BENEDETTI FOUNDATION OCTOBER 2020
Hi everyone!
MESSAGE FROM NICKY
What an extraordinary few months it has been since I last wrote to you all. I am continually moved by the positivity, focus and commitment shown by each and every one of the participants we have worked with this year. The Covid-19 crisis whilst being an undeniably difficult time has also brought so many of us closer together in affirming, optimistic and supportive ways. For musicians, it’s been incredibly challenging, and I want to pay tribute and extend a huge thanks to our Tutors and Ambassadors for their relentless commitment to the work of the Foundation and to helping people of all ages from all over the world. The virtual space has opened opportunities we may not otherwise have been afforded. It’s astonishing to think that we’ve worked with over 16,000 participants this year from 70 countries across the world, and we were so thrilled to deliver our first sessions for beginner violinists and violists taught entirely in Spanish! As we look to the future, one thing we can say for certain is we are resolute in our commitment to you, to building and empowering a community of musicians, to sharing and making high quality music education more accessible on a larger scale to young musicians regardless of background or geographical location and to supporting and uplifting the work of teachers. I can’t wait for the day we can meet again in person, but for now I look forward to seeing you on the screen very soon! Nicky x
NEWS AND UPDATES The past six months have presented many challenges and changes to our everyday lives instrumental lessons have been disrupted, courses cancelled, and many social and musical activities moved online. But the past 6 months have also presented many opportunities. We have all become more closely connected and have formed a new global community. We have also discovered that not all things about this experience were just ‘making do’ with the loss of a physical gathering, but instead there were several components of learning and music making that actually heightened in their effectiveness through the power of technology.
VIRTUAL SESSIONS Our last newsletter came at the very start of lockdown as we were approaching the announcement of our first Virtual Sessions which were born out of our response to Covid-19. The Virtual Sessions provided the opportunity to work with a wider range of people stripped of the ability to attend face-to-face activities. During these unprecedented times, we felt our young people and teaching communities desired inspiration, goals to work towards and a greater sense of togetherness. We set out to provide musicians of all ages and stages, and from all over the world, with three weeks of consistent, scheduled online tuition and inspiration, preparing collectively for a final weekend of activity celebrating the coming together of our global music community.
“For those three weeks, the Sessions lifted the sort of sadness my daughter had been feeling because of the lockdown and cancellation of so many activities. One of the best things was seeing her more energised and having something out with our family activities to look forward to and work towards.” Parent, Virtual Sessions
Over those three weeks we engaged with 7159 participants from 66 countries. We worked on four pieces of repertoire through live sectional rehearsals and pre-recorded tutorials, delivered sessions in physical and mental wellbeing, rhythm, general musicianship, improvisation, harmony and more! There were professional development workshops for string teachers, sessions for conservatoire students and discussions on key topics such as practice, performance anxiety and nerves To close the Sessions, we invited the music loving world to join us for a celebratory concert, premiering a collation of videos which shared the story of the coming together of the music community through this unprecedented period. We provided a collective moment of not just music appreciation, but a sort of meditation and reflection of these unparalleled times – whilst celebrating the wonderful and collective achievement of musicians all over the world. WATCH FULL CONCERT
“These performances of each piece will probably be regarded in time as their most moving renditions (especially the Tallis) for reasons that transcend elite professional performance. The context of the piece, Covid 19, the diversity of the global players and ultimately the feeling of sound and vision that resonated in our earphones – it was intense and very moving. A brilliant thing captured as a collective moving moment forever, performed by both adults and children, such widening participation – congratulations everyone.” YouTube Concert Viewer
Many of you reading this newsletter today were a part of those Sessions and we want to thank each and every one of you for believing in us and throwing yourselves into the experience. It truly was a remarkable three weeks, and a period of time we will never forget. Remember, we have dedicated playlists for general musicianship, instrumental warm ups and wellbeing videos. For those who have joined us in the months since, we hope to welcome you on a Virtual Sessions soon. We are thrilled to share that we will be running more of these in the remainder of 2020 and throughout 2021.
MINI SESSIONS Out of the Virtual Sessions grew a series of Mini Sessions. Since we began in July, we have delivered 38 Mini Sessions and over 6000 of you have participated. We love creating new sessions and delving into a wide range of topics with you all. We’re also very grateful to those who have sent us videos, photos and messages updating us on your progress. Our tutors love receiving these too. We will be revealing some more Mini Sessions for November and December very soon! MORE
AFTER SCHOOL SESSIONS The After School Sessions, a 30-minute music lesson once a week now takes place on Facebook Live on Thursday from 5-5.30pm. We were delighted to welcome the inspirational saxophonist, Jess Gillam, to restart the sessions back in September. The After School Sessions live permanently on Facebook so you can always find them in our Video Library. We also have a page on our website dedicated to them and a YouTube playlist. MORE
COMING UP SOON
Next week, we will be launching a very exciting project for violinists all around the world. We are busy here planning something incredible for you all – keep your eyes peeled! This is the start of a long term project, so don’t worry if you’re not a violinist, there will be plenty of things coming up to keep you all studying, learning, progressing, developing, enhancing the work you are doing with your teachers and supporting those who are currently without teachers.
BENEDETTI FOUNDATION BOOK We are delighted to share our Benedetti Sessions Books for young string players and string teachers. First produced for the live Sessions, the books include Top Ten Tips, advice, anecdotes, and articles from Nicky, the Benedetti Foundation Tutors and our supporters. We have adapted them to be accessible for all young string players and string teachers, and they are now available for purchase online. All the profits from the books go straight back to supporting young musicians to attend the Benedetti Sessions and to developing new Sessions both online and in-person. We are extremely grateful to all the musicians who contributed to these books.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BOOKS
WHAT DOES THE BENEDETTI FOUNDATION MEAN TO YOU? We are so delighted and proud that the Benedetti Foundation has offered many of you focus, inspiration and enjoyment throughout these deeply troubling months. As we approach the end of what has been an extraordinary year for so many reasons, we would really like to be able to celebrate your achievements and share your thoughts on the impact the work of the Foundation has had on you with the world (and we really do mean the world!). If you are interested in answering this question , ‘What does the Benedetti Foundation mean to you ?’ please send in your answers by video. Please film in landscape (just on your phone is fine!). You could also send us anything creative, you may prefer to write something or draw. The deadline to send anything in is SUNDAY 8 NOVEMBER.
PLEASE UPLOAD HERE
IMPORTANT NOTE: We will be putting together a film collating as many of your responses as possible. By sending in a video to this link, you are giving permission for the Benedetti Foundation and Nicola Benedetti to use any videos, photographs or recordings. Under data protection regulations you have the right to withdraw this permission to use video/audio featuring you or your child at any time. Please be aware however that is not practically possible to remove a segment of audio/video from a compilation once it has been produced and distributed. For this reason, please consider carefully whether you are happy to give this permission before you send the video.
Thank you so much for your input throughout the year, we always love receiving your videos and photos. Sharing ideas and achievements is very much at the heart of what we do.
SUPPORTING THE FOUNDATION The Benedetti Foundation is a registered charity. We receive no government funding, and all our activity is funded through the generous donations of individuals, corporate sponsorship and trusts and foundations. Your support throughout the year has allowed us to continue to put on this array of projects for our young people, students, teachers and adult learners. In these tough times, we really appreciate all the support you have shown us. As we continue to plan our innovative and exciting programme of sessions for 2021, if you would like to make a donation of any size, please click here to visit our Support page. If you would like to make a regular donation to support this work, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Fiona Bassett, Administrator, in the first instance: fiona@benedettifoundation.org
To donate to the Foundation, you can also scan our PayPal Donate QR code !!
SOCIAL MEDIA UPDATE We have joined the world of TikTok! If you would like to follow us – our account is @benedetti_foundation You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
KEEPING IN TOUCH
We absolutely love receiving your emails, videos, letters, and your comments online. Please keep in touch with us. You can always write to us via info@benedettifoundation.org.uk or send a message on social media We are so looking forward to working with you all again soon. In the meantime, keep safe and keep practising. Love , The Benedetti Foundation Team The Benedetti Foundation is a Scottish company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Company number: 636675. Charity number: SC049688
