Orchestra Asks For Lockdown Stories From The Public

Skipton’s resident orchestra is calling for people’s lockdown stories for a series of short films.

‘Lockdown Diaries’ is a project created by Skipton Camerata, North Yorkshire’s only professional orchestra. Six composers are each to write a piece for a group of musicians and an actor using words sent in by members of the public. The resulting collection of varied personal lockdown experiences will be recorded and the videos broadcast online in November.

Musicians, who are mostly freelance, have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. As Camerata’s artistic director, Ben Crick, explained, “They’ve had their livelihoods taken away in an instant. Packing a large orchestra and audience into a small space isn’t an option at the moment so we’ve had to find different ways of making music.”

Busking has been an option for some of the musicians. Last Friday, while Ben was filming a small promotional video for the project in Skipton Town Hall, some of the orchestra’s brass players entertained shoppers on Skipton High Street with snatches of Bizet and Beatles.

“This will be such a brilliant venue for playing in when it’s finished,” said Ben looking up through a forest of scaffolding. The hall is currently undergoing a £4.5 million redevelopment. “I just look forward to the time when I can bring the players back in here again and do what we do - perform great symphonies. In the meantime, my focus is on adapting to the new reality and on exploring how coronavirus has affected everyone’s lives: how people coped, what they experienced. Maybe they helped out at a food bank, or kept in touch with a vulnerable neighbour. We'd love to hear from them all so we can tell their story with music.”

Anyone interested in sharing their lockdown experience can find full details on the orchestra’s website skiptoncamerata.com. Stories of about 500 words need to be submitted by 7th September.