Nonesuch Orchestra has spent a glorious springtime morning with another enthusiastic group of children, this time at St Catherine's Catholic Primary School in Barnet. We are fortunate to have Mollie, a folk fiddler, in our group. As children gathered, she set the tone, with beautiful renditions of Shetland and American folk melodies.

With Telemann's Overture in E minor from his long-lost opera L'Omphale, as our focus, we then introduced the instruments and various musical concepts. There were gasps when the children learned the original manuscript was around 300 years old. They created stories as they listened, with images of pirates, a looming octopus, and a sea creature, and tales of loneliness, friendship and nature - with happy endings, eventually, all around. We were then joined by a skillful ensemble of students on violin, viola, guitar, flute, recorder and clarinet, complemented by lusty singing by the larger groups. Thank you, St Catherine's, for sharing your morning with us!