music for a long time, but I was also confident I could do well.
“Next, I will try to learn more complex pieces and be able to perform in some more really big concerts with a lot of people watching. I want to play very well and just be able to be in big concerts with lots of instruments and just be a good musician in general.”
Andy Stevenson, RSNO director of engagement, said:
“We love welcoming the young musicians of Big Noise Torry to perform side-by-side with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Aberdeen Music Hall. Their joy and enthusiasm are infectious, and their performance is always engaging for both our audiences and musicians.
“Offering experiences such as these to the Big Noise centres across the country and helping to nurture the confidence of their young people is a privilege. I look forward to these side-by-side performances continuing and seeing where their musical journeys will take these young people in the future.”
Vicky Williams, chief executive of Sistema Scotland, said:
“We are incredibly proud of our young musicians from Torry and their outstanding performance alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
“Their hard work and dedication shone through as they played on one of Scotland’s most prestigious stages.
“We’d like to offer huge thanks to our friends at the RSNO for being fantastic partners across all of our programmes, to the parents, carers and schools we work with every day, and of course to the young people.”
Big Noise is designed to strengthen the communities where it is based, developing relationships with participants and their families based on mutual respect, trust, and a commitment to working together and tackling inequalities for the long term.
Through music and nurturing relationships, from infancy to adulthood, Big Noise supports participants’ wellbeing and helps them reach their full potential.
A long-term evaluation of the model by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health was published in 2022. It found that 98 per cent of Big Noise participants in Raploch went on to a positive post-school destination.
