COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Recognising that music-making is a tremendous privilege, OMM has always placed a great emphasis on giving back to the community. With this in mind, OMM decided to create its very own community engagement programme to carry out activities that both members of the public and musicians would enjoy and benefit from. 

These programmes serve to create the initial spark of interest in orchestral music and encourage continual involvement in music and music-making. To date, OMM has worked with students from primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, musicians and audience members to bring the orchestra experience to them.

playwithOMM

Since 2012, OMM has held open rehearsals for both educational institutions and the public. These have included programmes for the Singapore Arts Festival, Cheltenham Music Festival (UK) and the School of the Arts. The open rehearsals present a behind-the-scenes look which audience members rarely get to see. Guests are seated among the orchestra during the rehearsal, a set-up that promises to be aurally-rewarding!

Starting in 2014, the playwithOMM initiative has welcomed musicians from the community to join the orchestra in reading repertoire from Beethoven to Mahler. 

Developing Interest and Young Talent

OMM is committed to spreading the joy of music-making among young musicians and providing platforms for young people to pursue musical interests. Since 2011, the OMM Orchestra Camp has been an annual feature of the OMM calendar. The camp brings together like-minded young musicians aged 12-19 to explore symphonic repertoire through a week of rehearsals and activities.

In 2014, the camp team also embarked on a project for children, in which primary school string players were given their first symphony orchestra experience in a half-day workshop held at SOTA.