Middlesbrough Open Orchestra: Journey Through a Changing World

Middlesbrough Open Orchestra present a live performance of 'Journey Through a Changing World'.
The orchestra has been working with Professor Craig Vear and his team from the University of Nottingham as part of their Digital Score research project. The Digital Score project aims to research how digital technologies can lead to new musical experiences, new compositional approaches, new performance opportunities, and make music-making engaging and more accessible for musicians of traditional and non-traditional backgrounds.
Middlesbrough Open Orchestra has been working as part of this project for the past eight months and produced astonishing results.
'Journey Through a Changing World' is a composition created through The Digital Score project. It is a collaborative work between Middlesbrough Open Orchestra students and musical director Ben Hopkinson, which the orchestra composed in response to film and images created by visual artist Layla Curtis. These images then become the musical score which the orchestra follow (as with a traditionally notated musical score) but with images and colours defining what the musicians play.
The Digital Score offered a new way for our students and our orchestra leader, Ben, to work, create and perform. Our young people developed musical and compositional ideas, which Ben brought together to create the work.
Journey Through a Changing World is made up of four distinct movements which take you on a musical journey through different visual landscapes.
These include:
00:00 Movement 1: Beginnings
07:22 Movement 2: Nightmare Forest
09:53 Movement 3: Ice World
15:41 Movement 4: In The Clouds
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Credits
Middlesbrough Open Orchestra is a collaboration between Musinc, Middlesbrough Town Hall, Priory Woods School, Beverley School and Tees Valley Music Education Hub, supported by Open Orchestras and Open Up Music. Funded by Youth Music and Arts Council England.
Music by Middlesbrough Open Orchestra and Ben Hopkinson.
Featuring artwork by Layla Curtis.
The Digital Score project is funded by the European Research Council.
Film by Ian Paine, recorded on 7th June 2024 at Middlesbrough Town Hall.