Symphonize: The Perfect Symphony

Veronica Youdell, spoken word artist for the project, reflects on her experiences enabling young people to express their thoughts and experiences during Symphonize.

I was overjoyed to discover that I had been confirmed to work on the Symphonize Kingston project. The idea of creating original music that fused classical scores with urban and electronic beats was something I had wanted to explore for a long time so this opportunity was greatly received.

As spoken word mentor on the project I was responsible for engaging with the young participants to encourage the creation of original lyrical composition. It was exciting to see the participants immerse themselves in the project by creating material that told their story.

It was a pleasure to work with the other professional artists and musicians on the project and together we were able to inspire each other during the devising process.

We had limited time during the devising and rehearsal process so it was very important to really use the time wisely and efficiently to meet the deadlines of the project.

 

I feel this experience has opened up my mind to new ways of devising original material and fusing different genres of music.

I found it particularly challenging working with 5/4 time signatures so that’s definitely something I will be exploring more of in the future.

 

I also found the idea of being able to create a piece of music with just one note or a chord which can then be manipulated into larger sounds was interesting and I have personally started to create a new piece of music using this as inspiration.

I am keen to collaborate with the other artists and musicians who also worked on the project so watch this space!

 

Some of the young people I mentored came to assist me on a week - long project devising original spoken word material with a group of children in a primary school.

I was able to identify the different skill sets of the young people having already worked with them, which in-turn helped them to shine in their own right and boost their confidence. For example one of our students was able to beat-box so he provided a little performance for the kids to watch. Another student had experience writing lyrics so they were able to assist the children when they were creating their poems.

It was a fantastic experience and I hope to do it again soon!

Veronica's webiste: www.settheflow.com