PLAY - Music in the Schoolyard 2021

From the womb, children are exposed to sounds. They may be sung to sleep, or have a favourite song from a movie, or hear music on radio in the kitchen, or in the car. There is not always the opportunity for the same exposure to live professional musicians and performance. To see instruments and to hear them played live.

PLAY - Music in the Schoolyard made that possible, by bringing the musicians, their instruments and a range of genres and styles right into the playground with the children. Music can be a wonderful stimulus in the classroom and is a natural starting point for children to observe closely, think critically and share their thoughts and reactions through their own words to what they have seen and heard. By playing music live in the yard, the children have the freedom to dance, play, respond, or even ignore if they wish.

Following a highly successful pilot project in December 2020, PLAY was developed in direct response to the schools' Covid-19 restrictions, as Draíocht continued to seek meaningful, sustainable, innovative ways of engaging with our local schools. This highly interactive and fun programme ran in Dublin 15 schools across May and June 2021.

5 schools were offered the opportunity to experience PLAY, with visits from established musicians directly to their schoolyard over 4 days, showcasing a range of musical genres from popular to traditional to contemporary, with well known tunes from pop, tv and movies.

Teachers received a support video from The Mobile Music School and a downloadable guide from Draíocht in advance.

Musicians
Solo Trumpet – Niall O’Sullivan
Solo Trombone – Paul Frost
Solo Sax – Dave McGauran
Quintet – Niall O’Sullivan (Trumpet), Dave McGauran (Soprano Saxophone), Hannah Miller (French Horn), Mick Marshall (Bass Trombone) & Paul Frost (Trombone)