In 2021, between recording sessions for our online Festival, Ben Tarlton, Samuel Staples and Jams Coleman initiated our fruitful connection with St Donats Atlantic College where they gave a short performance of Mozart and Dvorak piano trios to the students. As well as being an idyllic location to give a concert, the performers were blown away by the attentiveness and feeling of genuine appreciation that the students exuded. Their genuine curiosity and fascination highlighted the importance of bringing music into familiar settings to help captivate the imagination of the next generation.

Our scheduled performance at St Donats College connected to our 2022 Festival was unfortunately cancelled due to an outbreak in Covid at the school. However, Festival Director Ben Tarlton was able to go in alone shortly after the Festival, taking an afternoon of masterclasses with the students (pictured below). Their engagement and enthusiasm was once again thrilling to be around and seeing them be able to enjoy and connect through chamber music was a clear indicator that putting energy into music making is a revitalising experience for all ages. 

At the Llantwit Major Chamber Music Festival, we believe that sharing the passion for classical music can stretch far beyond our concerts. This December also saw new outreach connections made as we have now gone into Llantwit Major Comprehensive School and Llanfair Primary School for performances and to talk about the significances of music in day to day lives. We feel that giving pupils a chance to tangibly experience music in the flesh is invaluable and realise that without that opportunity, many musicians who are now enjoying their careers would not have had the spark of enthusiasm that comes from seeing the craft being performed in person. If we want to see more musicians come through local comprehensive schools then giving them the opportunity to have a taste of it on their doorstep is the best chance we have to encouraging them to begin lessons and have the desire to pursue it.