Pitch Perfect |
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 What is 'Pitch Perfect'?
In partnership with...
BBC Singers
BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Sport
21st Century Classroom
The Goethe Institut, London
Chelsea Football Club
Arsenal Football Club
Hammersmith & Fulham Education
Islington CEA
Magnum Photography
...Pitch Perfect saw the creation of a brand new football anthem to reflect football in 2005. It was fully accessible, culturally reflective of the communities involved and, more than anything, fun for those singing it! Pitch Perfect aimed to develop links between football and music. It drew upon the musical tradition present in football history through the commissioning of a brand new choral and instrumental work which is written to celebrate the 'beautiful game'.
How did this happen?
In February 2005, workshops took place around Stamford Bridge (Chelsea FC) and Highbury Stadium (Arsenal FC). The workshops happened in after school football clubs and schools and aimed to find out what actually makes football 'the beautiful game'. Representatives from Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC were present during all of these workshops, along with the rest of the creative team working on the project.
The spring sessions also looked at musical ideas which could be used in the project, and helped the creative team decide what exactly the new commission would be about. Both words and music came, at least in part, from these initial workshops. Each school and group received one creative workshop . We worked in nine secondary schools in Islington and nine primary schools in Hammersmith and Fulham. On 2 March we ran an adult workshop for Islington residents to come along and meet the creative team, to share ideas, memories and anecdotes connected to football.
Rehearsal
From September 2005, the BBC Singers and project leaders rehearsed with over 18 schools the brand new piece, visiting each group once every fortnight. Over 150 singing rehearsals took place during this period. There were two massive rehearsals at Highbury Stadium and Stamford Brige stadium - home to our partner clubs Arsenal and Chelsea.
The BBC Concert Orchestra worked with instrumentalists from the schools - who were able to perform the new commission alongside the orchestra on the 18th November 2005.
BBC 21st Century Classroom worked with media students throughout the autumn, running a series of workshops to collect images and film related to the project. During the first half of the concert, these students were able to 'VJ' to certain musical pieces in the programme.
What is Vjing?
Vjing is a creative visual art form that mixes streams of moving and still images together as part of a live performance. Vjers use a mixture of images collected from archive, the internet and from films along with their own images captured and edited from still and moving cameras. In simple terms Vjing is like Djing with visuals! Students will create a bank of moving clips that can be used for the performance at Wembley Conference Centre on the 18th November. During the process students will learn how to use a video camera, edit film on either Pinnacle 8 or Premiere 6.5 (tbc) and learn how to mix images using Motion Dive.
The 21CC phase of the project kicks off in Autumn 2005. 21CC is offering three innovative and creative days at its centre in Broadcasting House.
The Goethe-Institut London visited all partner schools throughout the autumn, looking at German history and culture, with a particular emphasis on the football history between both countries.
Pitch Perfect presents Magnum Photos - 8th September - 24th November 2005
BBC Media Centre, White City
Magnum Photos exhibited a collection of football related images, several of which were used during the initial creative writing sessions for Pitch Perfect in February and March 2005.
With powerful individual vision, Magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities. The Magnum Photos library reflects all aspects of life throughout the world and the unparalleled sense of vision, imagination and brilliance of the greatest collective of documentary photographers. In short, when you picture an iconic image, but can't think who took it or where it can be found - it probably came from Magnum.
Since the 1930s, various Magnum photographers have taken an interest in the world of football.They have documented football in its social context: its supporters, the premier teams,from grass roots level to the commercialisation of the game.From Japan to Turkey, Rwanda, Cambodia, Nigeria, Brazil, El Salvador, Italy andEngland, Magnum's photographers have captured the game we love in their inimitable style during an unprecedented era in football history.
Performance
Pitch Perfect premiered on Friday 18 November 2005 at Wembley Conference Centre - a venue with a long history of great footballing events. The first half was performed by the BBC Singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Stephen Bell, and featured music associated with football including 'We are the Champions', Nessum Dorma', 'You'll never walk alone' and German football music. The FA Cup and Premiership trophies were processed into the auditorium by Arsenal and Chelsea footballers and youth teams at the beginning of the concert. In the second half, the Singers and Concert Orchestra were joined on stage by the massed choirs of Arsenal and Chelsea and young instrumentalists from Arsenal and Chelsea who will all join forces to present Pitch Perfect. There were over 1000 performers on stage.
BBC Sport's presenter Ray Stubbs hosted the event, which had excerpts on BBC1 and was webcast live on the BBC London website.
 
The concert took place on 'Children in Need' night 2005, and therefore was able to raise money for the charity.
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Learning Projects BBC Music Learning From some of the earliest sacred music for unaccompanied voices to the choral repertoire of the present day. Links to other BBC Performing Groups learning work |
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