Sound Symphony by Ellie Griffiths has been nominated for a New Music Scotland Award 2020 in the Community/Education Project category.

The winners will be announced at the V&A in Dundee on Tuesday 14 April 2020. The full shortlist can be seen here

Sound Symphony was produced by Independent Arts Projects in association with Capital Theatres and supported by Creative Scotland, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, City of Edinburgh Council and Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo. The production toured to 8 venues across Scotland in May 2019.

Sound Symphony is a new sound-performance made for young audiences with complex autism and their families.

The piece is a journey through music, sound and silence. Weaving together cello, singing and object noises, Sound Symphony is designed to create a sensory-rich environment, where the audience can feel the music through their whole body.

This highly interactive performance aims to give audiences with complex autism access to high-quality theatre was made in collaboration with young people from St Crispin’s School and Action for Children, Edinburgh.

The team
Director and Lead Artist Ellie Griffiths
Performers/Composer Sonia Allori, Greg Sinclair, & Shiori Usui
Musical Director & Lead Composer Greg Sinclair
Designer Katy Wilson
Sound Designer Matt Padden
Lighting Designer Colin Grenfell
Movement Director Natasha Gilmore
Dramaturg Naomi O Kelly
Research Advisor Joe Wright
Associate Artist Greta McMillan

Stage Manager Rosie Ward
Technical Stage Manager Emma Reid
Production Manager Grahame Coyle
Audience Development & Marketing Sally Wilson
Assistant Producer Andrew Jeffrey
Producer Mhari Robinson

Creative Consultant Coery Nicholson
Evaluator Max Alexander

With thanks to young people from St Crispin’s School and Action for Children, Edinburgh. 

Press response to Sound Symphony . . .

“a joyful and exquisite piece of work, beautifully designed by Katy Wilson and lit by Colin Grenfell, and composed and performed with terrific sensitivity and exuberance by three musician-theatremakers, Greg Sinclair, Sonia Allori and Shiori Usui.” 
★★★★, Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman (read the full review here).

“As beautifully conceived in its visual and tactile dimensions as in its music and sound, Sound Symphony is a brilliantly crafted, wonderfully benign, deeply moving piece of theatre. ” 
★★★★★, Mark Brown, Herald on Sunday/National (read full review here). 

“Paying tribute to the sculpture of music, Sound Symphony has a keen interest in involving its audience in the sights, feels and environment of creating music through their own bodies, and the show accommodates a variety of senses for the whole audience.” 
★★★★, Dominic Corr, The Skinny (read the full review here).

“I felt welcomed and comfortable. Performers joined in audience members in their vocalisations and mannerisms, not to mirror or imitate but to incorporate them into the performance. There was no dread of doing the wrong thing or interrupting. In this space, it was okay to be autistic, and stim, to laugh and squeal with joy, to clap whenever you were pleased or just watch and smile.”
92%Brian Tyrell, The Fountain (read the full review here).