Education

The Brook Street Band is passionate about baroque music and loves working with musicians of all generations, amateur and professional, inspiring them to time travel and delve deeper into this wonderfully rich period of music.

We run education projects (often in partnership with Music Hubs) ranging from composition-based workshops for schools, baroque orchestra and chamber music sessions, masterclasses and weekend courses, through to specialist coaching at music summer schools including the Dartington International Summer School. We also offer relaxed, fun concerts specially tailored to children.

Our festival love:Handel in Norwich has many family-friendly concert offers with a generous allocation of free tickets for young people.

Email info@brookstreetband.co.uk to hear more about our education work, or would like us to design you a bespoke baroque project.

“It was a real privilege to be a part of: it was a great goal to work towards over the past month and being able to perform to the public again felt wonderful, too- I am still smiling from the experience.”

“I loved the whole presentation, like the Handel last year...the mixture of historical context and background to the music, together with an opportunity to listen to inspiring players.”

“This teacher, or should I say Master, is a GENIUS, such a deep understanding of music and voicing. I'm getting massive amounts of ideas for my interpretation of baroque music after seeing her. Please upload more videos with Rachel, she needs to be seen more often.”

Handel – friends, foes and flattery

Tatty Theo explores the colourful music scene in London from 1710-1759, with an illustrated talk touching on Royal patronage, political intrigue, and the lives of some the musical characters who were part of Handel’s London world.

Friends, foes and flattery abound, making for a rich tale to be told!

Zimmerman’s Kaffeehaus

Coffeehouse culture is rapidly becoming as popular now as it was in the eighteenth century. Tatty Theo explores the history of music in European coffeehouses, focusing on London and Leipzig, Handel and Bach’s respective cities.

Listen to Tatty’s interview from In Tune on BBC Radio 3 about 18th century coffeehouse culture:

Margherita Durastanti – Handel’s Italian Muse

Margherita Durastanti enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with Handel, their musical lives together spanning over 30 years. In fact, of all the sopranos that Handel worked with, his connection with Durastanti endured for the longest time. Tatty Theo sheds new light on this singer, about whom surprisingly little is known.

Handel in Italy

This talk explores the huge impact Handel’s time in Italy (1706–1710) had on his life, shaping him as a man, musician and truly great composer. Musical colleagues, rivals, employers and patrons all played a vital part in determining the direction of Handel’s musical career.

Welcome to Handel Digital, where you can access The Brook Street Band’s dedicated educational resources for work within schools, Music Hubs and other settings.