BBC's Ten Pieces film launch

BBC Music’s Ten Pieces project, a multi-platform initiative to excite and engage children with classical music, launches on October 6. Two of the ten pieces are from the Music Sales catalogue, Mars from Holst’s The Planets and the Finale from The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky.

Aimed at primary school children, the project led by BBC Learning and the BBC Performing Groups, will run over the course of an academic year, using ten pieces of music to open up the world of classical music to a generation of children. The aim is to inspire them to develop their own creative responses to the works, through composition, dance and digital art. From baroque to contemporary, the repertoire covers a wide range of styles and eras.

During the week of October 6, there will be nation-wide screenings of an immersive new cinematic film introducing the ten pieces, played by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. The screenings will trigger a year of musical discovery for children. Between October and March 2015, children will be encouraged to use the Ten Pieces online resources to learn more about the repertoire and composers. They will then start to develop their own creative responses to the music, often working with some of the 200 music, dance and arts organisations that have signed up as champions for Ten Pieces in their communities.

The final phase of the project takes place between April and July 2015, with the BBC orchestras and the BBC Singers holding interactive celebratory concerts across the country, as well as nation-wide themed events run by many of the Ten Pieces Champions. The project will culminate in a major performance in the summer of 2015 showcasing both the original works and the children’s creative responses to them.

For more information about the project and to listen to clips of the Ten Pieces, please visit the BBC Website