News

Post date: Wednesday, 13 April 2022 - 12:19pm

Sheila Biegala of Ugie Voices and Foss Foster of Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra (ASO) describe the grand finale of their performance of 'Rhymes and Recollections'.

What a wonderful feeling of warmth, a glow from the satisfaction of a job well done and an enthusiastic audience. Even the beautiful Acorn Centre glowed! From the moment we walked into the auditorium we felt welcome, and the appreciation lasted right down to the last minute.

Post date: Tuesday, 12 April 2022 - 3:10pm

On 5 May, there are local elections in many local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. When your local candidates come knocking, you may want to talk to them about your music group.

Below we have put together some asks you could pass on to your candidates: issues at a local level we have become aware of through contact with members. Use them if relevant in your area and adapt them as necessary.

Some general thoughts:

Post date: Wednesday, 6 April 2022 - 10:41am

Ben Lunn looks back at the last 16 months of socially-distanced rehearsals, Zoom videos, bell caps, face masks, and a storm that nearly stranded the conductor in Heathrow - culminating in the Ugie Voices and Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra recording and performing his work, 'Rhymes and Recollections'. 

Post date: Thursday, 31 March 2022 - 8:00am

Jon Box of Shrewsbury Symphony Orchestra explains how his group has decided to programme and play work by women composers over the past three years. 

In 2019, we decided that our spring 2020 concert would be Ethyl Smyth’s The Wreckers: Overture, Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps and an Amy Beach symphony. This was quite a radical step, but it had the full support of the committee, as we believed that there is no justification for the absence of works by women composers from standard playlists.  

Post date: Monday, 21 March 2022 - 10:53am

Volunteers Glynne Stackhouse and Stephen Leeder share their reactions to having been awarded the 2021 President’s Award for their exceptional service to Making Music.

Here's what Stephen had to say:

Post date: Friday, 18 March 2022 - 6:33pm

New corporate member Biiah gives us the lowdown on their portfolio for leisure-time music groups.

At Biiah, we're building a global community that understands the importance of singing for wellness. In our mission to motivate everyone to rethink how they interact with their instrument, we're continually innovating new and fun ways that inspire people to connect with the power of their voice and feel the benefits of singing regularly. Discover our weekly online singing events and free gaming app

Post date: Wednesday, 16 March 2022 - 2:37pm

In this joint blog, Sheila Biegala of Ugie Voices and Foss Foster of Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra (ASO) describe their tumultuous recording session.

Post date: Thursday, 10 March 2022 - 5:04pm

Hannah Fredsgaard-Jones describes her first meeting with Voices of Exmoor as part of their Adopt a Music Creator 2022 collaboration.

Post date: Wednesday, 9 March 2022 - 1:46pm

Britain’s Big Platinum Performance will showcase the UK’s best leisure-time music groups on a recording that will be gifted this Platinum Jubilee year to Her Majesty The Queen.

As part of Classic FM's 30th birthday celebrations this year and to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Making Music has teamed up with Classic FM to invite groups from across the UK to submit a recording of a celebratory piece of music.

Post date: Monday, 7 March 2022 - 5:41pm

Elizabeth de Brito - musicologist, host of The Daffodil Perspective podcast, and guest speaker at our recent event on programming women composers - shines a light on influential female composers of colour, and gives some tips on diversifying your repertoire.