LSO WW1 project outline
Draft 3; 23 May 2014
Project title: Music and conflict – the LSO in the First World War
Purpose of the project
The purpose of this project is:
Through the heritage of the LSO…
1.
To explore the life and activities of the LSO during the years of the First World War and its impact on the years immediately afterwards.
What happened to the Orchestra? What work did they do? Did it alter in nature? Did the personnel change vastly – did the numbers increase or
decrease? Were more women or older men drafted in to cover men away on active service? What was the attitude to the LSO playing on during
the war? Who did they work with (conductors & soloists) and was this for specific reasons?
2.
To uncover the stories of and commemorate the LSO Members who were called away on active service.
Telling the stories of the individuals, including those who died whilst at war, through the heritage documents, letters, programmes etc. How did
their families cope? How was their work covered at the LSO? Can we locate any first hand accounts? What happened to them at the end of the
war?
3.
To explore the role of music in warfare, and the effect of war on music and culture.
How music was/is used to boost morale and in battle; how music can be used in therapy; how the war changed the face of the music scene in
London; how the war changed the orchestral repertoire through nationalism and anti-enemy feeling.
Aims of the project
Through this project we aim to:
1.
Explore our heritage through researching the LSO’s life during the war, using objects, artefacts, minutes, letters and programmes in the
archive to explore the impact of the war on the individual LSO members.
2.
Share and conserve our heritage by creating a touring musical storytelling workshop and pop-up exhibition for schools, families and
community groups; and making our heritage digital and online to reach out to people beyond the LSO’s immediate circle.
3.
Create new understanding by bringing a new perspective on the war, by recognising the contribution of musicians to the war, by
bringing our archive collection into a better condition for its preservation into the future, by helping young people understand how the war is
relevant and how music still has a role to play in war and peace, by extending the knowledge of the LSO in its existing audiences and
communities
Activities
These purposes and aims will be achieved through the following activities:
1.
Research and discovery phase
- Sort, catalogue and digitise the archival material for the years 1914–1920 (if possible from 1904);
- Conserve LSO archive material if worn or damaged to secure the future of the physical archive;
- Work with researchers and historians to uncover the interesting stories amongst the material, including researching the family histories of the
LSO members on active service
- Work with academics at Coventry University to look into the background of the LSO and how the war was affecting cultural life in London,
using the LSO archives, TNA material and archives such as Royal Albert Hall and sound archives containing original recordings from this
period
- Work with teachers to ascertain the most likely school age groups to engage with and get value from the online and offline learning
programmes, and on the presentation of the website
2.
Touring exhibition and workshop
Gareth Davies will devise and present a music-based workshop/talk/recital which tells some of the stories about the LSO, its members and the
effect of war on culture. This might include excerpts of music written during the period arranged by Gareth and performed by a small group of
LSO musicians. The workshop will be accompanied by a pop-up exhibition of items from the period held in the LSO archives.
The workshop can be tailored to be suitable for:
KS3 (ages 11-14)
Adult learners
The workshop will be presented in schools and colleges, at community group meetings and at LSO performance venues such as the Barbican,
LSO St Luke’s and touring (UK and selected Europe only).
A further development of these workshops in schools might be to engage students in a creative musical response to what they have learned in
the workshops, to be included in a commissioned participation piece in the Autumn 2015 Key Stage Concert (concert budget out of scope).
The concert will include music from the WW1 period and its place in history, as developed in the R&D phase with Coventry University.
3.
Website
The findings from the research and discovery phase will be presented on a multi-layered website or web app which will tell the stories through
and engaging online interface. This might include
- VR characters and gamification
- a searchable database of the LSO’s work and membership during this time which will allow people to research their own families’ history in the
LSO during this period and share their findings with others.
- A call for people to share privately held items relevant to the LSO during this period in order to extend our knowledge of our heritage
- An area containing the photos we have from this period with an open call for people to tag faces, locations and situations that the LSO have
been unable to identify
- Online learning resources devised and created by Coventry University which can be used online and offline in learning environments such as
schools and colleges
- Information about how the LSO is marking the WW1 anniversary through major commissions, family events and conferences
- A soundtrack/playlist of examples of music from the period, using original recordings where available, for example from the Library of
Congress National Jukebox
Future of the Project
1.
To have created a digital platform on which we can continue to build a picture of the LSO’s history through further digitised archival material
2.
To have a set of creative musical responses from workshop participants which can be included in a commissioned work for a KS Schools
Concerts in the late Autumn of 2015
Targets
Through this project we will be reaching:
- School-age children (KS3) in the LSO’s Discovery catchment areas in East London
- Adult community groups such as U3A, WI, local history groups, music clubs, community groups in EC1
- The professional music community in London
- LSO audiences at the Barbican, LSO St Luke’s and on tour in the UK (e.g. Luxembourg, Vienna, Linz Jan 2015, Paris Feb/Apr/Jun 2015, Wiltshire Apr 2015,
Germany/Switzerland May 2015, Edinburgh Aug 2015)
- A global audience online
[numbers are required]
Timeline
Project length: 12 months
Start: c. August 2014
End: c. July 2015