THE MAKING MUSIC MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE | SPRING ISSUE 2014
Forging links Expert tips on harnessing the power of social media • PAGE 8
FAMILY ARTS Advice from the Family Arts Campaign on attracting family audiences • PAGE 10
HIRE PITCH How you can get the most out of your local music library • PAGE 12
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CONTENTS & EDITORIAL
I am delighted to be writing this introduction as Making Music’s new Executive Director.
CONTENTS NEWS
5 In brief 6 Around the UK FEATURES
8 Forging links 10 Family arts 12 Hire pitch FROM OUR TEAM
Having run membership organisations for 17 years, I am passionate about what they deliver for members: support, connection to peers and experts, and representation of their sector. I’m therefore honoured to be entrusted with the task of heading up Making Music on your behalf.
14 Membership and services 16 Projects 18 Volunteers MEMBERS
19 Corporate membership 20 Blow your trumpet 22 Readers’ page
It is of particular interest to me that you’re a membership of musicians who enjoy music so much, and who understand so well what it can do for people and communities, that you invest your precious free time not only into performing, but into organising concerts and running groups, too.
If you have suggestions or would like to contribute to Highnotes, please contact the Commissioning Editor, Henry Bird on 020 7422 8291 or editor@makingmusic.org.uk Copy deadline for the next issue of Highnotes, Summer 2014, is 3 March
Music, research shows, is understood by humans before language; music has the power to express feelings and help us come to terms with the world. As many of us know, it has the power to transform lives and neighbourhoods.
Any views or opinions expressed by external contributors may not necessarily represent those of Making Music Highnotes is the official journal of Making Music, The National Federation of Music Societies, 2-4 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3NW 020 7422 8280 info@makingmusic.org.uk www.makingmusic.org.uk
So I couldn’t ask for a more worthwhile membership to work for and I hope my contribution will result in the best possible environment for you to continue making or presenting music.
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NEWS
IN BRIEF “They are designed as a benchmark for organisations providing an exceptional welcome to families”
Learn to Play Day
Alastair Tallon on the Family Arts Standards p10
This nationwide event is back for a third year, and we’re inviting Making Music members to get involved On 12 April, UK music shops will be throwing their doors open to budding instrumentalists for Learn to Play Day. The event is organised by Music for All, the charity for the UK’s musical instrument industry, which will send local music teachers into participating shops to provide free instrumental taster sessions. Aimed at both the lapsed musician and the complete novice, the event seeks to get more people making music. By taking part, Making Music groups
may well be able to fill gaps within their own ranks. Could you host an event, with instruments and teachers provided by your local music shop or even from within your own membership? Could you perform in a shop to help get people through the door? Not all music shops are taking part, but we’re on hand to match you up with your nearest participating store via Music for All. If you’re interested in getting involved, email us by 17 January at info@makingmusic.org.uk.
Farewell to Robin Osterley Making Music’s long-standing Chief Executive stepped down from his post in October During his 16 years as Chief Executive, Robin led Making Music through some of its most significant achievements, including the transformation of its public and corporate image. The organisation is much changed by his imaginative leadership over so many years. Robin commented: ‘This has been the most incredible journey for me, and I have loved every minute of my job. It is absolutely the right time to leave, both for me and for the organisation, and I am totally confident that Making Music will go from strength to strength under its new leadership.’ Following Robin’s departure, Barbara Eifler has been appointed Executive Director and now leads the organisation. For a list of all current Making Music staff, turn to page 15.
Above left: The Yardbirds’ Ben King teaching Councillor Jenny Conroy at a 2013 Learn to Play event in Northampton Photo: David Phillips, music-images.co.uk Below: Robin Osterley Photo: Alex Rumford
COUNCIL CUTS THREATEN ARTS FUNDING
A new report suggests that funding for ‘quality of life’ services, including arts services, is increasingly at threat in the face of local government cuts. The report, from anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, warns that only services used by the most vulnerable members of society will continue to receive funding as councils in England try to find savings of 29% over five years to 2015, with those in Scotland being required to make savings of 24%. This could mean that funding for local venues, arts centres and community groups is cut entirely. The findings of the report were backed up by figures in the 2013 Arts Index, published by the National Campaign for the Arts, which shows that arts funding from local government is down by 16%. If your group has been affected by the cuts, or if you think you are about to be affected, let us know at barbara@makingmusic.org.uk. PETER MCGARR WINS MAKING MUSIC AWARD
The Making Music category of the British Composer Awards is awarded to the composer of a work for a voluntary, amateur or youth music group. Peter McGarr was announced as the 2013 winner for his piece Dry Stone Walls of Yorkshire, commissioned by Making Music member CoMA. www.britishcomposerawards.com
Blowing for gold The world record for largest ocarina ensemble has been broken by a group of 3,081 players at London’s Royal Albert Hall. bit.ly/18nVfCk
Spring 2014
HIGHNOTES
5
NEWS
AROUND THE UK YORKSHIRE AND THE NORTH OF ENGLAND
WEST
Grand harmonies Birmingham Contemporary Music Group is looking for 1,000 singers to perform in a world premiere from Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang American composer David Lang’s new choral piece, Crowd Out, has been written as a celebration of the sense of community created through performance. Not content with a normal-sized choir for the debut performance, co-commissioner Birmingham Contemporary Music Group (BCMG) is looking for 1,000 people to take part in the world premiere this summer. Taking inspiration from the chanting heard at football matches, Crowd Out will encompass whispering, shouting and chanting alongside simple sung sections. The piece has been written for all levels of performer, be they regular choristers or those who’ve only ever sung on the terraces on a Saturday afternoon. 6
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The premiere takes place on 8 June 2014 at Millennium Point, Birmingham, with BCMG conducted by Simon Halsey. If you’d like to be part of what promises to be one of the largest vocal events Birmingham has ever seen, visit bcmg.org.uk/ learning/crowd-out, where there are details of how to sign up. Making Music’s team in the West has also recently partnered with BBC Radio Merseyside and Up for Arts to deliver the Play it Again campaign. The campaign aims to bring member groups face to face with people looking to get back into music, or those looking to participate for the first time. Find out how to get involved at www.makingmusic.org.uk/ west/play-it-again.
Above: Composer David Lang with conductor Simon Halsey Photo: Rebel Uncut
Two member groups in Yorkshire are currently looking for fresh new composing talent. The KVU Singers have launched a competition in partnership with Jessica Foxley Music Projects. Named in honour of a talented young musician who tragically lost her life in a car accident, the Jessica Foxley Young Choral Composer Competition is open to UK composers under the age of 25. Member group the Endcliffe Orchestra is also running a competition, open to composers with a connection to the city of Sheffield. The Janet Altman Composing Competition has two categories, one for under 18s and one for those aged 19 and over. Entries to both competitions close on 31 January 2014. Learn more at www.makingmusic.org.uk/ yorkshireandnorthofengland. EAST
Enthusiastic musicians and singers are invited to perform a newly commissioned work, hopefully breaking a world record along the way. Entitled B15, the piece was commissioned to celebrate 15 years of east Midlands music organisation soundLINCS. It has been written to be inclusive of all musicians, regardless of their instrument, genre or level of ability. The performance will take place at the Epic Centre, Lincolnshire Showground on 3 May 2014. Find out how you can take part at www.soundlincs.org. B15 WILL INVOLVE:
• 1 Lincolnshire folk tune • 15 composers • 150 groups • 1,500 musicians • 15,000 people watching online
NEWS
LONDON
Weird is definitely the word for Nina Whiteman’s ultra-modern piece, Dark Matter Sounding, which is inspired by the composer’s love of astrophysics. Clarinets will be dismantled, trombones played backwards, bassoons will lose their reeds, and violins will be played on the wrong side of the bridge in this commission for an ensemble comprising member group Ealing Youth Orchestra and students from the London College of Music. The 10-minute piece will premiere at St Barnabas Church, Ealing, on 1 March, conducted by Leon Gee. The project is being funded mainly by the Ambache Charitable Trust, which is active in raising the profile of women composers, with additional funding coming from The Penny Trust. Learn more about the performance at www.eyo.org.uk.
Did you know? Thanks to a £5,000 grant from the Carnegie UK Trust, nine member groups were able to perform with around 600 children at Carols for Everyone concerts
SCOTLAND
Treading the boards Making Music member choirs have been turning their talents to acting Music is at the heart of The Events by David Greig. The award-winning play explores the aftermath of a mass shooting at a choir rehearsal, with an eclectic soundtrack including Norweigan folk music, the Swedish hymn How Great Thou Art and Bonkers by Dizzee Rascal. The play featured a different local choir on every night of its UK tour, with each choir onstage throughout the whole performance and participating in the scenes. The choirs were given a chance to rehearse, but did not know exactly how the action was going to play out until the performance was taking place. Following a critically acclaimed debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, the show transferred to Glasgow’s Tron Theatre, where Making Music members Strathaven Choral Society lent their voices. Following more dates in Bristol and Hull, the play had a stint at London’s Young Vic theatre, with member group The Choir with No Name featuring on one of the nights. www.makingmusic.org.uk/scotland
WALES
SOUTH EAST
Making Music was out and about in Wales last autumn, when we were represented at the Brass Event, promoted by ARCOMIS, and WOMEX, the international world music event. More recently, our Area Manager was delighted to attend a concert organised by the Cardiff Live Music Club, which runs a regular keyboard orchestra and promotes keyboard concerts and workshops. www.makingmusic.org.uk/wales
Little Miss fundraising Buckinghamshire’s Little Missenden Festival has been awarded a grant of £2,500 from PRS for Music Foundation Above right: Rudi Dharmalingam performing in David Greig’s The Events Photo: Stephen Cummiskey
South West A whopping 12 Making Music groups were involved in the 2013 Bristol Festival of Song in October. Entitled ‘Gathering Voices’, the festival is an annual celebration of the human voice. Among the member groups taking part were the Great Western Chorus of Bristol, which led a closeharmony workshop for men, and Weston Choral Society, which performed at Bristol Colston Hall. www.festivalofsong.org.uk
You might be forgiven for thinking that a small voluntary festival would struggle to attract funding, given the amount of competition and the current economic climate. But Little Missenden Festival has proven that smaller groups can compete with the big guns by securing a £2,500 grant from PRS for Music Foundation (PRSF). The festival joins other PRSF grant recipients including the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Northern College of Music. Now in its 54th year, the festival organisers are in fact old hands at fundraising. Other organisations to fund the festival include the
Britten-Pears Foundation, which has put money towards a new commission from Irish composer Seán Clancy, and the RVW Trust. According to the Chair, Alan Hedges, the festival’s diverse programme can be attributed to its fundraising activities. ‘We try to be adventurous in our programming,’ Hedges says, ‘and we don’t take just easy box office options. We often wouldn’t cover our costs even if we sold out our concerts, and it’s the grants we receive that enable us to take this more adventurous approach.’ Learn more about the festival at www.little-missenden.org. Spring 2014
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FEATURE
Forging links Digital Communications Manager Ollie Mustill gives his top tips for utilising social media Social media can often feel like frippery to the uninitiated. The cat pictures, updates about who’s having what for breakfast, and ‘inspirational’ quotes can make the whole enterprise seem somewhat superficial. But you can’t ignore the fact that a significant part of most people’s social lives (including going to concerts) is now played out, organised or recollected online. The problem is, with so many competing messages, how do you make sure that yours get seen? Well, here are five tips that, with practice, should help you get the best out of social media. 1. Don’t be antisocial. It’s called social media for a reason. You may be there because you want to boost ticket sales, but that isn’t why other people are there and if you’re too pushy, people will ignore or avoid you. Imagine you were at a friend’s party – would you walk in and immediately start handing out flyers to everyone? 2. Choose the right channels. It’s better to be great in one or two channels than to spread yourself thin trying to cover every base. Work out where your audiences are most active and start there. Additionally, each different platform should be used in a slightly different way. Broadly, Twitter is good for perceptions (building reputation and visibility), Facebook is good for people (building on existing relationships) and Google+ is good for passions (sharing with people with the same interests). 3. Follow the 70/20/10 rule. To grow followers, trust and authority, you need to make sure that you are providing the right blend of posts to followers. 70% of your time should be spent sharing useful and 8
HIGHNOTES Spring 2014
engaging content about subjects that your followers will find interesting. Classic FM does a great job of posting regular quotes, anecdotes and trivia about music, but you could equally just post a link to an interesting newspaper article or review. You’ll gain new followers and build your reputation by providing the best content for people to share and consume. 20% of your time should be spent building relationships with other users, organisations and groups. Start conversations, get involved in existing ones, respond to feedback and search out new people to follow. These activities build a human bond between your group and others, meaning people will be more likely to like and trust you when it comes to helping spread your message about a concert, fundraiser, audition, etc. 10% of your time can be spent on (shameless) plugging, reminding people about that concert that’s coming up, asking people to ‘like’ your page, posting a request for donations. If you’ve spent 90% of your time being useful, friendly and sociable, this final 10% will go a lot further. 4. Be creative. You don’t have to have an expensive camera to make engaging, high-quality content any more. Pictures and video make up 95% of the most engaging content on Facebook, so get that smartphone out and start snapping. 5. Enjoy yourself! Don’t forget to have fun and be yourself. If you’re faking it, people will know. If you’re actually having fun, everyone else will too. See Ollie talk about social media at our May conference. Learn more on page 14.
Above: The People’s Orchestra, one of the Making Music groups that are doing great work on social media Photo: Sarah Marshall
“ It’s better to be great in one or two channels than to spread yourself thin trying to cover every base”
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FEATURE
Arts: a family affair The new Family Arts Standards can help you grow your family audience. Campaign Manager Alastair Tallon describes how The Family Arts Campaign is a large-scale, national programme aiming to increase and broaden arts engagement by families across the UK’s visual and performing arts sector, including professional, amateur and voluntary organisations. Through the Family Arts Festival over the October half-term in 2013, we helped organisations welcome thousands of families, many of whom hadn’t previously experienced the arts as a family. However, there is much more to the campaign than the festival, and when the campaign was launched we carried out extensive research to find the key issues when encouraging more families to engage with the arts. This isn’t just about the content of the concert, show or exhibition they might be visiting, but about their overall experience. In our research, 68% of families said the welcome they receive is ‘essential or very important’, and many commented that even if they had watched a good performance, if the welcome was poor they would not return. One in seven families said that they had felt unwelcome when attending performances. So how can the Family Arts Campaign help you to improve your family welcome and encourage families to attend your performances? We have been working with the Family and Childcare Trust and a group of arts organisations, including the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, to create the Family Arts Standards. Launched in September 2013, they are designed as a benchmark for organisations providing an exceptional welcome to families attending a performance, covering key areas such as programming, promotion, facilities 10 HIGHNOTES Spring 2014
and consultation with families. Along with the standards themselves, we have produced guidance for arts organisations and a helpful checklist that will enable you to identify areas in which you are doing well and other areas where you might want to improve. Our research also found that 79% of families said there was a need for a nationally recognised ‘family friendly’ logo, so that they could easily find events and performances that would be suitable for them. Families, especially those with older children, don’t just want to come to ‘family events’, but may not have thought that a particular concert is for them – so we created the Fantastic for Families logos, only available to organisations that sign up to the standards. There are three categories: families with children aged 0+, 6+ and 12+. The Family Arts Standards are here to meet an identified need of both the arts sector and families. They are straightforward and focused, and will be monitored by the families themselves, who will be encouraged to give feedback. By highlighting appropriate opportunities for a family audience, you may well reach people who would not otherwise have considered attending your event, and by signing up to the standards, you will be indicating to them that you want to welcome them and that they are an important part of your audience. The Family Arts Campaign is funded by a grant of National Lottery funds by Arts Council England until March 2015. Visit www.familyarts.co.uk to learn more and to download the Family Arts Standards for your group.
Above: A boy trying his hand at conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which is among the organisations to have signed up to the Family Arts Standards Photo: Neil Pugh
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FEATURE
Hire pitch Sharon Moloney discovers that there’s much more to a music library than just lending scores Making Music is proud to have been instrumental in the campaign to save Wakefield Library’s music collection in 2012, when we rallied our members to help keep the collection available to the public. This campaign was important to us, as we know that music libraries provide a vital service to voluntary music groups throughout the UK. But in this time of economic downturn, music libraries are under increasing pressure to justify their need for funding for their services. As Making Music’s Area Manager for London, I’ve visited various libraries in the capital. At each, I was struck by the librarians’ real enthusiasm for their collections and facilities. For them, the most important aim is to see people using their resources. The libraries I visited all boast a variety of services for musicians; not just scores, orchestral sets and reference materials for hire at an affordable price, but also practice rooms and pianos, computers with Sibelius software, and free access to online resources such as Naxos Music Library and Oxford Music Online. Libraries are adding to these services all the time, and coming up with ever more creative ways to use and promote existing resources. At Westminster Music Library, Making Music is working with Music Services Coordinator Ruth Walters to promote performance opportunities.
12 HIGHNOTES Spring 2014
The library holds a series of short early evening recitals at which our members have the opportunity to perform, allowing them to try out new music in a friendly and informal setting while promoting themselves to new audiences. Additionally, we have agreed to hold some events, exclusively for our members, linked to the library’s Behind the Lines workshop series, which will explore how the first world war shaped the lives and music of six composers. The Barbican Music Library is known for its recorded music collection, which is one of the largest in the country. An interesting part of this is the Unsigned London section, which features the recordings of artists, bands and ensembles within the M25 that haven’t yet secured that coveted record deal. The recordings can be borrowed for free, and are very popular among library users. Making Music members are welcome to contribute their own music, allowing them to promote their work and possibly broaden their audience base. As music librarian Richard Jones explains: ‘We want to support local unsigned artists and provide them with the opportunity to create something they can share with others.’ The Barbican Music Library also features an exhibition space, hosting displays covering many
Photo: © Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
FEATURE
“We know that music libraries provide a vital service to voluntary music groups throughout the UK”
different genres of music. Recent exhibitions have focused on Bangladeshi culture, Pete Frame’s intricately detailed Rock Family Trees, Sir Georg Solti’s centenary, and 200 years of the Royal Philharmonic Society, with the last two being featured on BBC Radio 3. Another exhibition planned for 2015 will chart the first 30 years of Making Music member choir the Pink Singers. Of course, high-quality music libraries are not unique to London, and there are excellent facilities available throughout the UK. A good example is the music collection in the newly revamped Birmingham Library. Significant local authority investment has gone into creating this breathtaking new building, and the music library offers performance sets, recorded music and books about music. The library also runs a series of recitals and concerts, as well as helping musicians find local music groups to join. We hope to organise a tour of this excellent new facility soon, so keep an eye out for this and for our tours of other UK music libraries. You can also find out what performance sets are available in different UK libraries using an online service called Encore! (www.peri.co.uk/ encore.htm), as these sets may be available via interlibrary loan from your local library. We encourage our members UK-wide to visit their local music library and talk to the staff there about similar opportunities they might offer. You never know, you just might start something big, and you can be certain that your support will help ensure the survival of their services.
HELP KEEP YOUR LIBRARY OPEN! Ultimately, if there continues to be demand for the resources and services that music libraries provide, then their doors can remain open. So how can you help? Peter Baxter, President of the International Association of Music Libraries UK & Ireland Branch, gives the following tips: • Keep borrowing from your library, because the more you use it, the stronger the case will be for it to remain open. • Recommend music libraries to your members, and acknowledge their help in supplying the music for your concerts in your programmes, on your website and via social media. • Complete one of the feedback forms that you will find on many library websites, or write to the councillor who is responsible for the library service. Comments submitted in these ways carry much more weight than verbal comments and ensure decision makers are aware of how much the library is valued.
Visit www.iaml.info/iaml-uk-irl/ to learn about National Music Libraries Day on 8 February.
Spring 2014
HIGHNOTES 13
FROM OUR TEAM
MEMBERSHIP AND SERVICES Helping you get the most from your membership Right: Carolyn Date MBE talking at our 2013 Autumn Conference in Birmingham Photo: Matt Stewart
2014 conferences Updates on Making Music’s national events this year As we have had overall good feedback about our 2013 events (though we are acting on any of your specific comments pointing out problems), we are organising two national one-day conferences again in 2014. The first is on Saturday 17 May at Over-Seas House in central London. See the draft programme at www.makingmusic.org.uk/conferences, and book online at makingmusicuk.eventbrite.co.uk or by using the form enclosed in this magazine. This May conference will include the Annual General Meeting, a repeat of the popular Marketing Your Events session from the Birmingham conference, and a number of shorter sessions, including one on how to cope with stage fright. There is an early bird discount again (book before 31 March!), and a discount for second and third delegates from your group so you can take advantage of every session. The second conference will take place on 11 October, possibly in Nottingham, so save that date. More detail in your May Highnotes.
Music Education Hubs As many of you will know, these are the new means by which extracurricular music education is delivered in England, having come into being in September 2012. We think voluntary music groups can play an important part in the hubs, which is why we’ve published a detailed overview of how member groups can get involved, and of what the pitfalls and benefits are from doing so. Our members-only briefing document is available now, alongside a report from Barbara Eifler on the 2013 conference from Music Mark, a membership organisation to which many music education hubs belong. Read more at www.makingmusic.org.uk/campaigning/music-mark-conference.
INFORMATION AND ADVICE SESSIONS
You will have noticed these sessions being advertised near you – or if you haven’t yet, you will soon! What are they about, and are they worth it for you? Mostly taking place in the early evening, a time that seems to suit you best, and normally two to three hours long, they are an informal, bite-size way for you to learn about local opportunities, specific subjects (e.g. funding or PRS), Making Music services, and more. Hosted by our Area Managers, the sessions always include refreshments and offer you the chance to find out about other members’ issues. Other groups may have had your problem and found a solution, while you may have a suggestion for the issue that they’re grappling with. ‘We’re struggling for members!’ is a frequent cry, and while of course we would recommend you attend our Reaching New People training course, you could also ask other members at Information and Advice Sessions about what they do. If they are local to you, can you join forces to organise a comeand-sing/play day as a member recruitment initiative? Or could you team up for a Christmas event, thus doubling your audiences? You can also bring along your non-member musical friends, so they can hopefully discover a community of like-minded people here at Making Music. www.makingmusic.org.uk/ ourevents
CONTACTS Cindy Truong, Membership and Services Manager: cindy@makingmusic.org.uk • Sally Palmer, Membership and Projects Coordinator: sally@makingmusic.org.uk • www.makingmusic.org.uk/membership-advice-blog
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FROM OUR TEAM
MEMBER NEWS Stratford-upon-Avon Choral Society gave the UK premiere of a 200-year-old choral work in November. Messe Solennelle by little-known French composer Joseph Touchemoulin has been newly transcribed by the choir’s conductor, Stephen Dodsworth, after the original manuscript was discovered in the Royal College of Music library. The choir is now offering library copies of the vocal score, together with the full score and orchestral parts, for hire. www.stratfordchoral.org.uk Staffordshire community choir the Phoenix Singers has been busy recording a new cantata based on Dickens’ novella, A Christmas Carol. Written by actor and playwright Deborah McAndrew, with music by the choir’s director Ashley Thompson, the work was a sell-out success at the choir’s Christmas concert. www.phoenixsingersleek.co.uk Worcester Philharmonic Orchestra and Pershore Choral gave a joint performance in November featuring almost 200 performers. The concert, in Pershore Abbey, gave the two ensembles a chance to perform large-scale choral works with orchestral accompaniment. worcesterphilharmonic.co.uk pershorechoral.org.uk North Herts Guild of Singers has commissioned a new piece from award-winning composer Terry Mann. The piece was premiered in Hitchin’s twin town of Bingen during the choir’s recent trip to the Rhineland. www.nhgs.org.uk Send your news to editor@makingmusic.org.uk.
Did you know? By mid-December 2013, more than 2,000 groups had renewed their membership for 2014, with around 25% having renewed online
Who’s who? We thought it was about time we put a full directory of your Making Music staff in Highnotes You can also find this at www.makingmusic.org.uk/our-people. Please note that not all these staff are full-time. The best way to contact us is via info@makingmusic.org.uk or by phoning us on 020 7422 8280. Senior management Barbara Eifler Executive Director Ralph Kennedy Head of Operations and Development Workineh Asres Head of Finance Membership services Vacant Head of Membership (title of post tbc) Cindy Truong Membership and Services Manager Sally Palmer Membership and Projects Coordinator Alex Sogunle Office and Finance Assistant Laura Hamlet Projects and Administration Coordinator (temporary) Marketing and communications Sarah Hayward Marketing Manager Ollie Mustill Digital Communications Manager Stuart McPherson IT Manager Henry Bird Marketing and Communications Executive Area Managers Kate Allen Area Manager – South West Cheryl Bennett Area Manager – East Emma Campbell Area Manager – Scotland, Yorkshire and North of England Stuart Isaac Area Manager – Wales, West Sharon Moloney Area Manager – London, South East Freelance project managers Hannah Currant Bristol Wellbeing Choir Mijanou Blech Music Partnership Forum Wales and associated projects
Meeting your training needs Reaching New People, our audience and member development course delivered by Alison Edbury from audience agency &Co, has now completed its first two outings and is ready to be rolled out throughout the UK. There will be a session near you, if there hasn’t already, between now and September. Social Media, delivered by Gareth Edwards of Company Solutions, has had its first pilot, with the second one taking place in the East region this month. Again, it will then come to your area between February and September this year. So far, the courses have been popular and we will continue to run them for as long as there is an interest. The final course from this batch will be on fundraising, to be commissioned in the coming months. Once we have these three – your top priorities in last year’s consultation – right for you, we will be asking you again about your training needs. Spring 2014
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FROM OUR TEAM
PROJECTS Keeping you up to date with our national projects and programmes Left: The packed first rehearsal of the Bristol Wellbeing Choir Photo: Evan Dawson
Extra special projects Laura Hamlet reports on Making Music’s contribution to Our Big Gig EXTRA Our Big Gig EXTRA offers free community music opportunities across England, building on the success of Superact’s Olympic legacy project, Our Big Gig. Funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government and Arts Council England, and working with a range of partners, Superact is delivering Our Big Gig EXTRA to provide longer term community music making opportunities across the country. Making Music has been involved in three projects as part of the initiative. Learn to Sing Leicester was a six-week singing course run in partnership with the Barbershop Association of Great Britain (BABS) and the Leicester Philharmonic Choir. It aimed to bring people together across all social barriers through group singing, while giving them the basic skills needed to join local choirs. Luton Music Engagement Project was a tailor-made training day for music groups in Luton,
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providing them with the tools and funds to engage with more participants and audiences. Bristol Wellbeing Choir supports the link between singing and wellbeing. Led by experienced choir leaders working in partnership with healthcare professionals, the project has already been hugely popular, with 100 people coming to the first rehearsal. It is open to anyone and free to join, with the emphasis on having fun. Learn about the wellbeing choir at www.makingmusic.org.uk/ wellbeing-choir.
“The piece took on a life of its own during the rehearsal process, which was great to hear” James Wilson, composer, Adopt a Composer 2012/13
MUSIC PARTNERSHIP FORUM WALES
Music Partnership Forum Wales is a group of organisations that have come together to widen participation in music making in Wales. Supported by Arts Council Wales and facilitated by Making Music, members include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera. The forum aims to create and deliver partnership projects; to share practice, knowledge and expertise; and to seek opportunities for forum members to work collaboratively. One of its first tasks will be to research into music making provision in Wales with a view to identifying areas where access to music opportunities could be improved. This will lead to the development of a programme of activities delivered by forum members. The forum is also planning to launch a series of events aiming to engage more people in music making this July. Music Nation Wales follows on from the success of the BBC-led Cultural Olympiad project of the same name. To learn more, or if you’d like to take part in Music Nation Wales, please contact mijanou.blech@ makingmusic.org.uk.
Adopt a Composer The 2013/14 pairings have been announced for this scheme, funded by PRS for Music Foundation and run in partnership between Making Music, Sound and Music, and BBC Radio 3. Over the coming year, the following composers will each create a new work for their paired music group: • Kim Moore with the Bristol Reggae Orchestra • Chris Roe with the City of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra • Jenni Pinnock with the Quangle Wangle Choir • Michael Betteridge with Cobweb Orchestra • Mak Murtic with the Clapham Community Choir.
Celebrating 40 Years of Barbershop Harmony
Join us in Harrogate 40th Annual Barbershop Convention Harrogate International Centre 23rd to 26th May 2014 The British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) are celebrating their 40th Anniversary in 2014. If you like the sound of barbershop harmony this is the event for you. The weekend will be full of activities including, chorus and quartet contests, international guests, three shows, parties, masterclasses, singing time and a whole lot more! It’s an experience not to be missed, come for a day or the whole weekend. Over 2600 visitors are expected and you are sure of a warm welcome. For details visit the web site or email getinvolved@singbarbershop.com
www.sing2014.co.uk
The British Association of Barbershop Singers Registered Office: 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick CV34 5HQ Registered Charity No: 1080930
Sing for Pleasure: 1964–2014 Celebrating 50 years of encouraging better singing in class and choir
A special year, celebrating the achievements of the past, the joys of the present and embracing the prospects of an exciting future. Weekend for Singers & Conductors: 8th/9th February, London See our website for full details of this and our many exciting singing and conductor training events and courses. Freephone: 0800 0184 164 Email: admin@singforpleasure.org.uk
Touring February-May 2014 to: Linbury Studio Theatre (Royal Opera House), Hackney Empire (London), Truro, Poole, Wolverhampton, Snape Maltings, Cheltenham, Leicester, Sheffield, York, Canterbury, Norwich, Crawley, Coventry, Exeter, Durham, Perth, Cambridge. www.englishtouringopera.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 270384
www.singforpleasure.org.uk Making Music ad spr14.indd 1
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FROM OUR TEAM
VOLUNTEERS Interested in volunteering for Making Music? Visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/volunteers BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
ROD GREALISH
KARINE DAVISON
Director
Member Development Officer, Scotland
How long have you been on the Board? Eight years.
How long have you been volunteering with Making Music? Since 1988, when I joined the former Scottish Committee.
What inspired you to join? I was Regional Secretary of the former West Midlands region, and felt that my grassroots knowledge would be invaluable to the organisation. What does your role involve? Along with the other Board members, I help to ensure that Making Music meets its financial and legal duties. I am also a member of the Finance and Compliance subcommittees. What have you gained from being on the Board? It’s great to feel that I am making a contribution to the development and support of the arts. I have also gained a great understanding of how arts organisations work. What do you do when you’re not involved in Making Music Board activities? I am a committee member of Stafford District Arts Council and chair of a technical standards committee for the British Standards Institution. I also enjoy walking and photography. Do you play an instrument or sing? I play the violin in three orchestras, including member groups Stafford Sinfonia and the Stafford Orchestra. I also played in the UK’s first ever amateur performance of Sweeney Todd. I came away from each performance covered in red spots! If you could invite three people, past or present, to dinner, who would they be? Irish composer John Field, pioneering computer scientist and US Navy admiral Grace Hopper, and crime writer Agatha Christie. I’d ask Agatha to put together a detective story involving the other guests.
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What does your role involve? I’m point of contact for 17 groups in Glasgow and Dunbartonshire. I also regularly contact prospective members, as well as looking for possible members in traditional music circles. What do you feel you’ve got out of your role? Lasting friendships from as far back as when Making Music was the NFMS. Very positive experiences of assisting member groups and meeting people from around the UK at conferences. What inspired you to volunteer? I realised that my group, Bearsden Choir, had no NFMS Representative, so I decided to re-open the link. I think it was because I’d gone out of my way to find the NFMS that I was invited by the Chairman to join the committee. What has been your most inspiring experience with Making Music? Meeting Professor Robert Winston at the national conference in Glasgow in September 2011. It was great to hear him confirm the link between music and wellbeing. What do you do when you’re not volunteering for Making Music? I have been a chorister since I was eight years old and still sing in Bearsden Choir. I enjoy traditional music and folk singing, and attend weekly classes in Scottish country dance. I also walk regularly with a local ramblers and hillwalking group. What was the last piece of music you listened to? Pibroch on bagpipes!
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Making Music member group the Choir of London recently took part in the first ever Palestine Choral Festival. The choir’s Alice Howick tells us more
Highnotes magazine is a testament to the participatory opportunities afforded by the UK’s rich amateur music scene. Elsewhere in the world, however, there are obstacles preventing musicians from accessing similar opportunities, and it is our mission to support organisations that strive to overcome these obstacles. With this goal in mind, we travelled to Palestine last August, along with 150 singers from France, Germany and
Australia, to participate in the first ever international Palestine Choral Festival. The festival’s 35 events took place in cities, villages and refugee camps across Palestine, with repertoire ranging from traditional Arabic songs to works by Benjamin Britten. There are now around 30 choirs in Palestine: children’s choirs, church choirs, adult choirs, even an elderly choir in Bethlehem. During the festival, these groups were able to work closely with each other for the first time through joint choral workshops, seminars and a side-by-side orchestral project for young instrumentalists. The sheer level of activity almost made Palestine feel like anywhere else in the throes of a music festival. But there were daily reminders of the specific political situation that the festival was operating in. Checkpoints were a regular inconvenience for singers
travelling between cities, and two young musicians from the West Bank were refused permission to perform in Jerusalem. Despite these setbacks, the festival was a memorable celebration of the choral music scene in Palestine. The network of choirs and choral directors in Palestine has been strengthened, and dialogue about the future of choral singing in the area has been opened up. The key to the success of the project was undoubtedly the enthusiasm and ambition of those taking part, and the locally-based choir directors threw themselves and their choirs into the project wholeheartedly. The Choir of London is now supporting locally based musicians in Palestine as they take the festival on and produce their own version of it, and we look forward to participating as an invited group in the future. www.choiroflondon.org Robert Piwko
Early music, late nights Brighton Early Music Festival’s Cathy Boyes describes how a classical club night has helped the festival grow its audience Brighton Early Music Festival aims to attract new audiences by breaking down the barriers around classical music concerts. For several years we ran a free late-night event with White Night Brighton, and this year we put on a similar evening as a ticketed concert called Early Music Club Night. For the event, we transformed Brighton’s St Bartholomew’s Church with ambient lighting, opening up the space and putting cushions on the floor. Five young ensembles performed on three stages around the church, enabling us to 20 HIGHNOTES Spring 2014
keep things running smoothly. Recorder player Piers Adams introduced the pieces and interviewed the musicians. The event was a huge success, with over 200 people attending. One key challenge was making sure the evening ran to time, and having a great presenter really helped with that. We produced a short YouTube film to help potential audience members know what to expect, and the evening was recorded by BBC Radio 3. To any other groups considering putting on a similar event I’d say: be
brave and try it! People came to Early Music Club Night who probably wouldn’t have considered coming to one of our normal concerts, and regular audience members who wanted to try something different were there, too. People tended to book tickets fairly late, and we had to hold our nerve as the date approached. But the results were better than expected: fantastic music, relaxed ambience and a full church. www.bremf.org.uk
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MEMBERS
READERS’ PAGE This is your page and we’d love to hear from you: editor@makingmusic.org.uk. Could you be an occasional or even our resident cartoonist? Would your group like to feature in a 60 second interview or send in an anonymous column?
The Pro Bonos
6c0ond
se view This Belfast-based choir gives r inte members of the Law Society of Northern Ireland a rest from the pressures of the bar (no pun intended). We spoke to the Secretary, Joel Lowry
Describe the choir in three words. Unique, friendly, welcoming. What are its aims? The choir was set up as an ‘extracurricular’ activity for lawyers. We give members of the profession the opportunity to throw their files down and take off their wigs (where appropriate) for one hour each week and come together in a friendly setting to relax, make friends and to unite in our common interest: music. How do choir activities fit in with members’ work schedules? All our members either have a law degree or work in the legal profession; many are qualified solicitors and barristers, some are studying for their professional exams at the Institute of Professional Legal Studies. Members of the profession are made aware on joining the choir that work must come first and if that means missing a rehearsal or two, we don’t mind.
PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
I recently took the plunge and joined my local choir. I hadn’t sung since school, but despite my initial reservations I enjoyed rehearsals as soon as I started going. There was a sense of oneness when we were singing together, and even on my weariest evenings I would emerge from the rehearsal room feeling invigorated. But then the MD started talking about our autumn concert and my heart, only moments before filled with song, promptly sunk. I know not everyone will understand this, but I didn’t sign up to a choir to perform. I’d be quite content if noone from outside of the group ever heard us. No performances. No
stressful final rehearsal. No harping on by the MD about making sure our friends and family turn up. My nerves on the day were almost unbearable. I’ve always been told that I can’t sing, so why on earth was I about to do it in front of a church full of people? I plucked up the courage to go on stage, but I just felt self-conscious. I wished we were in rehearsal again, making music for the sake of it rather than to impress an audience. Of course, choirs that perform have their place, but surely there’s also a place for choirs that don’t. If we want everyone to try music making, we should accept the fact that some people would prefer to do it behind closed doors.
Tell us about one of your recent concerts. The choir performed on the steps of the Great Hall in Stormont last June. There was a tremendous symmetry in that those who protect and defend our laws where singing on the steps of the building where many of those laws are made. It was a fabulous occasion for all involved and we raised nearly £6,000 for Action Mental Health. Why make music? Music is an excellent distraction from our hectic work lives, allowing us to express that which cannot be put into words. What would be your desert island disc? I have often had this discussion with friends and family, and I think your choices change as you change as a person. At this point in time, it would be difficult to bypass Richard Strauss and his Four Last Songs. Contact Joel at belfastprobonochoir@gmail.com.
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