The residency of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Skye as part of the BBC’s Ten Pieces initiative was the catalyst for additional events and creative workshops. Centre to this, ATLAS worked with Edinburgh-based artist David Lemm to produce a creative response to the project.
Commissioned by ATLAS to collaborate with Portree Primary School children, David worked with the pupils to create a digital artwork exploring the Ten Pieces composition. Having selected the Storm Interlude from Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, Lemm worked collaboratively with the pupils over a three-day period to produce an animation inspired by the music.
BBC’s Ten Pieces project seeks to foster an appreciation of classical music amongst children aged between seven and fourteen. The project hopes to encourage a new generation of children to study the music and be inspired by it in any creative way possible! Looking for a range of creative responses to the musical repertoire – which changes each year – from new music compositions, to theatre, to animation and film, Ten Pieces culminates at the BBC Proms, where pupils work is shared and exhibited.
The response created by the pupils David worked with during this ATLAS commission was premiered as part of the orchestra’s performance in Skye and selected to be shown at the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall, London in 2015.
Also as part of ATLAS’ participation in the project, BBC Scotland’s The L.A.B worked with the same group of pupils at Portree Primary School to document the progress and the development of their animation. The L.A.B provided valuable training and experience of digital media skills such as interview techniques, audio and video production as well as collaborating with the Gaelic TV show Dè a‑nis? who filmed the workshop to feature in a broadcast episode.