The Great Learning: Creative Community Devising Day

Mahogany Opera

Calling community singers  to join us for a day of creativity to collaboratively compose The Great Learning in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

Rosehill Theatre

A free creative devising day to collaboratively compose our new commission, The Great Learning.Calling all community singers ready to explore your voice, movement and new creative expressions. 

Are you as hopeful for the future as you’d like to be?
Do you long to use your voice to create change? 
Would you like to find a new creative direction to explore with others? 
Can you sense your next clear step while travelling a busy path?

If you're tired of singing alone or feeling disconnected from - or overwhelmed by - the world around you, we invite you to form a vibrant gathering of singers who share a passion for a better future. Together, we'll use our voices to build bridges, spark conversations, and inspire change - one note at a time.

Experiment in a warm and open environment with making and breaking new rules of composition, creating together vivid vocal material, layering space with sound, infusing past experiences with future hope, and collectively asking what kind of world we want to build.
The session will be led by poet Emma McGordon and choir leader and composer Dave Camlin, working alongside our Artistic Director Frederic Wake-Walker, to support participants to collaboratively create our own Great Learning.Over 50 years ago, avant-garde English composer Cornelius Cardew created an experimental and politically-engaged choir composition called The Great Learning designed to be performed by people with no or little formal musical training. Cardew’s work uses texts by ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius as provocations for mindful living. Inspired by Cardew, we will be coming up with our own texts and instructions for performance. This is not about reading sheet music, learning ready-written songs, or standing straight or singing out through a big smile – we’ll be exploring, improvising and playing together.Each group of participants will work to create a section of the piece, which will then be put together into a whole composition to be shared with the public in July 2023.The plan for the day:10:00-13:00 - morning session13:00 - 14:00 - lunch break14:00 - 17:00 - afternoon sessionThe day is open to anyone over the age of 18. Tea, coffee &amp; light refreshments are provided, but participants are asked to bring their own packed lunch.We hope you can join us! We aim to make our work accessible to anyone. Travel expenses are available for anyone on low income that might not otherwise be able to attend. To find out more about the support available, or to discuss any other access requirements ahead of signing up, please contact Anne on producer@mahoganyopera.co.uk

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