“A truly immersive experience for the young participants, beautifully integrating contemporary music… the authentic voices of the children shone throughout, both in the creation and the performance, making their contributions feel genuine and integral.”

– Ivors Classical Awards Judges 2024 on why they selected the project as the winner of Best Community and Participation Composition.

“An Easterhouse Children’s Manifesto” is a project born from our 5 Places programme, which targets five locations across central Scotland. With this programme we aim to properly get to know people in their own neighbourhood at grassroots level, and work with them to make and create new live music together in the heart of their community over a number of years.

This Easterhouse creation is based on the ideas and voices of Oakwood Primary School’s pupils and their partnered groups from the wider community, in collaboration with film-makers Dumbworld and Red Note.

The project is led by composer Brian Irvine who wanted to allow young people’s anarchy to direct us, the grown-ups, on ways in which we can uncover the best of what we as humans can be.

From this was born the children’s new creed of Anarchy, further supplemented by appendices from their community partners, and within a few weeks seven new works were created that formed the backbone of a new musical doctrine: “An Easterhouse Children’s Manifesto”. After over a year long process of co-creation, a collection of 7 musical animated video posters was created, exploring ideas of personal autonomy, kindness and human connectivity from a child’s perspective.

This work was developed throughout 2022, where pupils found their voice with the help of Red Note vocal coach Rachel Spencer and developed their creative minds with Brian Irvine and Creative Fellow Martina Corsini. In April 2022, our musicians joined them for a showing of their work. After the summer, our players met again to record Brian Irvine’s scores followed in November by the recording of the songs at Oakwood Primary. Each class which had been working on the project were able to record their songs.

“The truth is that grown-ups for all their own perceived wisdom often lose their way, get entangled in their own importance, in their own relationships with power and control, and money and success… they often believe they know best… but do they? The superpower of children is their ability to remind us of the core values of humanity, care, humour, and joy… values which in their honesty and depth, and simplicity feel increasingly anarchic within the context of an ever turbulent and confused world. Their simple advice: “listen to your dog“ or “be nice” or “eat strawberries”, seems to poke at the heart of what we as a species are all about… these incredible children in this beautiful project illuminate the wondrous and reignite the deep sense of love and fun and care within us all. It has been one of the most inspiring and authentic and enduring collaborations I have ever had the pleasure to be involved in.” – Brian Irvine, Co-Artistic Director (Dumbworld)

“This project grew naturally as the relationship between Brian, Red Note, and our friends in Easterhouse grew. The children of Oakwood Primary, and the people of the community around them, have created a wonderful thing that is simultaneously simple and profound, funny and serious, joyful and sad. And, in the process, taught us more than we could ever teach them.” – John Harris, Artistic Director (Red Note Ensemble)

Full credits: https://vimeo.com/917877400?share=copy

Recording at Oakwood

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