From Whitehall to the World: Dr Gregory Boardman on the impact of the English Chamber Orchestra’s education and community programmes

English Chamber Orchestra Royal Gala Fundraiser 2026

The labels music education or community music often come with baggage that often suggests a lesser quality of musical outcomes. In reaching out beyond the concert space, the English Chamber Orchestra’s (ECO) Close Encounters initiative nurtures excellence no matter where they are or what the level of activity. In doing so, the ECO delivers something vitally important; connecting our musical future with music making right now.  

It’s not enough just to count all the happy faces, happy faces don’t guarantee long term sustainability. In delivering their projects and innovating how they engage people of all ages, the English Chamber Orchestra are working towards the longer-term impact and the wider benefits of this essential work. 

Nurturing a new generation of skilled musicians and composers for the creative economy is a natural product of flourishing grassroots activity. The ECO's newly announced New Horizons programme will ensure that the orchestra delivers a commitment to those aspiring to the highest level of performance and professional development. However, for the team at the English Chamber Orchestra, the true joy lies in supporting a musical world for all. Whether the orchestra is on tour or in the classroom, the benchmark of success takes many forms. 

English Chamber Orchestra: Lights, Camera, Score

The impact of the English Chamber Orchestra’s education and community programmes extends far beyond the performances themselves.

Following the delivery of their award-winning Lights Camera Score project, schools have reported remarkable improvements in attendance, alongside a doubling of GCSE Music cohorts. Meanwhile, in West Yorkshire, the ECO’s work has inspired local community groups to transform musical stories created by primary school pupils into community gardens, ensuring that the creativity and inspiration sparked by music continue to flourish long after the final notes have been played. Over the summer, they witnessed their work in the community evolve into a substantial four-day festival of music making at Shibden Hall in Halifax. A unique event that showed the long-term economic benefit and the value of active cultural participation. Whilst the ECO were focusing on an experience for all ages, they helped to commission a brand-new work from Yorkshire-based composer Benjamin Ellin.  A multi-faceted piece that will sit at the heart of the English Chamber Orchestra's repertoire for years to come. 

Winning a UNESCO ‘Seeds of Hope’ award and receiving a nomination for the prestigious Sanford St. Martin broadcasting awards suggests that they are doing very well communicating messages of sustainability, cooperation and cultural exchange not just around East London, not just around the English counties but around the globe. Within a six-month period, during 2026 they will have worked with young people across different continents, with Princeton in the US and also in Hong Kong, before going onto working alongside young musicians in Colombia early in 2027. The Orchestra encourages people of all ages to experience the emotional highs of engaging with instrumental music, their growing partnership with the Imperial War Museum also allows them to make a unique contribution to mark important occasions of national remembrance and reflection. As the ECO Close Encounters Team expands beyond key locations in London, Essex and Yorkshire, they are seeking new partners, training and developing new musicians and teachers to ensure that expansion does not diminish quality.  

The Orchestra knows that grassroots activity needs constant re-evaluation, what works in one situation is not guaranteed to work in another. As musicians they are accustomed to listening, but they recognise that there is still so much to learn, especially at a time of technological change. By accessing ground-breaking and patented music technology, the Close Encounters Team is now exploring active music making in the ageing and dementia community, intending to attract the world’s leading researchers in this area. 

Anyone who has engaged with the ECO in the last three or four years will be aware that every conversation begins with a focus on sustainability. If the resources cannot be replicated or amplified for the benefit of the many rather than a select few, then it’s back to the drawing board. An unavoidable aspect of the sustainability plan is funding so, on 17th October 2026, the orchestra welcomed friends new and old to the Banqueting House in Whitehall for a fundraising Gala.  For many attending, the event provided a first opportunity to experience the orchestra's musicianship in person. By bringing together people from different professional, cultural and philanthropic communities, the Gala sought to open conversations about long-term patronage and corporate partnerships but also to raise awareness about projects, concerts and tours that are being planned. 

English Chamber Orchestra: Lights, Camera, Score

When the ECO sees the beaming smiles of participants, appreciative school leadership teams, grateful parents, or jubilant audiences, it is easy to forget that the team must reach beyond their core supporters to speak up about the work they do, so that the whole musical community might benefit from what has been have learned so far. If they want to succeed, then orchestras and ensembles must change the way they work with communities, both locally and globally, in order to inspire new partnerships and collaborations that will maintain their legacy but also securing their on-going development. 

To find out more, visit www.englishchamberorchestra.com 

Dr Gregory Boardman
ECO's head of learning & participation

Never miss out on future posts by following us

The blog is free, but I'd be delighted if you were to show your appreciation by buying me a coffee.

Elsewhere on this blog

• Illuminating connections: in Kin, Lotte Betts Dean & Joseph Havlat explore folksongs from across Europe and North America - record review
• It really deserves to be heard & seen: baritone Charlie Epps on Gothic Opera's UK premiere production of Halévy's La Dame de Pique - interview
• Chameleon who changes colour very quietly & without attention: pianist/composer Belle Chen on her personal journey through her music - interview
• Here comes the 1980s: powerful solo contributions rescue Opera North's misguided updating of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin - review
• Do try & catch it! Femi Elufowoju jr's intelligent yet imaginatively accessible production of Verdi's Rigoletto returns to Opera North - opera review
• Only love can bear the burden of truth: Ben Parry & Garth Bardsley on their new opera that premieres at Snape - interview 
• Gamely going where few such companies dare: there is much to enjoy in New Sussex Opera's production of Charpentier's David and Jonathan - opera review
• Deeply problematic, both aesthetically & ethically: Du Yun's Angel's Bone from English National Opera at London Coliseum - review
• Home