This was MCO's first orchestral play-day with Hallfield School in January 2025. This involved rehearsals and performances by Hallfield Orchestra with repertoire they had prepared in Autumn 2024, combined with MCO. The play-day included:

• Full orchestra rehearsals, combining the entirety of Hallfield Orchestra with MCO

• Sectional rehearsals, separating Strings and Wind for detailed, instrument-specific work

• Two quick study pieces; one for strings, and one for wind, learned on the day in sectionals and performed later in concert

• An opportunity to watch MCO rehearse in action, who would later perform the 2nd movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D minor in the concert

• A special arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy, combining the school arrangement with the original writing from the 3rd movement of Symphony No. 9

• A late afternoon concert showcasing all that had been rehearsed and learned that day

Coinciding with MCO's 5th Anniversary, the orchestra engaged in a collaborative concert with Hallfield School, centred around Peter and the Wolf Op.67 by Prokofiev. Involvement with the school included:

• A chamber choir performance at the start of the concert

• Support of the Hallfield Orchestra's performance with MCO members, including music by Vivaldi and an arrangement of "We Caught the Wolf" by Toscana Strings

• A collaboration of Hallfield Orchestra and MCO on Mozart's Sleigh Ride from his German Dances K.605

• Selected advanced Hallfield musicians joining MCO in weekly rehearsals to perform Mozart's Symphony No. 32 and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf

• Two art competitions; one for the programme's front cover, and a mask-making competition.