When we (and other music advocacy organisations) are making the case for amateur music groups to those in power, being able to demonstrate their value to communities is vital – and we don’t yet have the hard evidence to do so.
This pilot project is looking at how and what data we need to collect to discover more about the difference your groups make to your local communities. Please help us gather this information by filling in the survey below so that we can better help you.
Over a year ago now, the government’s consultation on making the proposed EBacc a compulsory measure for secondary schools closed, and we are still waiting to hear their response.
The EBacc would see a school’s performance rated according the percentage of its pupils successfully achieving the proscribed GCSE subjects - which do not include any of the arts.
Corporate members Rayburn Tours outline 7 ways learning an instrument helps young people.
Our adopted composer, Chris Schlechte-Bond, had already been up to Macclesfield to meet the band. On that occasion he brought his alto saxophone and joined in our rehearsal. For his second visit, he agreed with our MD Julia Harding that he would run a workshop in the first half of our weekly rehearsal. Needless to say, we were fascinated to find out what he had in mind for us.
It has been over a year since I first met the Thame Chamber Choir to discuss a new work as part of the Adopt a Composer scheme. Their first concert I attended was a programme of Purcell and his contemporaries interspersed with readings from Samuel Pepys’ diaries – the latter delivered with aplomb by Bruce Alexander. I was struck then by the skill of the choir and by the literary environment in which the concert took place.
Visiting the choir a couple of times I was great to be able to build a rapport with the members, listen to them sing and understand and get to know their routine/space/rehearsals.
We decided on a date for the first workshop for a few weeks time to give space to think of how to approach the session and so both Mark, Strathendrick's music director and David, our project mentor, could attend. Their feedback and suggestions on my workshop ideas proved really useful in fine tuning my plans for the session and made me consider accessibility and focus.
The logistical feat that is taking a musical group abroad and the challenges associated with an aging membership are two issues that we hear about almost every week on the membership team at Making Music. They are both huge issues and issues which we have been working on; see our resources on touring, and on young people’s engagement in amateur music.
Everyone’s heart sank when, for the second time in five years, the great collection of music scores known as the Yorkshire Music Library (comprising nearly 200,000 scores from 11 Yorkshire authorities) closed down when its parent company, a social enterprise, failed earlier this year.
At the time, the resource was being used by almost 2,000 music groups, so the closure had a significant impact on music making across the UK.
The celebration will focus on good governance and the skills needed to make trustees effective leaders.
Trustees and committee members from groups can take advantage of free training, resources and events taking place during the week, including:
We were delighted that Rosie could join us so soon for an orientation visit at the end of September.
In a full programme we visited three possible premiere venues – from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s Dora Stouzker Hall, to a local National Trust property (Dyffryn House and gardens) and Penarth Pier Pavilion. We even started off with a concert, which included the premiere of Viral by Mark Boden, another of this year’s ‘adopted’ composers!
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