Sounds of Summer

Sound Playground 2

More than 850 local people had the chance to get creative with some unusual and high-tech electronic instruments recently, thanks to hcmf//’s Sound Playground installation. The Learning and Participation project offered 23 free workshops to schools, families, adults and music teachers over a 10-day residency during July, based in a former shop in Dewsbury town centre.

Brought over from the Netherlands for the workshops, the Sound Playground, or Klankspeeltuin, featured three interactive musical sculptures, SonOrb, OMNI and XenaX, which usually live in the Muziekegebouw aan 't IJ, a concert hall in Amsterdam. Visitors to the Sound Playground discovered that each sculpture offered a unique way to create and manipulate sounds, responding to touch, movement and drawing actions.

Children aged between seven and 12 from 10 Kirklees schools took part in weekday workshops, which were a hit with kids and adults alike. One teacher described the workshops as 'excellent, exciting, vibrant and fun' whilst a pupil’s verdict was 'extremely good – 101%'. Some had so much fun that they brought their parents back with them for the open weekend sessions.

Each participating school received a CD recording of pieces created by their pupils, whilst photos of the sessions can now be seen on hcmf//’s Flickr page.

Click below to listen to 'Awake at Night in Space’ by Fixby School, devised in the Sound Playground

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