CBSO Rite of Spring Concert with School Orchestra
Exceptional! This is the one word that captured the atmosphere of the evening. As a young musician myself, I was in awe of witnessing such experienced individuals play music that I aspire to play.
On the evening of Wednesday 3rd June 2026, along with my fellow KEVI HGS school orchestra members, I attended a concert given by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by the brilliant Ilan Volkov. The duration of the concert was around 2 hours, yet I was thoroughly engaged throughout all of it despite there being only 5 pieces. All the pieces played were very different but in an interesting, unique way. The pieces embodied different aspects of music; some reflected tragedy and death whilst the main piece, The Rite of Spring, reflected an ethereal environment that slowly descended into chaos.
Something that especially sparked my interest was when Mrs Ward introduced me to the history of the conductor and composer Leopold Stokowski and history of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. It debuted early 1918, made by a Russian composer for the wealthy in Paris, where it also included a ballet performance on top of the music. This pushed too many boundaries for the French which resulted in riots because they thought the music was so bad. I similarly felt like rioting because of how effective the piece was at doing something out of the norm. But overall, for me, the first piece stood out the most. It contained a deeper story that revolved around death and mourning which I think connected most to the audience; reaching a part in the brain that most words could not.
I thoroughly enjoyed the night. I think perhaps what made the night so amazing is that I was able to just sit and enjoy the music, rather than worry about the correct rhythms, notes and pitches I would have to play if I was on the stage instead. It was an overall thrilling experience where I was introduced to a significantly different type of music and was enriched around the history of what music used to be like in comparison to today’s music and I would love to attend again!
Sukhmandeep Sanghera
