VOICES FOR THE FUTURE – Miriam Rothschild 2022
Waddesdon Manor
V
Miriam Rothschild appearing on “After Dark”, 2 July 1988 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Miriam Rothschild
(1908-2005)
Entomologist and Conservationist
Miriam started collecting insects when she was only four, keeping them in matchboxes! She grew up to become an international authority on fleas, pioneered the restoration of wildflower meadows and the use of art therapy to help mental health, was a vegetarian, and campaigned for gay rights.
Her Uncle Walter collected butterflies which she loved, and he kept giant tortoises which he and the children would ride across his lawn. He is one of the few people to tame zebras and had a team pull his carriage which he used when visiting Buckingham Palace!
Voices for the Future
Miriam Rothschild 2022
The project, created in collaboration with the Learning Team at Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, aimed to celebrate the work of this important scientist in the context of current concerns about declining bio diversity. We collaborated with scientists, artists, musicians, singers and local school children to create new music and art including:-
-
- A Miriam Rothschild MEGASONG by Thomas Hickman Primary School
- A ZOOM Performance –“Women’s Nature” on April 11th 2022 with commissioned music for Virtual Choir
THE TEAM
Frances M Lynch – Director, Singer, Composer
Herbie Clarke – Sound and Video Design
Lauren Lister – BSL Interpreter
Dr Patricia Fara – Science Historian
Dr Érika Pinheiro-de-Castro – Entomologist
Sarah Dewberry – Head of Learning, Waddesdon Manor
The Project was delivered by electric voice theatre in collaboration with a unique set of partnerships:-
Waddesdon Manor
Rothschild Foundation
Thomas Hickman Primary School
Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust
Buckinghamshire Music Trust
Voices for the Future – Miriam Rothschild 2022
MEGASONG Project with Thomas Hickman Primary School
Oak and Willow Classes (Year 3) created their
MEGASONG for Miriam Rothschild…
“In Miriam’s Wildflower Garden”
The children made a chorus using all they had learnt about Miriam’s life and work and its importance to the future of ecology. To make the verses they first had to find out as much as they could about the insects and plants living in the wildflower garden. Then they split into 6 groups, each of which chose one insect to put at the centre of a fantastical story that could have taken place “In Miriam’s Wildflower Garden”. All they had to do now was make some music for their story and draw pictures of it for the film – and their MEGASONG was complete!
THE CHILDREN SAID
I felt like a star
We liked showing our parents the video
We learnt about putting lyrics to a tune
We learnt that pesticides can make some animals poorly
We all liked the “zebras chasing tortoises” in the song, it was funny
We learnt about food chains and that wildlife thrives in wild flower gardens
We learnt about songwriting and that we can get ideas for lyrics from looking around us or from a story
THE TEACHERS SAID
They had enormous enjoyment of the trip at the end
They learnt about the life and work of Miriam Rothschild
The children learnt a great deal about Science as well as music
They enjoyed working with the scientist and found this fascinating
They had a great sense of achievement and pride at hearing their recordings
The musicians had a huge impact on the children who were very interested in their instruments as they had not seen or heard them before
How did the project work?
Each class had 5 Zoom Workshops with our team and extra musical help in the classroom from Mardyah Strange & Rachel Stratford (Bucks Music Trust)
- Introduction to Miriam Rothschild, insects, singing and composing and all about Waddesdon Manor with Sophie Wolstencroft
- Meet the Scientist – entomologist Dr Érika Pinheiro-de-Castro
- The Story of Miriam Rothschild
- Insect Music – time to finish the song!
- Pictures and Practice – final prep for the recordings
A visit to Waddesdon Manor
The most exciting thing of all!!!
The children came to Waddesdon and met the team in person. Erika brought some friends (well insects!) and fellow entomologists Glennis Julian and Billie Pike. Together we spent the day investigating the History of Waddesdon, the grounds & insect life and filming and recording their song on the steps of Alice de Rothschild‘s garden.
I was surprised by the beautiful gardens and how neat the flower beds were.
We also loved the statues in the fountains.
We were surprised how the house looked like a castle.
We were surprised that there was a photo of the Queen inside the Manor House and that she had planted a tree there.
We were surprised that there was a room inspired by Ancient Greece and we could identify many characters from Greek myths on the ceiling mural and in the rug.
……. and then….!
- Ed Turpin from Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust visited the school to talk about the insects and plants living in the school grounds and helped them find some too!
- Frances & Herbie set to work editing and producing the music and put together all the art work for the film until finally the classes had their MEGASONG FOR MIRIAM ROTHSCHILD……
- The children shared their work and celebrated with the rest of their school, parents and friends
- They sent us lots of information to make their website page on Minerva Scientifica…. do have a look!
It felt strange to sing for a real music video.
I got the giggles when we were singing because I was nervous.
They all agreed they felt really proud of their film.
Miriam Rothschild is inspiring because she used her money to help other people. She helped prisoners and refugees and she was already thinking of ways to look after animals.
ZOOM Performance –“Women’s Nature” April 11th 2022
“Entomologists Annonymous”
by
Frances M Lynch
This chant was created for the Voices for the Future Virtual Choir, and Young Singers Programme to celebrate the science of UK women working in contrasting fields of entomology.
Miriam Rothschild, fleas wildflowers butterflies
Eva Crane, Bees
Eleanor Ormerod, destroyer of ruinous insects, Saviour of crops and forests.
Margaret Rae MacKay, Artist
Lucy Evelyn Cheeseman, explorer, collector
Erica McAlister broadcaster, curator
“Women’s Nature”
This zoom concert was inspired by the life and work of Miriam Rothschild featuring music by UK women composers who were her contemporaries. It reflects on the natural world and our different relationships with it. The voice and piano repertoire includes:-
Elizabeth Poston (1905 – 1987) – “Bonny at Morn”
Dorothy Howell (1898 – 1982) – “Two Frogs”
Rebecca Clarke (1886 – 1979) – “Down by the Salley Gardens”
Avril Coleridge-Taylor (1903 – 1998) – “The Rustling of Grass”
“Women’s Nature” was performed by participants from our Young Singers Programme and the Voices for the Future Virtual Choir, with the electric voice theatre director, Frances M Lynch
electric voice theatre Podcast Series
Women of Science & Music: 30 celebrations
Episode 21: A passion for fleas
A discussion around the life of Miriam Rothschild (1908-2005) with Dr Patricia Fara – Science Historian, Emeritus Fellow of Clare College Cambridge and Peter Smithers – Entomologist, Honorary Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, interspered with music from the opera “Miriam” by Karen Wimhurst for solo voice and bass clarinet.
