Booking is now open for our annual two-day February half term orchestral projects; The Big Blast and The Big String. The projects are designed for young musicians aged 5 to 18, from pre Grade 1 to post-Grade 8.

The eighth annual Big String will take place on 12 and 13 February and the Big Blast, for wind, percussion and brass players, will run on 14 and 15 February.

Thanks to the generous support of Make Music Gloucestershire a place costs just £45 per student per project for students living in Gloucestershire, and £50 for those living outside the county.

You can book a place here. Booking closes at midday on Wednesday 24 January. We will close applications early if all places have been filled.

The 2024 Big String programme comprises Winchester Tales, composed by Jeff Moore, and Concerto Grosso by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

As last year, the young string players will be supported by tutors from Gloucestershire Academy of Music and Make Music Gloucestershire. GAM’s Artistic Director, Glyn Oxley, will direct the project alongside Jonathan Trim, conductor of Gloucestershire Youth Orchestra.

The 2024 Big Blast theme is flight and hits from stage musicals, with a medley of numbers including Frank Sinatra’s ‘Come Fly with Me’, and ‘Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines.’

The young brass, wind and percussion players will be supported by tutors from Gloucestershire Academy of Music, The Flowers Band and Make Music Gloucestershire, led by conductor Hannah Opstad, who has directed The Big Blast since its launch.

Music will be sent out to musicians in January to enable them to practice before the event. 

You can see a gallery of pictures from the 2023 Big String here and from the 2023 Big Blast here.

The Big String

Day 1:

9.30am – 4pm Rehearsal at Dean Close School (follow signs to the Bacon Theatre)

Day 2:

9.30am Drop off at the Parish Rooms next to Tewkesbury Abbey

3pm: Concert at Tewkesbury Abbey

3.45pm Close

The Big Blast

Day 1:

9.30am – 4pm Rehearsal at Dean Close School (follow signs to the Bacon Theatre).

Day 2:

9.30am Rehearsal at GAM HQ, Barbican House, Gloucester

3pm Concert at Blackfriars Priory, Gloucester

3.45pm Close