In September 2022, Bell Bay Aluminium celebrated its 10th year of partnership with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO). The partnership enables primary school students in George Town, who would not normally be able to, access live performances of the TSO.
A 15-piece mini TSO engaged with students from Port Dalrymple School, South George Town Primary School and Star of the Sea Catholic College. We were delighted to provide this amazing music and educational experience, which aimed to engage students and inspire continued participation in instrumental music programs as they progress through school.
Titled ‘Patsch It!’, the hour-long concerts featured upbeat classics specially selected to appeal to children—among them popular works by Rossini, Strauss and Mozart—together with songs specially written for school children and made available to schools online as part of the TSO’s education resources.
The audience didn’t just sit and listen to the music when the TSO came to town, they also took part: singing along and performing on-the-spot body percussion (‘patsch’ is a body-percussion word to describe patting your thighs with your hands). The 15-piece orchestra was conducted by Gary Wain and included one of every orchestral instrument: violin, viola, cello, double bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, French horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, tuba and percussion.
The songs form part of the TSO’s online education resource, Uke Box, which means that the school children and their teachers learn the songs ahead of the concert and come fully prepped on the day. Bell Bay Aluminium’s support of the TSO provides transport to and from the concerts in George Town, as well as financial support for the TSO’s education resources.