Since its foundation, the Albany Trio has been actively involved in educational and community music work. The Trio thoroughly endorses the value and benefits of musical communication and interaction. As alumni of Live Music Now, they have many years of experience leading workshops  in special needs (SEN) schools, senior residential homes and dementia care homes.

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Our school workshops aim to bring classical music to pupils in an informal and fun setting. We tailor make each workshop, fully encourage participation and question and answer sessions, and give students the chance to listen and interact to live, classical music from up close. The Albany Trio are available to hire for workshops. Performances can be aimed at diverse age groups and schools, from mainstream to SEN and can run as simple concerts, or include different levels of audience interaction and participation.

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Example Program Options:

Saint-Saëns ‘Carnival of the Animals’:

A musical journey through this zoological masterpiece with interaction and storytelling. The poems for Carnival by the American poet, Ogden Nash can also be read aloud by students in-between each movement.

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Instrument Introduction:

A chance for students to learn more about our individual instruments. We also provide a violin suitable for pupils to try out and can bring a full size keyboard if required.

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Conducting:

Our conducting always proves popular with both mainstream and SEN schools. Students get to control how fast or slow we play to a variety of different music. 

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Warm up listening games:

A range of musical games (some quite energetic!) aimed at focusing attention by following a musical leader, whether it be one of us or a student.

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Music from around the world:

A wide selection of works written for piano trio (length dependent on preference). Programme examples can include Frank Bridge 'Miniatures'; Saint-Saëns 'The Swan'; Piazolla 'Spring'; Haydn 'Gypsy Rondo'; Brahms 'Hungarian Dances'; Mozart Piano Trios; Arrangments of Rodgers and Hammerstein 'Oklahoma': Pennies from Heaven; Bess, You is my Woman Now from Porgy and Bess;Fauré, Berceuse.

The Trio also brings music to residential homes across the UK. These sessions can range from informal concerts to residencies within care homes. The Trio often use the Desert Island Disc format and perform chosen works for individuals with an opportunity for residents to talk about what the music means to them in a group setting.

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Please contact the Albany Trio here if you'd like to receive further information about our educational and residential home workshops.

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The Albany Trio are also an associate ensemble of Chamber Music 2000, led by Artistic Director Annabelle Lawson from the Lawson Trio. The project was originally set up by the Schubert Ensemble in 1998 to provide challenging but technically accessible repertoire for young musicians and amateurs and to broaden awareness and performance of the work of Britain's most successful and distinctive living composers. To date, over 40 composers have contributed around 55 pieces to the project, all for various combinations of piano and strings, ranging in difficulty from Grade 2 or 3 to Diploma level. Composers are invited to write short pieces pitched at the easiest technical level for which they feel able to write, while still preserving the integrity and individuality of their own musical language. Through the Schubert Ensemble's commissions, and more recently works commissioned by the Lawson Trio, there is now an incredible wealth of new, short British works which are possible for any level of player to tackle.