Lorna Carruthers knows all about the impact of music on youngsters and the qualities it can bring both to individuals and the places where they live.
As the head of the Big Noise Torry centre, which uses the symphony orchestra as a community, allowing children to gain an invaluable range of life skills and experiences, she is passionate about the benefits it has for so many people.
Earlier this year, Aberdeen City Council sparked controversy when it scrapped funding for the project, prior to to the former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, intervening to restore the cash withdrawn by the local authority, but that hasn’t diminished Lorna’s commitment to a cause with which she has been involved for more than a decade.
A commitment to enhancing lives
She began her career in the central belt with Sistema Scotland, which runs six Big Noise programmes in Raploch and Fallin in Stirling, Govanhill in Glasgow, Douglas in Dundee, Wester Hailes in Edinburgh and Torry in the Granite City, working with more than 3,200 children and youngsters, and moved to the north-east in 2017, shortly after the organisation opened its office in Victoria Road.
It’s a world removed from when the project started in 2008 with a grand total of six musicians supporting 35 young schoolchildren in Stirling. But the power of the programme and the potency of its message are undeniable.
As a proficient violinist, who has performed with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and other ensembles, Lorna is adept at hitting the right notes and pulling the strings.
And, even though I was only at the premises for a short time, it was obvious that she and her colleagues share a fierce commitment and dedication to enhancing lives.
A love of music from a young age
She said: “I played the violin from the age of eight and there are so many opportunities and things you can learn through music: confidence, resilience, teamwork, pride, creativity, aspiration, and a huge sense of wellbeing.
“The programme runs from birth to adulthood, so we start off with Little Noise, which has a weekly class for babies; we do regular sessions with nursery kids all the way up to primary seven in both Tullos and Walker Road Schools and our oldest participants are now about to go into fourth year – most of them are at Lochside Academy.
“They [the pupils] get to know us in school and meet the musicians who are doing the classes, then when they get to the end of primary three, they are given the chance to enroll in after-school clubs. We’ve got a wrap-around structure during the school year and the holiday period as well, when the youngsters can come and be part of Big Noise, get free holiday provision, free food and snacks and free childcare for their families.”
There’s something joyful about watching the transformation of shy youngsters, who often struggle to communicate and come from disadvantaged backgrounds, into lively, enthusiastic performers with beaming smiles on their faces, and that has happened on a regular basis as the boys and girls advance through the different orchestras, known as Dolphins, Seagulls, Starfish and Puffins, reflecting Torry’s maritime heritage.
Lorna told me: “There are so many stories which inspire me every day. Having known the oldest of the young people since they were really young, I’ve seen them grow and mature and develop their skills and it is uplifting.
Music brings us all together
“There was one youngster who had really struggled to be part of school, but when Big Noise is putting on lessons, they always want to be a part of that, because it’s a safe place, we always try to be very supportive, and music brings us all together.
“Then, there are little ones who might come to school who have never spoken English before – but they get to know the words to the songs at Big Noise. They might be completely mute during the day in the classroom, but then we’ve heard them singing.”
And the look on her face suggested you can’t put a price on that experience.
‘A truly inclusive approach’
Some of the participants are already considering going on to study music at college or university. Others have created their own little groups and Lorna spoke about the process whereby some of her charges are now visiting SHMU [Station House Media Unit] and producing their own radio shows, finding their own voice and flourishing in circumstances which would have been considered unthinkable a decade ago.
She added: “When you are learning a musical instrument, there can be a lot of invisible barriers to contend with, so we have a truly inclusive approach, which means all young people are welcome and we’ll adapt what we are delivering to make it the best fit.
“We are also really trying to get whole families involved and it’s about making everybody feel part of one big community.”
A memorable occasion
Lorna and her confreres will be in the spotlight this evening at The Big Gig, as part of the Light the Blue festival, which features an eclectic selection of musicians and singers from across the city, including Orchard Brae Makaton Choir, Aberdeen City Music Services, Will Cozens and Aberdeen Jazz Youth Group.
It promises to be a memorable occasion, not only for those in the Big Noise Torry initiative, but as a reminder of the talent which exists in the north-east and rarely receives the opportunity to appear at such a prestigious venue as the Music Hall.
Lorna said: “We are really excited about this and it will be a genuinely inspirational event with all the different organisations involved. We will have our own performance by the primary six and seven orchestra (the seagulls), then everybody will perform a piece which has been specially composed which will fuse everything together.
“I was looking at the poster today and thinking about the value of partnerships and we’re really lucky that we have got a very good relationship with other organisations across Aberdeen. It’s not just about Big Noise: we are keen for the people who take part in that to be involved in the rich cultural life of the city.”
Music can change lives
Lorna’s ebullience was infectious and it’s obvious she is pouring her heart and soul into Big Noise without tooting her own horn.
Author Eric Booth, who studied similar projects in 25 countries around the globe, said: “I consistently cite the work of Sistema Scotland as the world’s leading programme.
“Indeed, Jose Antonio Abreu, the founder of El Sistema in Venezuela told me and anyone who would listen that the place to study what music can do for young people to change the direction of their lives was Big Noise Scotland.”
Why on earth would anybody want to change that?
Tickets for the Big Gig are available from:
aberdeenperformingarts.com/music-hall/
FIVE QS FOR LORNA CARRUTHERS
1)What book are you reading? “The Jewel Garden’ by Monty and Sarah Don – it’s really interesting.”
2)Who’s your hero/heroine: “My mum Alison [Geller]. An amazing human being.”
3)Do you speak any foreign languages? “None fluently, but French, German and Italian.”
4)What’s your favourite music/band? “This is pretty difficult. I suppose I would say everything from Bach to The Beatles.”
5)What’s your most treasured possession? “My violin. I still have the same one I had when I was 12. It’s more than 100 years old.”
