A tattooed knee keeps gentle time with the violinist. The ‘A’ finger on a hand that spells HATE goes calmly up and down. The men, inmates of Nowra’s South Coast Correctional Centre, are absorbed. 

Friday’s performance and music workshop was the fourth in as many years brought inside the centre by the Sydney Symphony Fellows and their artistic director, Roger Benedict.

The tradition was begun with the aid of the Bundanon Trust as a way of passing on life lessons in teamwork and communication to inmates from the centre’s Intensive Learning Centre.

It is also thought to improve the abilities of the gifted, fresh-faced Fellows to communicate classical music to new audiences.

They meet in the visitors’ room, where the metal chairs are bolted to the floor.

The men give little away at first. Some arrive with sunglasses in place even though they are indoors.

The Fellows wear jeans and shirts. They too are quiet.

‘‘There’s a lot of watching and waiting going on from both sides until somebody does something - speaks or plays an instrument,’’ Mr Benedict said.

‘‘Hopefully when [the inmates] see that the music’s being made by interesting and dedicated young musicians that gives them a sort of instant access to it. 

‘‘On the other side, when the musicians see these guys - they might be dressed the same, but they’re here to enjoy the music and when they listen so wonderfully that instantly makes [the musicians] ... feel that they’re really interested in what they’re doing.’’

The musicians are called on to answer questions about their instruments and re-perform pieces so the inner workings can be dissected - who is leading? Who is following? Is there a conversation happening between any of the instruments?. 

‘‘There’s obviously one person who’s got a leadership role, but it shifts around the group,’’ Mr Benedict points out. 

He uses Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale - ‘‘the story of a soldier who sells his soul to the devil’’ to lead a lesson in conducting and invites an inmate, Keron, to have a go up the front. 

The group hoots and applauds as he throws his tattooed arms through the air, compelling the musicians into fast-forward and then, abrupt silence.

Keron later tells the Mercury he is a big 2Pac fan. That wouldn’t change, but the Fellows had been, he said, ‘‘fascinating’’. 

‘‘They’re doing something with their lives,’’ he said.

‘‘They’re achieving their goals. They’ve worked really hard to get where they are and they’re chasing their dreams.’’ 

Tanya Bennett, Senior Corrections Education Officer, said about a quarter of the prison’s 560 inmates were involved in education or work programs.

Only 33 opted to attend this year’s performance, with few expecting to become so engrossed.

‘‘They say, ‘classical music? I’m not going to listen to classical music’. But once they come out and see them, their minds open,’’ she said. The men and their teachers share a barbecue lunch with the musicians.

Charlotte Fetherston, who plays viola, wonders if the men’s confinement is contributing to their interest in the music.

‘‘They are one of the best audience I’ve ever had,’’ she said. 

‘‘Most people are so focused on their life - ‘what am I going to have for dinner’ - but when you’re in prison, taken away from normal life ... maybe that’s why they’re so attentive.’’

The men among the fellows don black suits and ties for the afternoon concert. The women wear black. They enter with a respectful nod to the audience. 

Inmate Sam, 32, watches on and thinks they make it look effortless. 

He will go to a concert when he gets out, he says.

‘‘I’ve heard [classical music] but I’ve never sat there and listened to it all the way through,’’ he said. 

‘‘I’d like to go to a concert and feel the power of 20 horns or trumpets.

‘‘There’s plenty here - but I’d love to hear 20 trumpets.’’