News

Post date: Monday, 10 April 2023 - 5:05pm

In May, there are local elections in some parts of England (4 May), and in Northern Ireland (18 May). When your local candidates come knocking, you may want to talk to them about your music group.

Making Music members have told us about the issues that affect them at a local level, so below we have put together some asks you could pass on to your candidates if these issues are relevant to you, which you can adapt as necessary.

Post date: Wednesday, 5 April 2023 - 3:42pm

Learn to Play Day is back for another year! The annual event, organised by the Music for All charity, is a UK-wide day for lapsed or new musicians to take up playing an instrument and receive a free music lesson.

This year it will take place on 7 and 8 October 2023 at venues and music stores across the UK.

You can get involved in many ways - your music group could host a venue, you can encourage your music group members and your community to participate, or you yourself could learn a new instrument.

Post date: Monday, 3 April 2023 - 10:00am

We’re delighted to announce a partnership with Brighton Early Music Festival for the newly expanded Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists scheme to bring wider opportunities to brilliant young musicians.

The Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists scheme (PDGYA) recognises some of the UK’s top young musical talents and provides Making Music groups with an affordable way of booking artists. 

Post date: Thursday, 30 March 2023 - 5:30pm

Charitable organisations are being targeted by scammers. Making Music provides guidance on how you can take protective measures.

It’s a sad truth that small community organisations are high on the target list for scammers and fraudsters. Technology makes it ever easier for criminals to target local organisations like music groups, and the people that run them in their thousands.  

Post date: Thursday, 30 March 2023 - 4:06pm

This month the UK government announced that the Orchestra Tax Relief claim rate will continue to stay at 50% for another two years.

Post date: Thursday, 30 March 2023 - 3:03pm

Writer Graham Palmer, and composer and Adopt a Music Creator mentor Jenni Pinnock, call on East of England singing groups to take part in producing secular winter songs. 

Spring may finally be upon us, but many music directors and committees will already be thinking ahead about what to programme for winter. Curating a diverse range of repertoire during the festive season can be a challenge, a challenge which the Yule Songs project hopes to make a little less trying.  

Post date: Tuesday, 28 March 2023 - 12:53pm

This free network, chaired by Making Music, brings together organisations with an interest in singing in the UK. Chief Executive Barbara Eifler reports from its recent meeting. 

Post date: Tuesday, 14 March 2023 - 3:59pm

We sit down with Richard Gonski, music director of Torbay Symphony Orchestra, to discuss their Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Inspiration Award 2023, decided by public vote. 

Could you tell us a bit about your history working with Torbay Symphony Orchestra? 

I moved to Devon from London in 1996 and a few years later was asked to become conductor of what was then the Torbay Light Orchestra. At the first rehearsal, I asked that the orchestra change its name to Torbay Symphony Orchestra (TSO), which they very graciously agreed to. 

Post date: Friday, 10 March 2023 - 1:36pm

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) invites the public to recognise and celebrate the accomplishments of extraordinary individuals and those that have made a significant contribution to the UK. 

Do you know someone in your group who has devoted their time to organising charity events, someone that’s gone above and beyond to help your group shine in the last year or is dedicated to creating accessible music events for your local community? Champion the heroes in your life that enrich the leisure-time music scene.

Post date: Wednesday, 8 March 2023 - 2:41pm

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Making Music spotlights six iconic female composers of colour, a demographic that very often gets underrepresented in the music industry.