15/06/2009
Children from Gallions Primary School in East London showed off their musical skills at the London International Music Show on 12 June with a performance of self-penned composition 'Journey Through Our Voices'.
KS2 pupils from Gallions created the piece in collaboration with composer Paul Ayres and librettist Colin Brown.
The children researched their local area of Newham, inviting members of the community to come into the school to share their memories and stories. The children then wrote their own stories, lyrics and music in response.
"It all started off by studying the history of Newham," says Year 7 student Babu, who helped write the piece when he was in Year 6 at Gallions.
"Then we put all the information together to make a piece," adds Babu's classmate Caleb. "The writing part was fun, we got to put in our ideas."
"Most of our songs started off as raps and then we turned them into songs, it was simple," says Babu. But when it came to performing the finished piece that wasn't quite so easy.
"We thought we were going to forget our lyrics and everything," he admits. "We were all very nervous, but it feels good when you've got it over with and you can relax. Music lets out your creative side. In school you're continuously writing and reading; doing a bit of music can free your mind."