The Vauxhall Band

The original Vauxhall Band performed at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in an ‘orchestra’ building, elevated above crowds of thousands of listeners, who would experience the music among the trees, illuminated by lanterns and moonlight, accompanied by the heady scent of flowers and shrubs.

Keats’ poems contain vivid descriptions of flowers, trees, and the landscape. He describes intense emotions felt when experiencing nature, which it can be imagined that visitors to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens would have also experienced.

Keats lived a short life, dying of tuberculosis when he was just 25 years old. In essence, Keats was a young man, out experiencing life in London in the time period that The Vauxhall Band’s concerts focus on – 1780-1830. We know that Keats visited Vauxhall Gardens because he wrote a poem about it. Keats’ writing encapsulates the philosophical and artistic ideals of the Romantic Era, which is why we have chosen his poetry as inspiration for the students.

The Vauxhall Band’s Artistic Directors, Laura Piras and Adrian France, worked with the students during the development of their compositions, alongside Sam Coates, the Director of Music at Graveney School.

On the 12th May 2022, the students visited The Vauxhall Band in rehearsals, and the musicians carried out a composition workshop. The students presented their compositions (as work in progress), and described their thought processes behind them. The Vauxhall Band performed the compositions, demonstrating what they sound like on period instruments. The performances were recorded for the students to take away and work with.

The Vauxhall Band continued to work with the students throughout 2022, and will perform the finished compositions as part of a concert. In addition, The Vauxhall Band will make a video recording of the compositions, which will be freely available online.

Read the full project brief here