I'm now back playing hundreds of concerts a year, and night after night I can see from the stage that - even during a cost of living crisis - the value of concerts as a social experience is as strong as it ever was.

Particularly since the pandemic, people seem more willing than ever to invest in a memorable experience, especially if they can share it with friends or family.

But what about the kids?

You can't take children to a concert on a school night, and at the weekend it's too late in the evening.

To be honest, you can't really take children anywhere before a certain age, or perhaps longer if they are on some sort of spectrum. This much I know 😏

That leaves weekend daytimes and holidays...

One of my most longstanding collaborations is with the Guildford Symphony Orchestra. It's a mainly non-professional orchestra that's been embedded in the community there for over 100 years.

That century of heritage means that there are quite a few things that are just sort of collectively understood, without ever really being discussed.

Good cultural ideas are embedded in the what the organisation does.

One of those assumptions is the importance of passing down musical heritage and culture from generation to generation.

Why that's important is taken as read. What's important is that it gets done.

Whether it's through the annual Young Artists Concert on the supply side, or the FREE tickets for Under-18s on the demand side, it's understood that this stuff matters.

Getting it across to kids in a meaningful way matters even more.

Click here for tickets to the Toy Story Family Concert in Guildford, Sunday 29th September 2024!

The first time my eldest child experienced an orchestra live was before the Covid pandemic, at a Guildford Symphony weekend 'Family Concert'.

It was an amazing experience for them, and it had a lasting impact.

It opened their mind for the very first time to a whole range of new sounds and stories.

There were wonderful musical moments, made memorable by giant fluffy toys, funny costumes, and slapstick nonsense that was as enchanting as it was silly.

Those memories came up time and again in the following months and years. "Oh, that was the tune we heard at the orchestra concert ... maybe I can try playing it too!"

At the time, these experiences are fun, but might not seem particularly profound. But I think they are profound.

Especially for children, because of how deeply they influence our early sense of cultural identity.

If you ask me about my earliest musical memories, they'd include nostalgic recollections of weekend concerts at Croydon's Fairfield Hall.

I have vivid memories of giant characters with weird and wonderful objects, leaping around a stage full of musicians playing every instrument of the orchestra.

Each time I pass a concert venue, see an orchestra, or even just get the tram through central Croydon, I remember tiny fragments of those events.

They were disproportionally memorable experiences because of how young I was when they happened. And those memories help me to remember where I've come from, and therefore who I am.

It's not a coincidence I think, that - as I write this - I hear the words of our current Prime Minster talking about his experiences in the Croydon Philharmonic Youth Orchestra.

That group was conducted by the late Arthur Davison, whose 'family concerts' in Croydon are the ones I remember so fondly today.

Arthur Davison passed on much of his knowledge to his son, Darrell Davison, who today conducts the Guildford Symphony Orchestra.

And in turn, not a project goes by where I don't learn something from Darrell.

This is a cultural heritage that is passed down directly, from generation to generation, teacher to student, father to son, musician to musican.

As a performer, it can be hard to predict which tiny moment of a show will lodge in someone's imagination. I sometimes hear about things audience members attended years ago that I can barely remember, if at all.

But musicians know from experience that, in the round, if you throw enough compelling sounds at an engaged audience, something will catch the imagination.

And from there, anything is possible.

So if you're anywhere in Surrey or Southwest London and you don't have plans for the afternoon of Sunday 29th September, you should persuade everyone you know who is responsible for little people to come along to Guildford Spectrum.

So come along and listen to some nice music 🙂

Last year we had a crocodile, a snake, and a very large assortment of bears.

This year we'll have an enchanting toolbox full of toys...

How many of them will come to life? You'll have to come along to find out...!

When did you last see a crocodile conduct an orchestra anyway? 🐊