Raploch Primary School

Composers and Singers

Image by Maureen Young

  • CLASS Primary 6
  • SCHOOL Raploch Primary, Stirling, Scotland
  • HONOURS  Some of us have done exams for Big Noise and one of us passed Grades 1 & 2 in piano
  • MINERVA SCIENTIFICA PROJECT  Echoes from the Engine Shed, September 3rd – 18th, 2018

Scientific Connections

Echoes from the Engine Shed

Echoes from Engine Shed Performance

  • I enjoyed learning about the Engine Shed
  • The best thing was learning about scientists

Conservation Science:-

We visited the Engine Shed and met the scientists and Aurelie came to our school too.

  • We learnt how decay works and that the scientists work with decay, microscopes and thermal cameras
  • Aurelie studied salt decay. She talked about how one of Scotland’s Castles has salt decay on the turret rooms
  • I liked all of it but my favourite is microscopes

Biology:

  • We learnt about Nora Miller and the Lung fish. It was a bit strange that the lung fish makes a burrow.
  • I liked The Sea of Life” song because I want to learn about the sea.

Compositions


Title: The Secrets of the Engine Shed

Part 1 “The rise of the Engine Shed”

  1. ‘Materials’
  2. ‘Tools’
  3. ‘Life in the Shed’

Part 2 “The Fall of the Engine Shed”

  1. ‘The Natural Fall of the Engine Shed’
  2. ‘Mankind Made it Crumble’
  3. ‘The Empty Shed’

Part 3 “The Rise of the Engine Shed”

Scientists: AURELIE TURMEL, SARAH HAMILTON, MAUREEN YOUNG
Composed by: Frances M Lynch and children from Riverside Primary (Part 2- “The Fall of the Engine Shed”) and Part 1 “The rise of the Engine Shed” – by Raploch Primary including:

1. ‘Materials’

Skye Addie, Anshdeep Singh, Logan McKinnon, Miley Shaw, Kimberley McCulloch

2. ‘Tools’

Logan Geddes, Reece Hussar, Robyn MacCaskill, Tyler Begley

3. ‘Life in the Shed’

Sarah Huang, Lacey Calderwood, Elise Connal, Lexi Monaghan, Lilli-anna Brignano, Kian Miller and Kayden Johnston

Written in: September 2018
For: Mixed Voices
Performed by: the composers
First Performed: The Engine Shed, Stirling , 18th September, 2018

Raploch Primary on a Treasure Hunt at the Engine Shed. (Permission to use from Mrs O’Sullivan, Class Teacher)

This soundscape piece was a collaboration with the scientists from the Engine Shed Stirling (Historic Environment Scotland), and our team on the “Echoes from the Engine Shed” Project, including Margaret Cameron and Eleanor Logan, and with Raploch and Riverside Primary Schools.

We set out to learn about the history of the Engine Shed in the context of the conservation science which now takes place within its walls. We started with how it was built, what kind of things it was used for, how it decayed and how Historic Environment Scotland brought it back to life.

Raploch concentrated on the building of the Engine Shed, beginning with a treasure hunt round the building to identify the stone, timber, bricks and other materials used. They found symbols of tools on the glass of the building and imagined what they might sound like, and finally what kind of things happened in the building once it was ready – like trains moving goods around, soldiers marching and engines being repaired before  it was abandoned and later restored.

Using vocal sounds, and pattern techniques they created scores with images and words, which they then rehearsed and added actions to for a very lively performance.

We acknowledge support from Creative Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland and Foundation Scotland towards the writing and first performance of this music. The composition was also supported by Hope Scott Trust. Frances M Lynch is supported by PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund for Music Creators. The performance was also supported by the Ambache Charitable Trust.

Scores for ‘Materials’, ‘Tools’ and ‘Life in the Shed’

CLICK HERE FOR THE LYRICS TO ‘SECRETS OF THE ENGINE SHED’

Education

Our teacher is Miss O’Sullivan.  We are lucky to have BIG NOISE give us a class lesson every week and some of us go after school and learn instruments like the viola, trombone and bassoon.

Occupations

Some of us are thinking now about becoming scientists or composers or singers.

Well I got really interested in and not before the project because I’m interested in microscopes.

Raploch Materials group find the map

Musical Highlights

We all enjoyed writing and performing  “The Secrets of the Engine Shed”

  • The best thing I liked about our Materials music is writing it and performing it.
  • I liked writing the soundscapes.
  • I liked the noises and sounds about the tools you can make.

Margaret Cameron from the BBC Singers rehearsing with one of the class at Raploch


Raploch Team Signing The March of the Women of Science

Did You Know?

  • Frances wrote a song about marine biologist Nora Miller just for us to sing. It’s called “The Sea of Life.”
  • The strange thing was Frances acting as a scientist
  • I like the noises Frances makes.

An Inspiring Woman

Music: Frances, Margaret and Ellie I want to be a singer more because you are good as well

Science: Nora Miller and the Lung fish. Aurilee who did the microscopes and Maureen who did the thermal cameras

The scientists we met at The Engine Shed


Hands: a thermal image by Maureen Young

Links