Big Noise in Wester Hailes gets Christmassy

The young musicians who take part in Big Noise – a music and social change programme – have performed in a pair of special concerts to celebrate the end of term.

Almost 130 children and young people from Big Noise Wester Hailes, all aged between seven and 10, took part across the two concerts at Sighthill Primary School.

They were joined by members of the community, and Big Noise staff and volunteers, as well as members of Big Noise Wester Hailes’ adult instrumental group, and the Rt Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Robert Aldridge, in celebrating the festive season and the end of another successful year for Big Noise in the community. 

Concertgoers were treated to two programmes of music featuring a variety of musical styles and cultures during the two events on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

These included festive classics including ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’, alongside other Big Noise favourites ‘The Journey Begins’ and ‘Mission Mars’.

Vicky Williams, Chief Executive of Sistema Scotland, said: “These two fantastic concerts were the perfect opportunity for our children and young people to celebrate the festive season and another great year at Big Noise with our fantastic community in Wester Hailes.
“Throughout the year, all of our participants have worked incredibly hard and their dedication to Big Noise was on show at both of these special concerts. 
“We’d like to wish all of our community members and participants a happy festive break, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back for another exciting year at Big Noise in the new year.”

Jemma, whose son Brandon, aged eight, was playing the cello in Tuesday’s concert, said: “The concert was really great. It was so nice to see them all play together. It’s nice to get together for concerts like this in the community, especially at Christmas time.”

Big Noise Wester Hailes launched in 2022 and now works with more than 650 children and their families every week, supporting young people to reach their full potential. 
Big Noise, delivered by the charity Sistema Scotland, helps children develop life skills while also strengthening community ties through music and nurturing relationships.
It is a high-quality music education and social change programme, which began in Raploch in 2008. It sees children and young people learn music after school, creating a community symphony orchestra, which supports children and young people to gain vital life skills such as confidence, resilience, creativity, and aspiration.  
There are now six centres supporting almost 4,000 children and young people across Scotland, including Raploch and Fallin in Stirling, Govanhill in Glasgow, Douglas in Dundee, Torry in Aberdeen, and Wester Hailes in Edinburgh.  

Big Noise is designed to strengthen the communities where it is based, develop relationships with participants and their families based on mutual respect, trust, and a commitment to work together to tackle inequalities for the long term.  
Through music and nurturing relationships, from infancy to adulthood, Big Noise supports participants’ wellbeing and helps them reach their full potential.  
A long-term evaluation of the model by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH) was published in 2022. It found 98 per cent of Big Noise participants in Raploch went on to a positive post-school destination.