Upbeat: Play it yourself

ADULT beginners on instruments have been inspired for nearly a decade now by the East London Late Starters Orchestra, which has ways of getting players into quite intricate and fulfilling ensemble work within a very short time of first taking up bow or drawing breath. And they do not stop at reading the notes. A few years ago they wrote their own opera/musical, with a little help from Daryl Runswick, and put it on at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East. In their 10th anniversary year, ELLSO will be working with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Steve Martland to create another piece: this time they will premiere it at the South Bank on 4 February, as a curtain- raiser to the BBC SO's concert. 'Absolutely no previous experience needed,' says ELLSO.