“Imagine what it would look like if each and every child truly believed in themselves and their ideas. We have the opportunity to connect, uplift and inspire entire communities. This amazing work is a gift, and gifts are meant to be shared.”
Kobi Yamada
“Stories offer a very powerful means through which to engage young minds with the rich sound-world of an orchestra. By sparking the vivid imagination and creativity of a young listener, the adventure or journey within a text is amplified by the tones, moods and emotions conveyed by the score. Put simply, the right book paired with the right composer is a compelling combination.” Emily Gann
In 2017, Paul Rissmann was commissioned by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra to compose a new work for orchestra and children's choir, inspired by the acclaimed book What Do You Do with An Idea? by Kobi Yamada and Mae Besom. The magical score was premiered in 2018 by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Young Adelaide Voices, Paul Rissmann (Narrator), Carlie Angel (Dancer), produced by Emily Gann. Attended by author, Kobi Yamada, the sold-out performances brought about an incredible sense of shared joy and hope amongst all present.
Following the success of the Adelaide performances, the London Symphony Orchestra subsequently presented the work at the Barbican in 2019, to thousands of school children and families across London. Directed by Victor Craven, the London performances highlighted the deep potential for diversity of presentation. Through ongoing discussions and travels by Emily Gann to visit Kobi Yamada and Compendium in Seattle, and to Paul Rissmann in London, it was agreed that the future of the project lay in educational settings. It became clear that we needed to fin a way to enable schools everywhere in the world to access, explore and bring to life through music and the arts their own versions of this work.
After a further two years of planning, delays, lock downs and singing bans, the project is finally ready to be released into the world. This year, supported by Arts South Australia and Roger and Helen Salkeld, the next phase of the project has been realised. Led by Creative Director, Emily Gann (Connecting the Dots in Music), a collaborative effort has led to the production of:
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A full recording of the work recording by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Young Adelaide Voices, and with the voice of Tilda Cobham-Hervey as narrator
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Extensive creative-arts education resource based upon an inquiry-based framework for learning and creating
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A newly revised version of the score for 15 players that will enable chamber sized orchestras to tour the work into community, regional and education settings where local children can perform alongside orchestral musicians
“It’s a story for anyone, at
any age, who’s ever had an idea that seemed too big, too odd, too difficult.
It’s a story to inspire us all to welcome our ideas, to give them space to grow, and to see what happens next!”
Artist Biographies
Kobi Yamada is the inspiring author behind the New York Times best selling and award winning book "What Do You Do With an Idea?" and "What Do You Do With a Problem?" He is president and CEO of Compendium, a company of amazing people doing amazing things.
Kobi Yamada
author
Paul Rissmann
composer
Born on the Isle of Bute, Scotland, Paul Rissmann is a composer, presenter and music educationalist. He studied composition and classical saxophone at the Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Paul is passionate about music education. He is equally comfortable making music in a primary school or explaining the intricacies of Stravinsky’s motor rhythms to an audience of adults. His work in this field has received awards from both the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Royal Television Society. In 2014, he appeared as creative director in a Channel 4 (UK) documentary Addicts’ Symphony, which explored how creative music-making can be therapeutic in overcoming addiction.
Frequently commissioned to transform children’s literature into symphonic scores, Paul’s diverse portfolio of compositions includes an orchestral suite inspired by Alice in Wonderland and a setting of Yobi Yamada’s New York Times bestseller What Do You Do With An Idea? In 2012 he won a British Composer’s Award for The Chimpanzees of Happytown and in 2018 ABC Classics (Australia) released a recording of his musical adventure Stan and Mabel.
Paul has been commissioned and performed by orchestras all over the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, New York
Philharmonic, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and Luxembourg Philharmonic. Recent works include a prequel to Stravinsky’s Firebird ballet for the LPO and a setting of Shaun Tan’s The Lost Thing for the ASO.As a presenter, Paul creates and performs bespoke orchestral concerts for people of all ages, ranging from full-scale orchestral performances for the under-5s to a critically acclaimed series of music discovery concerts for adults called Naked Classics. He has guest-presented Classics Unwrapped for BBC Radio Scotland, dissected the world of opera for Glyndebourne in Behind the Curtain and performed a series of open-air concerts with the LSO in London’s Trafalgar Square.
Paul has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra with both Valery Gergiev and Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia, Andris Nelsons and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and toured India with Nicola Benedetti and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
He currently holds the positions of Children’s Composer in Residence for Music in the Round, Creative Partner of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Animateur for the London Symphony Orchestra.
Emily Gann
project director/
creative producer
An experienced creative director, teaching artist, cellist and educator, Emily is committed to harnessing the power of music to achieve positive social impact. Through her organisation, Connecting the Dots in Music, Emily has established a growing portfolio of creative programs that seek to empower people and communities through music. As Founder and Creative Director of Lullaby Project Australia, Emily works in partnership with Carnegie Hall and diverse community collaborators to deliver the program. strengthen family connection by inviting parents to collaborate with a professional musician as they write and record a personal lullaby for their child. Lullaby Project Australia won a prestigious 2020 Ruby Award, presented by Arts South Australia. In the same year, Emily’s Music for All Project – a creative music project for young
people with diverse abilities - was names a finalistat the Jeunesses Musicales International YAM Awards. From 2013-2018 Emily successfully steered the Community and Education program of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra through a significant period of transformation. Through her work, she has carried out extensive research and international travel to explore high impact and sustainable music for social change initiatives. Emily is a recent graduate of the Global Leaders Program – a 360° Ivy league-curated Executive Education for impact-focused Arts Entrepreneurs through which she was named as a 2021 Laureate of the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Global Humanitarian Entrepreneur Prize for Social Impact.
As a passionate educator, Emily also works as a teacher at Immanuel College, Adelaide.
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Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
award-winning composer Paul Rissmann created a magical work for symphony orchestra and
children's choir, bringing to life the inspirational story of What Do You Do With An Idea?
Commissioned and premiered by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Young Adelaide Voices in 2018, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2019, this extraordinary piece of music has an incredible power to inspire people of all ages right across the globe.
In partnership with Kobi Yamada (author) and Paul Rissmann, Connecting the Dots in Music is leading a new collaboration with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Young Adelaide Voices that will see this immersive work reach young people in schools and diverse communities right around the world.
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Young Adelaide Voices
award-winning composer Paul Rissmann created a magical work for symphony orchestra and
children's choir, bringing to life the inspirational story of What Do You Do With An Idea?
Commissioned and premiered by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Young Adelaide Voices in 2018, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2019, this extraordinary piece of music has an incredible power to inspire people of all ages right across the globe.
In partnership with Kobi Yamada (author) and Paul Rissmann, Connecting the Dots in Music is leading a new collaboration with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Young Adelaide Voices that will see this immersive work reach young people in schools and diverse communities right around the world.
-
Tilda Cobham-Hervey
award-winning composer Paul Rissmann created a magical work for symphony orchestra and
children's choir, bringing to life the inspirational story of What Do You Do With An Idea?
Commissioned and premiered by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Young Adelaide Voices in 2018, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra in 2019, this extraordinary piece of music has an incredible power to inspire people of all ages right across the globe.
In partnership with Kobi Yamada (author) and Paul Rissmann, Connecting the Dots in Music is leading a new collaboration with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Young Adelaide Voices that will see this immersive work reach young people in schools and diverse communities right around the world.