Cambridgeshire Music turns to Mexican rock ‘n’ roll for second Online Orchestra video

The organisation was absolutely bowled over by the enthusiasm of musicians across the county and beyond, who contributed to their second lockdown Youtube showing, in the form of a toe-tapping Mexican performance, which has already been viewed 1,300 times online.

Musicians from across Cambridgeshire and even further afield took part by recording videos of their own elements toward the overall performance. Every orchestral instrument was represented – from harps to bassoons and from marimbas to ukuleles. There were also some great contributions on less well-known instruments – from a Chinese two-stringed erhu to a stylophone and even kazoos.

Mark Aldous, head of ensembles at Cambridgeshire Music, said: “People put so much effort into recording their parts. Everyone was smiling, some people dressed up – everyone got really into it and that’s lovely.”

Mark was particularly impressed by people’s willingness to improvise one section: “It was great to see that lots of people really went the extra mile to put their own take on the music,” said Mark. “And that has spun this performance into a completely different realm. We had the feeling that everyone was playing together. It was truly magical – and it’s a unique performance.”

Contributions were received from as far afield as sunny Los Angeles – from former Cambridgeshire Music student Bas Janssen, who started out playing percussion in Mark’s ensembles and is now a session drummer playing around the world.

He said: “The power of music will always be something that unifies us and the internet only makes that easier. I can be on the other side of the world and still support Cambridgeshire Music.

“The lockdown has forced us to be creative, think outside the box and find a way to do something when it looks impossible. The results have been impressive.”

The icing on the La Bamba cake was a ‘bonus’ performance from Wyton on the Hill Primary School’s Kazoo Orchestra, which appears right at the end of the video.

Headteacher Jo Phillips said: “Our children and families have really enjoyed watching ‘La Bamba’ and couldn’t believe they were seeing themselves on the video. It was a huge surprise and we would like to thank Cambridgeshire Music for organising this fantastic experience – you can see just how many hours of work have gone into it.”

One parent commented: “Our daughter loved doing it and seeing the final result.”

Comments from those who watched the video included: “I’m in awe at how this has come together,” and “You’ve brightened up a rainy day.”

Cambridgeshire Music is the county council run hub for music education and arts therapies.