adopt a composer

Flying Kites in Thame

It is a curious feature of Thame that if one looks upwards, there is often a surprising abundance of birds of prey meandering across the sky.

La Nova Singers reflect on their first Adopt a Composer meeting

Dorset has some beautiful, historic churches, rich with architectural merit. This was not one of them.

Carols, conductor games and community wind bands

This is Lee Westwood, logging in, after my first couple of months as the adopted composer of the East London Community Band. We've been off to a great start, and whilst there's still plenty to do before our project comes to a head, there's also a little to tell you about, too...

A Hindi elephant and a non-singing Baritone

I’m really looking forward to working on this project.

Meeting The Lincoln Ukulele Band

On 26th September I drove to Lincoln to meet the whole of The Lincoln Ukulele Band in their usual rehearsal space and to see and hear them in action. I found the room just as Catherine had said, next to the fish monger section at the back of a large supermarket in a community room.

The Research of Others

It’s always positive when research for a piece leads down some rather unexpected roads.

Adopt a Composer scheme

The scheme pairs amateur choirs, orchestras or ensembles with up-and-coming composers for 12 months to collaborate and produce a new piece of music, culminating in a premiere performance and a broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

The project is run by Making Music in partnership with Sound and Music, in association with BBC Radio 3, and funded by the PRS Foundation, Philip and Dorothy Green Trust and Creative Scotland.

Community Spirit

Adopt a Composer 2014, Michael Betteridge with the Cobweb Orchestra.

A First Trip to Thame

I hope it is not too patronising to call Thame a quintessentially English market town.  Some of it is, after all, quite literally out of scenes fro