Into film and cartoon escapades with young musicians

This time the participants of the orchestra camp in Ljubljana will present a selected repertoire of film music, which they have been diligently rehearsing since 14 August under the artistic and musical direction of Živa Ploj Peršuh. The concert, taking place as part of the 72nd Ljubljana Festival, will be accompanied by the film expertise of Slovenian film critic, presenter and writer Marcel Štefančič. The orchestra will be joined on stage by soloist on electric bass guitar Lauri Porra, a film composer from Finland, who comes from a distinguished musical family and – as befits such families – began his own path at music school on various classical instruments, before later being drawn to “electric” music and the “underground” scene. “I would like to build as many bridges as possible, to bring symphony orchestras to a metal music festival – and vice versa. I want to bring different people together so that they understand that ‘art music’ does not exist. Music is just waves in the air,” says Porra, who has his own metal band and is also artistic director of several festivals and an orchestra in Finland. Živa Ploj Peršuh nods in agreement: “That is also the message I would like to pass on to our participants. Everyone who attends music school acquires basic knowledge, but a great deal can be done with it. Not everyone has to become a soloist or virtuoso; the possibilities are far more colourful than one imagines, and far more varied than the information about them in music schools.”

Lauri Porra, film composer: “I would like to build as many bridges as possible, to bring symphony orchestras to a metal music festival – and vice versa. I want to bring different people together so that they understand that “art music” does not exist. Music is just waves in the air. ”

At the summer orchestra camp, alongside additional creative workshops – from theatre improvisation to exercises that build self-confidence, concentration and public performance skills – the focus each year is on a programme spanning many genres, so as to cater for as many tastes as possible. “Film composers are also very good classical composers. We have put together a programme tailor-made for everyone, younger and older performers alike,” says Živa Ploj Peršuh. Instead of betting on the best-known hits that almost every orchestra already plays, from pieces from the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises to Pirates of the Caribbean, the young people at the camp spent six hours a day mastering, alongside more contemporary melodies, film pieces that will also connect older generations – from grandparents who have watched all three parts of The Godfather several times, to aunts and uncles who know that Pukni zoro does not come from the treasury of Serbian folk songs, to everyone else who still remembers, for example, the good old cartoon adventures of Tom and Jerry.

A moment of perfect harmony

Fourteen-year-old Tia de Gleria is a harpist from Logatec. She applied because her town has only a wind band and a string orchestra, neither of which has harps. “I've never played in an orchestra before, but I like playing together with lots of people. I like film music too, because it's not something ordinary – you can recognise it quickly and get into it.” Lena Ponjavić is a 17-year-old saxophonist who took part in the camp for the second time and will do so again next year: “I like it because we are taught by renowned musicians, and you can also quickly make friends from different parts of Slovenia. I also like being able to play in a symphony orchestra, which normally has no saxophones. It's a great opportunity to experience this and play at Križanke. One of the best feelings is when the strings tune up and suddenly the sound becomes harmonious, perfect. The sound right at the start of a concert is the best.”

Lena Ponjavić, saxophonist: “It's a great opportunity to experience this and play at Križanke. One of the best feelings is when the strings tune up and suddenly the sound becomes harmonious, perfect. The sound at the start of a concert is the best.”

This year's special musical guest, Lauri Porra, will perform with the young musicians his concerto for electric bass and symphony orchestra entitled Entropia . Porra is the great-grandson of the celebrated giant of Finnish music Jean Sibelius and the fourth generation of musicians in his family. “Today there is less prejudice towards other musical genres, but it can still be felt,” remarks the long-haired bassist. “Imagine talking about people like that – saying some are more important than others. That's how it is with music when someone says classical music is more important, more suitable. That is fascism in music. Such thinking should have no place in the world.” He loves making music with young people and constantly bears in mind the impressions he will leave on these children, the memories they will take away with them. Lauri Porra explains further: “The key thing is that musicians who play different instruments get to know each other. Young people today are under incredible pressure. Camps like this are an exceptionally healthy way of socialising and of teaching children social skills. An orchestra camp has many sides, and musical education is only one of them. Programmes like this are essential in raising healthy generations.”