BIG BANG -the adventurous music project for children – is the result of an intensive dialogue between several European organisations involved in music for children. The joint initiatives stems from a common concern for stimulating the artistic quality of a non-commercial music for children in Europe. The initiative was created through consultations on the felt need for facilitating cross-border dialogue and structural cooperation. It is a distinctly European project, with strong organisational partners, all major cultural organisations in 8 European cities that have produced 27 BIG BANG festivals and 9 newly commissioned musical productions for young audiences.
The BIG BANG project focuses on musicians, sound artists, composers and ensembles that regard the experience and creation of music as an adventure. The project is also aimed at organisers who wish to take innovative steps to make every child’s visit to a concert a strong experience and to cultural workers focusing on involving audiences usually unrepresented in cultural venues.
Thanks to the Creative Europe programme, the BIG BANG project has reached top quality achievements such as:
– An enhanced dialogue and cooperation between cultural workers and artists who organise, perform and create music for young audiences.
* 12 professional meetings and seminars have been organised enabling specialists and artists to work on topics such as audience development in the context of festivals.
– An active and newly built network enabling the circulation of musicians, composers and their work throughout Europe.
* Some 1 500 artists have been involved in the project, spreading the good work across the borders.
– A richer and broaden quality of music proposals on offer for children in Europe.
* Around 300 musical productions from 18 different countries have been performed.
– A larger and prepared audience composed of new generations with extensive cultural diversity and their families/friends/schools- throughout Europe.
* The Big Bang virus has reached an audience of 125 000 young ears.
– The set-up of a network of young ambassadors – through workshops and training sessions, children in the hosting cities have become experts in music, welcoming audiences and creating communication tools to spread the good work to their friends.
*Each year, the crew of ambassadors has grown into a large community of BIG BANG fans.
– The creation of NOMAD projects: artists from abroad came to share their work and experiences with local amateurs, creating new piece of work in an intercultural context.
* 500 children, sometimes with no previous musical experiences, have performed on some of the biggest stages of the European Union.
-A strong professional visibility and a large diffusion of work to reach out to larger audiences, thanks to the partnerships with MotorMusic, the television Channel Brava and local media.
*Audio-visual, sound and CD recordings have made the audiences grow tremendously.
A general sustainable improvement in the quality of Europe’s musical landscape for children.