Free Family Music!

Part of the Roman River Festival 2025 - See all concerts here.

To round off a fabulous 25^th Anniversary Roman River Festival, we’ll be busking in Colchester’s premier arts venue, Firstsite, with a selection of music for an audience of all ages to enjoy. Come and throw a coin or two in our hat!

As we put together the programme for this year's special 25th Anniversary festival, it became apparent that we are blessed with a community of old friends, both among our players and the audience, who are all passionate about passing on a love for good music, whether it's classical, contemporary, or something else. We wish to preserve this cultural heritage, nurture creativity, deepen emotional understanding, and foster critical listening in our young people and ensure that timeless masterpieces of all genres continue to inspire and evolve in new hands. We know that the music which shocks one generation becomes a classic to the next and, above all, we believe the joy of sharing it brings us together across generations and cultures, reminding us of our common humanity. 

And we want everyone to have fun while doing so!

Find us in the Outer Mosaic space at the back of Firstsite where a selection of the Wild Arts Ensemble players and our captivating young performer will be playing pieces inspired by or written for children beside the Berryfield Mosaic as the autumnal sun sinks low in the sky and floods the building with golden light.

Astonishing 10-year-old pianist, Bethany Reynolds, will be bringing her much-loved whizzy keyboard to play pieces of her own choosing. Her own composition, Meadows, is inspired by the sights and sounds of flowers blowing in a gentle breeze. "The Cat and the Mouse" by Aaron Copland is a playful, whimsical piece from his Six Short Stories suite. It features contrasting rhythms and melodies, capturing the mischievous interaction between the two characters, and could almost be the soundtrack to a Tom & Jerry chase scene. By contrast, from his Children's Corner suite, Claude Debussy’s "Serenade for the Doll" is charming and delicate. With its light, playful rhythms and gentle melodies, it’s well suited to Bethany’s playing and evokes the image of a doll being serenaded, capturing innocence and youthful imagination through Impressionistic textures.

Enjoy too some popular family classics written by great composers for young people in arrangements for a smaller ensemble, which suits this space perfectly.

Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, composed in 1908, is a collection of five piano pieces inspired by fairy tales, originally written for two young children of the pianist Ricardo Viñes. The suite includes the gentle, lullaby-like Laideronnette, Empress of the Pagodas, the dreamy Le jardin féerique, and other evocative movements that conjure a sense of wonder and innocence. Ravel’s delicate orchestration and lyrical beauty capture the enchantment and whimsy of childhood through his Impressionistic style.

Bizet’s Jeux d'Enfants (Children's Games), written in 1871 for piano duet. This lively suite depicts various childhood games with spirited melodies and vibrant orchestration, reflecting Bizet’s playful, lighthearted side. From the joyful Le galop to the energetic Les chevaux de bois, Bizet’s clever use of rhythm and color brings each game to life, creating a spirited and engaging atmosphere that contrasts beautifully with Ravel's dreamy, fairy-tale world.

It’s impossible to hear Dukas' The Sorcerer’s Apprentice without smiling. This classic symphonic piece is based on Goethe’s poem about a young apprentice who accidentally creates chaos by bringing brooms to life. Dukas was commissioned by the French government to compose the work as part of their ongoing effort to support and promote French composers in the late 19th century, and it quickly became one of the most popular pieces by this then relatively unknown composer. The piece's vivid orchestration and dynamic rhythms perfectly capture the apprentice's escalating panic. It was later famously featured in Disney's groundbreaking 1940 animation Fantasia, in which Mickey Mouse plays the mischievous apprentice, cementing its place in popular culture. One of the most original and ambitious films of its time, it fused classical music with animation in a way that had never been done before and was also the first film to be released in stereo sound, which helped create a more immersive experience. The animation itself was pushed to new heights, experimenting with abstraction, surrealism, and symbolic visual storytelling. In this part of the film, Mickey’s magical mishap leads to a flood of water and disaster, perfectly blending animation with music in a memorable, timeless portrayal of youthful ambition gone completely wrong.

We hope this irresistible piece leaves everyone with huge grins on their faces as we say goodbye to Roman River Festival 2025 and start to plan for next year …

***

PROGRAMME

The Wild Arts Mini Ensemble | The Mother Goose Suite by Maurice Ravel

Bethany Reynolds | Serenade for the Doll by Claude Debussy

The Wild Arts Mini Ensemble | Jeux d’Enfants by Bizet

Bethany Reynolds | The Cat & The Mouse by Aaron Copland

Bethany Reynolds | Meadows by Bethany Reynolds

The Wild Arts Mini Ensemble | The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Dukas

Duration: 1 hour

Planning: Firstsite opens on a Sunday at 10 am and closes at 5pm.

Orlando Jopling conductor
The Wild Arts Mini Ensemble
Bethany Reynolds piano
Cerys Batchelor voice

Tickets - FREE but please register your interest by 'booking' a place so we know how many folding chairs to have ready.

You'll be free to wander, stand, or grab a seat and join us for a while.

***

The Berryfield Mosaic was discovered in 1922 during excavations at Berryfield, a site near the southeastern edge of Colchester, Essex. This stunning Roman mosaic features intricate geometric patterns and mythological scenes, offering valuable insights into Roman craftsmanship, daily life, and religious beliefs in Britain. The mosaic is believed to have been part of a luxurious Roman villa, reflecting the high status of its owner. Today, it remains an important artifact in Colchester's archaeological history, providing a glimpse into the past.