Among the reasons for the success of the education programme is that the Orchestra has wisely invested in its players, providing (with the invaluable help of various sponsors and funders) a two-year Training and Development Programme for players. This enabled them to develop their own musicianship and to gain other skills, such as improvisation, which they can use as a workshop tool in different community settings. The players involved in this programme found such motivation in playing together in this way that they created a new ensemble, Sharp Edge, to take their work forward.

Already, in just a few concert appearances, Sharp Edge has been acclaimed in orchestral circles. Sharp Edge devises new music in collaboration with young composers and takes it into the community to involve local people in development and eventual performance. A tall order!

This approach has clearly caught the imagination of the powers that be: Sharp Edge has recently been awarded two major grants to develop its work in Nottinghamshire and London. Over the next two years Sharp Edge will commission composers to devise new works with the group, which will then be performed with local people in these areas.