Highnotes issue 38, autumn 2018 by Making Music

THE MAKING MUSIC MEMBERSHIP MAGAZINE | AUTUMN ISSUE 2018

The right dynamics What makes good group interaction? • PAGE 8 & 9 PLAYING SAFE NOW

Protecting your hearing•PAGE 10

SONG FOR THE AGES The Choir Schools Association turns 100• PAGE 12

ith w me p! e r Sha r grou you

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CONTENTS & EDITORIAL

CONTENTS

Welcome

NEWS

5 The bigger picture 6 Around the UK FEATURES

8 10 12 18

Summer is nearly over, and we’ll all be gearing up for Christmas events now.

A look at group dynamics Protecting your hearing Choir Schools Association Music education for all

And at Making Music we’ll be planning what to focus on in 2019 to help you run your group and make it grow. To make sure it’s what you need, we’ve been meeting many of you at Making Music Council meetings around the UK (Wales and Northern Ireland in September).

FROM OUR TEAM

14 Membership and services 16 Projects 26 Making Music people

As well as services and how we deliver them, we discussed what issues particularly trouble you and what we might do about them. Making Music has nearly 3,500 member groups representing around 190,000 individuals, and together our collective voice can speak powerfully to policymakers.

MEMBERS

11 20 23 24 25

Blow your trumpet Exploring music Drop the mic Readers’ page Corporate members

But it doesn’t mean there is nothing for you to do: it’s you and Making Music working together which achieves greatest impact, as music library campaigns have shown.

If you have suggestions or would like to contribute to Highnotes, please contact the Commissioning Editor, Natalie Joanes, on 020 7939 6041 or editor@makingmusic.org.uk

This autumn we’ll be turning our attention to music education and how between us we can make an impact on the issues you raised in the survey earlier this year (see p.18).

The copy deadline for Highnotes Spring 2019 (published 1 January) is 26 October. Any views or opinions expressed by external contributors may not necessarily represent those of Making Music

As ever, I really look forward to working with you this autumn.

Highnotes is the official journal of Making Music, The National Federation of Music Societies, 8 Holyrood Street, London SE1 2EL 020 7939 6030 info@makingmusic.org.uk www.makingmusic.org.uk A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales no. 308632 Registered charity in England and Wales no. 249219 and in Scotland no. SC038849 If you need us to make any of this information more accessible, please get in touch £6 where sold, annual subscription £15 (3 issues) Designed by Cog Design Printed by Gemini Press Advertising: Contact Sharon Maslen at Space Marketing: 01892 677742 sharonm@spacemarketing.co.uk

Barbara Eifler CHIEF EXECUTIVE, MAKING MUSIC Cover image: Member group The Fourth Choir Photo: Kathleen Holman

Email: barbara@makingmusic.org.uk Twitter: @BarbaraEifler

Inspired by your Summer Travels? Call us today to start planning your next tour Julian : 0121 240 2972 Sonia & Becky : 020 8568 4586

Be Inspired by our exciting features for 2019 & 2020 For everyone: Festival ‘Music On Stage’ in the Loire Valley For small ensembles : Music Tours by Rail For adventurous travellers: Music Tours in Latin America Coming soon....2020 Beethoven, Bonn & The Rhine

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• Expert advice from travel professionals with musical interests 8816 Young composerwhiteflash-outlines.pdf

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NEWS

THE BIGGER PICTURE EUROPEAN CHORAL FESTIVAL

For ten days this summer the winding cobbled streets of Tallinn’s Old Town in Estonia were alive with song. A country with a strong choral tradition to begin with, this year its capital welcomed choral and singing groups from all over Europe to participate in the 20th Europa Cantat festival. The festival, held every three years and organised by the European Choral Association, brings together choirs and conductors from different countries to share their passion for singing, exchange knowledge and ideas in ateliers and workshops, perform and hear other choirs sing, and learn about one another’s cultures. The festival culminated with 4,000 participants in concert at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, to mark 100 years of the Estonian Republic. Ljubljana in Slovenia will host the Europa Cantat in 2021. www.ectallinn2018.ee

UK Live Music census results

National research shows a vibrant UK music scene The UK’s first ever national live music census took place in 2017. For 24 hours from noon on Thursday 9 March, volunteers in cities across the country went out and about to live music events, from pub gigs to massed choirs to arena concerts. Making Music was involved in the advisory group brought together by the academic researchers to make sure they cast their net as widely as possible, and many of you responded to the surveys the team put out. The resulting report is at uklivemusiccensus.org/#report. Many of its findings and recommendations relate to music venues, particularly small ones;

but the census also reports on the social and educational impact of live music, and urges government and local authorities to take note of these as well as the economic benefits, and to support live music in their cities more actively. If for nothing else, look at the report for the incredibly varied, detailed, eloquent, moving statements from respondents about the importance of live music to their lives. We all know this, but it is always inspiring to hear others say it, too. uklivemusiccensus.org/#report

Sing outside the box Supported by EU-funding, the ‘Sing outside the box’ project aims to gather and share ideas on how choirs can venture out of traditional choral settings to reach new and younger audiences, cooperate with other art forms and help create access to singing for non-trained singers. The project findings will be brought together in a European Choral Association conference in Turkey later this year, followed by a report. http://singoutsidethebox.eu/

TAKING PART SURVEY

Did you know? Taking Part found that at least 40-50% of respondents played an instrument, sang, rehearsed, wrote music or participated in musical theatre at least once a week

The Taking Part household survey in England has yielded some very useful statistics on leisure-time music that we can parade under the eyes of policymakers to ensure they support music making. Within the last 12 months, as many as 12% of respondents played a musical instrument for pleasure (translated to England population-wide, that’s about 6m). 6% (or 3m) sang in a group or took singing lessons. Population wide, nearly 2m adults played a musical instrument to an audience or rehearsed for a performance; 1.5m have written music in the last year; and nearly half a million rehearsed or performed in an opera or musical theatre. The report suggests that the highest percentage of those who played an instrument, sang or performed to an audience are in the 16-24 age group; very positive news among the statistical gloom surrounding music education. View the full report online. https://bit.ly/2w8iZOS

Autumn 2018

HIGHNOTES

NEWS

AROUND THE UK PORTSMOUTH

LONDON

To the stars London Concert Choir reaches new heights London Concert Choir (LCC) has been busy this season with two new commissions. Adopt a Composer alumna Alison Willis was asked by member Adrienne Morgan to write a piece celebrating life, love and the potential for all to make the world a better place. The result, entitled A Light Not Yet Ready to Go Out, was premiered in March with a collection in aid of the charity Breast Cancer Now. The work emphasises the sustaining power of friends and family for those living with breast cancer. Adrienne, who was diagnosed with incurable metastatic breast cancer in 2010, was keen, “…as an atheist and feminist, to sing something written by an up-and-coming female composer, and for it to be easily accessible.” The piece has been composed with open scoring so that it can be performed with piano or organ accompaniment and by choirs who do not read music. Listen and find out more at: www.alisonwillis.com/ 6

HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

listen.html For the second project the LCC collaborated with the Central Band of the RAF, and commissioned baritone and composer Roderick Williams to write a major choral work to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Air Force: Per Ardua ad Astra - Through Adversity to the Stars (the motto of the RAF). The choir and band were joined by Canticum Chamber Choir, Counterpoint Strings, a harp and by a specially recruited youth choir – amounting to more than 300 performers on stage, with conductors Mark Forkgen and Wing Commander Piers Morrell. Nine choral movements were interspersed with sound effects of iconic aircraft from 1918 to the present, followed by sound-effect imitations by the RAF Central Band, and readings of aviation poetry by Sophie Raworth and Martin Shaw. https://londonconcertchoir.org

Above: London Concert Choir performs at the Barbican with Canticum Chamber Choir, Counterpoint Strings and youth choir

Did you know? You can download free parts for new piece ‘Armistice’, and at 3pm on 11 Nov, join a world community by recording or streaming yourself performing it on social media, using the hashtag #iPlay4Peace. See https://bit. ly/2w0G5qW for more

Barbershop singers, the Solent City Chorus, have been working hard to show the wider world that men singing together can be fun and rewarding. With the aim of showing barbershop singing to be accessible to everyone, the singers had great success performing on Make Music Day, and have been asked to sing again for two further occasions in Portsmouth. The choir is now preparing to host a free, six-week ‘Learn to Sing’ course that will be running from September. Focusing on a different aspect of harmony singing each week, the course will take participants through all the steps needed to sing in harmony and a cappella. www.singinportsmouth.org.uk CHESHIRE

New beginnings are on the horizon for Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra, which has been undergoing a ‘rebirth and rebranding’. Formerly known as the Alderley Edge Orchestra, the group has a long, proud history of making music since 1922. Over the last three years, with more ambitious programming, the orchestra has been busy raising its profile and relaunched with a new name and branding this summer. Richard Howarth, President and Chief Conductor says, ‘The change of name to Alderley Edge Symphony Orchestra marks the beginning of a new chapter with a promise from us all to engage with as many music lovers as possible, whether participants or listeners.’ See the relaunched orchestra in action on Saturday 17 November under the baton of Gareth Orr, for a special Armistice concert featuring music from George Butterworth and Vaughan Williams. www.aeso.org.uk

NEWS

Member announcements New appointments, anniversaries, awards and projects Endcliffe Orchestra The orchestra is ‘developmental’ and plans a programme of activities, events and performances to help its members enhance their experience of orchestral music making. The group recently premiered a concerto written by long-term member, and aspiring composer, Matthew Leese. Entering a composing competition run by the orchestra got him into writing more music, and shortly afterwards he tried his hand at a full piano concerto. Matthew took to the piano himself to perform

his Easy Piano Concerto with the orchestra at their summer concert this year. One of Endcliffe Orchestra’s next projects will be in collaboration with a gospel choir in 2019. endcliffeorchestra.org.uk Redditch Choral Society is sad to announce the passing of founder, Alma Bright Clarke, who set up the society in 1964 and was its conductor right up to 2017. Alma taught, nurtured and inspired the many singers who came through the society over 50 years, including Emily Tyrell who

60-second interview Would your group like to feature in a 60 second interview? Email editor@makingmusic.org.uk

will be taking up the baton. As Emily takes the society forward, she plans to build on Alma’s legacy and, ‘get more people to come and be amazed by singers hitting incredibly high notes, and leave a concert humming something written hundreds of years ago.’ www.facebook.com/ RedditchChoralSociety Stoneleigh Youth Orchestra managed to raise a whopping £10,000 to buy new instruments. Joined by their adopted composer Ben See, two teams of cyclists

6sec0ond

braved the wind and rain to take part in the Prudential RideLondonSurrey 100 Peleton Relay event. They raised the money to buy some much-needed percussion instruments, and some of the less frequently used instruments in other sections of the orchestra. Their new instruments will be revealed at Hammersmith Town Hall on 16 December 2018 when the group will be premiering Ben’s Adopt a Composer pieces for its main and training orchestras. stoneleighyouthorchestra.org.uk

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Member violinist, Sue Arnold, introduces us to the Royal Sutton Coldfield Orchestra and its sister youth orchestra Describe the orchestra in three words Vibrant, energetic and enthusiastic! When and how was the group first formed? The adult orchestra was set up 40 years ago, and adopted the youth orchestra in 2016 as part of the adult ensemble, though it rehearses separately. The youth orchestra is formed of a cluster of local schools. What do orchestra members do by day? A large proportion of our players are school music service specialist teachers and music teachers. Some of them have been in the orchestra for as long as the 40 years it’s been running! The youth orchestra is made up of pupils aged 7-14 years old from surrounding schools, who come from a variety of backgrounds and nationalities. What does the adult orchestra do to support the youth orchestra? The adult orchestra pays for the youth orchestra, and some of us volunteer to play for about an hour a week with them. Once a year both groups join together for an annual Children’s Concert. Playing in the youth orchestra not only helps the children develop their musical skills, but will also hopefully encourage them to move up into the adult orchestra.

What standard do you have to be to join? We’re an inclusive group, with professional music teachers as well as members who took up playing later in life. We have a member who is 79 years old and has never taken any music exams. He’s just doing his grade 8 now and hopes to pass it before he turns 80! And in the youth orchestra, not all of the children are doing grades. We also run concerts every season to showcase young professionals at the start of their career. What are you most looking forward to in the year ahead? The Children’s Concert - it’s our biggest gig and is a great way to celebrate the year’s work! www.royalsuttoncoldfieldorchestra.org.uk HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

FEATURE

All together now Conductor Michael Bonshor finds out what makes good group dynamics Everybody seems to be talking about how great it is to sing together. The media often feature researchbased evidence that group singing has exciting physical, psychological and social benefits, and ‘wellbeing choirs’ are springing up all over the place. But what if some singers find that their enjoyment of singing together is impacted by low confidence? How much might this affect their access to the wellbeing benefits? And what could be done to increase their confidence? In a series of interviews and focus groups, I asked singers about the factors affecting their confidence when they are rehearsing and performing with other people. Between them, the interviewees had over 800 years of widely varied singing experience! As a conductor, I (possibly egotistically) expected that choir leaders would play the most significant role in determining singers’ confidence levels. However, although the conductor’s contribution was perceived as substantial, interviewees also highlighted positive musical and social relationships between singers.

they receive from other choir members. Developing trust and rapport between singers often leads them to exchange constructive feedback, and to help each other to learn: ‘I know [fellow bass’s] voice. I trust him. We like each other!… And I nudge him and say “You made a balls there!” or something like that. And he does to me as well, I may hasten to add. It’s a two-way traffic. That’s what learning’s about, isn’t it?’ (Harry) Less experienced singers learn from more experienced performers by watching and listening to them, using them as positive role models, and receiving informal mentoring during rehearsals and break times. More experienced singers also gain confidence from those with contrasting or more highly-developed skills. They might look for support from different singers, depending on the challenges of the music or the performance situation: ‘We all have different strengths haven’t we? And I think that’s really nice. And that helps your confidence if you feel that other people are with you’. (Hilda)

Camaraderie builds confidence

Team anchors

Teamwork and a sense of belonging are both key elements in confidence building. The interviews revealed that comradeship, camaraderie and community are highly prized, and singers derive confidence from the support and encouragement that

Singers frequently rely on each other for musical cues as well as moral support, perhaps listening to particularly confident singers for reassurance on exposed entries, or getting help from their neighbours when finding starting notes. They share knowledge about timing and musical terminology, and help each

HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

FEATURE

other to remember words and harmonies. All the interviewees talked about identifying informal ‘team leaders’ – singers who were unofficially recognised as being particularly confident, reliable, skilled or knowledgeable. These singers were described as ‘rocks’, or ‘anchors’, and made a valuable contribution to the confidence levels of those around them: ‘Standing next to someone who you know is going to pitch the note right and come in at the right time is good for your confidence, ‘cause you can…go along on their coat tails! But someone who just doesn’t come in – I start to think ‘Was I wrong? Can they only hear me?’ (Isabel) Create space for growth Choir leaders can capitalise on these group interactions by judiciously allowing some space for collaboration. Rehearsal chatter can be distracting, but it is worth checking whether the conversation is facilitating social learning, rather than assuming that everyone is discussing the weather! Placing more confident singers next to less confident performers, positioning singers according to relative strengths and weaknesses so that everyone receives the support they need, and taking account of acoustic factors so that everyone can hear the singers around them, can all help a choir to flourish. Teambuilding exercises and social activities can also help to build a cohesive, confident and competent choral team: ‘We have this great sense of community… I have a theory that, for a choir to survive, it’s bigger than just the people in it. It’s the creation of quality and of grace and of sharing all this stuff, which comes from the order [social system] of the choir’. (Harry)

THE IDENTITY CHOIR

Run by singing leader Dominic Stichbury, Chaps Choir’s group dynamics are clearly defined in its mission – to get more men singing. Dom set the group up because he found that some men felt ‘safer’ experiencing the vulnerability that singing can create in a group of their own gender. Singing in a group of peers allows for men to express themselves emotionally, and to try and fail – or succeed – without judgement. What advice can Dom give to mixed choirs to help them improve their group’s dynamics, whatever their identity? • Pay attention to the minority group and give them an identity e.g. get men to sing on their own with positive encouragement. • Devote time after rehearsal with the group – create a choir within a choir. • Do short-term projects for the minority group. • Instigate a ‘training’ choir that could perform on its own (but be clear about whether it’s a feeder to the main choir or not). • Assess your group’s marketing – does it seem accessible and inclusive to who you’re recruiting? • Charity fundraising can help your group build bridges in the community and help you get new people into your choir outside of your core group. To find out more about confidence-building strategies for singers, see Michael Bonshor’s book: www.amazon.co.uk/Confident-Choir-MichaelBonshor/dp/1538102781 Follow Chaps Choir @ChapsChoir

Member group, The Fourth Choir Photo: Kathleen Holman

“‘I know [fellow bass’s] voice. I trust him… And I nudge him and say “You made a balls there!” or something like that. And he does to me as well, I may hasten to add. It’s a two-way traffic. That’s what learning’s about, isn’t it?’ (Harry) Autumn 2018 HIGHNOTES

FEATURE FEATURE

Playing safe now Jono Heale of corporate member ACS Custom talks about the vital importance of protecting your hearing sooner rather than later Most of us know that exposure to loud music for long or even short periods of time is a serious hazard. However, the subject of hearing conservation doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. Imagine having a ringing in your head all the time? That’s chronic tinnitus. Imagine not being able to hear music properly or conversations with friends? That’s known as music-induced hearing loss. Various research, supported by a recent survey by Help Musicians UK, shows that professional musicians are 3.5 times more likely to suffer from hearing loss and 1.5 times more likely to develop tinnitus than the general population. You need to be aware of the impact of two crucial factors: the sound level, and how much time you are exposed to it. Sound is measured by its pressure using decibels (dB), and it’s important to realise that dB is a logarithmic measurement (a scale of magnitude as opposed to a linear scale). So, a 3dB increase in sound level is twice as loud. If the volume is twice as loud then you should halve your exposure time. Lightly-played acoustic drums can be approximately 94dB (A). Your safe exposure time at this volume is approximately one hour. If you increase the sound level by 3dB to 97dB (A) then your safe exposure is now approximately 30 minutes. Even playing in an orchestra, brass or pipe band you can be exposed to sound levels this high, which over time can become a problem. As a former bassist and having worked on music events and festivals, my hearing became permanently damaged from rehearsing and performing with no protection. I now suffer from music-induced hearing loss and tinnitus. It’s also sad to talk to some young musicians who say they already have problems with their hearing, which could also be due to recreational listening habits and the use of portable music devices – 10 HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018 10 HIGHNOTES Summer 2018

another developing social issue. Wearing earplugs in any music environment has to some extent seemed a taboo. However, more recently the next generation of music lovers and makers do seem to be more aware of the danger. Important work has been done on raising awareness by the World Health Organisation, Help Musicians UK, the British Tinnitus Association and dedicated hearing protection manufactures like ACS Custom. There are many different earplugs on the market and you should buy the best that you can afford – your hearing is irreplaceable after all! Some are a universal fit but if you are serious about sound, then custom fit is the way to go. The benefit is that they fit your ears perfectly, forming a seal that will not allow any excess sound through. Don’t forget that everybody’s ears are different shapes and sizes. Universal-fit earplugs won’t always guarantee a proper fit, specific level of protection and frequency response. Custom-moulded earplugs give you the best acoustic seal in the ear canal, and you also have a choice of attenuating filters to reduce the volume to a level appropriate to your musical environment. ACS has a range of high fidelity hearing protection suitable for all musical environments from orchestras to samba bands. Hearing conservation is not mandatory in the music education curriculum, which personally I think is shocking. But times, they are a-changin’ – and we, with the support of all those facilitating music making, must raise awareness about hearing conservation so that musicians of the future can play safe now and still hear tomorrow. For general tips on hearing visit the Making Music website: https://bit.ly/2BdUwxI On safe exposure times and high fidelity hearing protection go to: www.hearingprotection.co.uk or contact education@acscustom.com

ACS Custom is offering a discount to members on its products. Visit the Making Music website to find out more: https://bit. ly/2Mensuw

MEMBERS

BLOW YOUR TRUMPET Music without borders Spires Music chair (Helen Atwood) and musical director (Colin Touchin) wanted to find a way not only to commemorate the ending of WWI, but to also celebrate the work that has been done to achieve peace and reconciliation in more recent years. Colin is also a guest conductor with Germany’s Lufthansa Orchestra and Konzertchor, which is made up of pilots, flight attendants, technicians and office workers who make music in their spare time. Helen and Colin planned two joint concerts of Spires and Lufthansa in Coventry and Frankfurt, where they are based, to perform Johannes Brahms’ German Requiem. In April of this year, Spires Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, and Lufthansa Konzertchor, performed in Coventry cathedral against the background of John Piper’s beautiful

window and looking out over the old cathedral, which was damaged in WWII. A week later, Spires Chorus travelled to Frankfurt to sing the German Requiem once more with the Lufthansa Orchestra and Konzertchor to a full house of over 400 people. I took part, and, along with my fellow Spires members found it a really enjoyable experience. We all loved the piece and rehearsals were hard but fun – singing in Coventry Cathedral and then in the Heiliggeistkirche in Frankfurt was very special. High audience numbers and their reaction in both venues was enormously gratifying and brought home to us how music can bring people together. We got on very well (helped

Left: Spires Orchestra and Chorus

Spires Chorus librarian Corinne Steele tells us about member group Spires Music’s project with Lufthansa musicians

by the fact that most of the German choir members spoke good English!) and both choirs provided excellent hospitality and sightseeing opportunities. We’ll remember the week not only for the beautiful music but how, for a brief moment in time, we made a personal contribution to reconciliation. www.spiresmusic.org

A song for the sea We talk to Sue Ryan, second alto and secretary of the Wellington Choral Society, about an ambitious member group collaboration in Exeter

How do you get three choral societies and a symphony orchestra in a single performance? In November of last year this is exactly what the Wellington Choral Society, Exeter Choral Society, Exmouth Choral Society and Exeter Symphony Orchestra did. The idea to perform Vaughan Williams’

A Sea Symphony at Exeter Cathedral was first floated by MD Laurence Blyth who happens to conduct all three choirs. Each choir has its unique character, but all are non-auditioned and of a similar standard. The estimated cost seemed steep but with the three choirs chipping in – plus a successful bid for funding from the Vaughan Williams’ Charitable Trust, individual members encouraging ticket sales, sales from a dedicated website and Exeter tourist information – the groups managed to deliver within budget with a small surplus. What did it take? ‘Commitment from us all that even if it were a tremendous flop financially we would see it through

– we were confident of at least having some audience,’ says Sue. Location was tricky, as Wellington Choral is further away from the other choirs and cathedral so buses were laid on for the choir to attend the one joint rehearsal and concert itself. And musically what were the challenges? ‘Singing next to someone you don’t normally rehearse with – we found that buddying up with one other person from our own choir helped.’ The performance took place in November of 2017 to a packed Exeter Cathedral. Was it worthwhile? ‘Absolutely!’ says Sue. ‘Singing together was really lovely. And you suddenly realise just what an amazing sound you can make with that number of people.’ www.wellingtonchoralsociety.org.uk

HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

FEATURE

Song for the ages The Choir Schools Association celebrates 100 colourful years and a bright future ahead for the choral tradition On a gloriously sunny afternoon in May this year, choristers from Westminster Abbey, King’s College Cambridge and Salisbury Cathedral joined the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral for a very special celebration. They were marking the hundredth anniversary of the Choir Schools Association (CSA), which was founded as the result of a meeting between the headmasters of St Paul’s, the Abbey and King’s choir schools at the end of the First World War. They were keen to ensure that cathedral and collegiate choirs around the country could be rebuilt after the loss of so many musicians in the war, and also to help colleagues running smaller choir schools in the provinces respond to the new education acts enforcing stricter academic standards. In many respects the choristers who are educated in CSA member schools today follow a very similar regime to that of their predecessors who have sung in the great religious buildings of the UK for many centuries – their lives are dictated by the daily liturgy of the church and they work alongside the adult singers and organists of their foundations as fellow professionals. As Andrew Carwood, Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, says, this is one of the few areas of modern life where apprenticeships are still effectively the norm, with choristers joining their choirs as probationers at the age of seven or eight and absorbing performing skills and a vast repertory of music alongside their more experienced colleagues. Modern terms are shorter than in the past and the school day is no longer interrupted by so many morning services and special events, but it is still the norm for hour-long practices to take place every morning before their first academic lessons begin, and the choristers

12 Autumn 2018

HIGHNOTES

of most cathedrals sing Evensong several days a week in addition to two or three services on Sundays. They also have to fit in instrumental practice, usually on two instruments, as well as homework. Recording sessions, live broadcasts of Choral Evensong and concert tours are an additional challenge to their stamina, though one that is relished by most choristers. The choristers of Hereford Cathedral, for example, sang for HRH The Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace in February this year and in June sang for the Pope alongside the Choir of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The biggest change that the world of cathedral music has seen in centuries has been the advent of girl choristers, introduced at Salisbury in the 1990s, which is why Salisbury Cathedral Choir took part in the CSA centenary service at St Paul’s. Female altos are making their appearance in some choirs and several cathedrals now have female organists, while the new generation of highly skilled professional chamber choirs includes many young women who benefitted from the exceptional musical training offered by choristerships. But the hard work and discipline instilled in them from such an early age means that ex-choristers are often highly successful in other careers if they decide not to continue with music. They can be found in the army, in sport, in business and - in the case of David Lammy MP, a former Peterborough Cathedral chorister - in parliament. Thanks to the efforts of the CSA and other benevolent organisations and individuals, this opportunity, combined with the education offered by the association’s member schools, is open to children of all backgrounds through scholarships and bursaries. In this anniversary year, CSA is confident that the UK’s unique choral tradition will continue for centuries to come. www.choirschools.org.uk

Above: Salisbury girl choristers Photo: Ash Mills

“...As Andrew Carwood, Director of Music at St Paul’s Cathedral, says, this is one of the few areas of modern life where apprenticeships are still effectively the norm...”

Perform with your music group in

Where can we perform?

Lake Garda!

• Chiesa di Sant’Anastasia, Verona

• Piazza della Chiesa in Levico Terme • Piazzetta Carlotti, Garda

What sights can we see? • Arena di Verona

• Cable Car, Monte Baldo • Juliet’s House, Verona

“An amazing tour, which will leave lasting memories for all our students. Rayburn facilitated the smooth running of our tour, providing a first-class service before and during the trip.” Highgate Wood School, Youth Music, 2017

RAYBURNTOURS.COM • 17-07-Making Music Highnotes.indd 1

01332 347 828

•

INFO@RAYBURNTOURS.COM 25/07/2018 09:46:45

FROM OUR TEAM

MEMBERSHIP AND SERVICES

Helping you get the most from your membership

INFORMATION & ADVICE EVENTS Whatever advice you need on running your group, we’re on hand with events this autumn. • Helping your group to thrive Sat 8 September, Manchester Sat 3 November, Durham • Growing your membership Sat 29 September, Falkirk • Making local connections Sat 13 October, Taunton

Safeguarding training

Sat 20 October, Woking or Guildford (venue tbc)

Developed for members and available at a special price We have teamed up with the Child Protection Company to create an online safeguarding course designed specifically for leisure-time music groups, available to Making Music members at a discounted rate. The course covers safeguarding for children and vulnerable adults, and will give individuals who lead groups an excellent understanding of their responsibilities, helping to make their group a safe environment for all. Course features •

Fully online and easy to access – takes 1 to 2 hours to complete

•

Scenario-based assessment questions – specific to leisuretime music groups

•

remind yourself of something

Sat 27 October, Aberdeen

Final assessment can be retaken at no extra cost until pass mark is achieved

• Every penny counts

Have a look at the training and think about at least one person from your group taking the course. You do not have to limit it to one, the more people that take it, the better equipped your group will be. Course costs •

Making Music members get a 10% discount – making the cost for a single course £31.27

Pause and start as many times as you like

•

Up-to-date information on regulation and law

There are discounts for booking 2, 5, 10 and 20 courses.

•

Includes downloads and links to further safeguarding information

You can view full course details and buy the course online at Child Protection Company – just use discount code MAKM10 when you check out.

Return to the completed course as often as you like to check or

www.makingmusic.org.uk/resource/ safeguarding-training-course

Making Music does not receive any financial or material gain from their members buying the course. We have developed the course with the Child Protection Company purely as a service and discount benefit for our members.

14 HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

makingmusic.org.uk/events

Whether you work directly with young people or vulnerable adults or not we think the course is a great learning tool and will help provide peace of mind.

•

Sat 17 November, Dumfries

New online resources (May-Aug) • •

Did you know? The first member group to use our OTR service has claimed back £1,600 from HMRC. Visit: makingmusic. org.uk/ resource/ orchestra-taxrelief-service to find out about the service

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Orchestra Tax Relief service Safeguarding and safeguarding training course Youth engagement resources How to make the most of your Making Music account PRS overview Measuring your impact The role of the chair Ten tips for connecting with your community Social media content: the rule of thirds Website health check – is yours in shape? Discounted sheet music and learning tracks Discounts on custom and universal earplugs An introduction to: Indian classical music An introduction to: Folk music New copyright resources

Visit makingmusic.org.uk/resources for more resources and guidance

FROM OUR TEAM

New members Notes from the field

A warm welcome to the 79 new members who joined us between 1 April and 31 July!

An update from our teams around the UK Spring saw the Member Engagement team making more member group visits than ever. From April to June we made 38 visits to members in rehearsal, at committee meetings and one to ones. We’ve been clustering visits so that when we set one up, we contact all members in the area to offer our services. This means we’ve been better able to reach members in more outlying communities in places such as Devon, Vale of Glamorgan and Ayrshire. Members have begun to request visits to address specific challenges, such as Glasgow Orchestral Society who wanted to discuss fundraising for their 150th anniversary season with Alison. But the ‘catch up’ visits have also been very useful for members to iron out small niggles and chat through bigger concerns. Sharon was able to facilitate a conversation between the committee members of a group

who found that they themselves had some excellent solutions to the thorny problem of recruiting new members. We all had a brilliant time on Make Music Day in June and it was a great opportunity to celebrate with members. A bandstand, a shopping centre and a train were some of the venues where we supported groups to perform including choirs, a samba band and a flute ensemble. There was a change to our team in July as we were sad to say goodbye to our Manager in Wales, Abby Charles, but we are delighted to welcome Iori Haugen in this role. Iori will be leading his first Information and Advice events this autumn and is looking forward to meeting Welsh members. Alison Reeves (Scotland), Abby Charles (Wales) and Sharon Moloney (UK)

Making Music staff Barbara Eifler Chief Executive Workineh Asres Director of Finance Ben Saffell Director of Membership & Operations Sally Palmer Membership & Projects Manager Caitlin Goreing Projects & Membership Assistant Joe Hooper Membership Coordinator Lily Funnell Office & Membership Assistant Sharon Moloney Member Engagement Manager Iori Haugen Manager – Wales

Alison Reeves Manager – Scotland Liz Clark Director of Marketing & Communications Natalie Joanes Editor (publications, communications, social media) Molly Dixon Marketing & Communications Executive Xenia Davis Youth Engagement Manager Fiona Goh Project Manager – Exploring Music Making

5Star Brass Artskickers Bloco Vale Samba Boxing Cat Arts CIC Bradford Concert Band Bury Taiko Côr Teifi Calico Choir Calne Music & Arts Festival Society Cash for Kids Symphony Orchestra Chamber Academy Orchestra Chester Big Band City of Plymouth Pipe Band Crewe Concert Band Dorothy Wells Strings Foundation Dr G’s Big Band East Anglian Guitarists East Peckham Silver Band Easy Sunday Music Events Enfield Community Orchestra Esseham Music Charity Eurythmia Ensemble Evoke Exeter Street Band Farnham Voices Together Community Choir Foxwood Steel Friends of Flintshire Youth Music Friends of the Music Holy Trinity Church Stratford-upon-Avon Fulham Children’s Choir Glór! Greystoke Handbell Ringers Hackness Music Live Hadley Court Singers of Haddington Hand Of Harrogate Theatre Choir Hull Barbershop Harmony Club Impromptu Isle Community Choir Liquorice Clarinet Quartet

Metropolitan Police Choir Monmouth Male Voice Choir Musical ARC MusicWorks (Chamber Courses) New Voices Of Potton Notting Hill Film Orchestra+Choir Nottingham Music Enterprises Opus 48 Oxford Orpheus Trust Pitch Pawfect Portsmouth Philharmonic Orchestra Rushmoor Male Voice Choir Sedgefield Lyric Singers Shades on Black Slaidburn Silver Band Somerset Hills Chorus Songbirds Sounds of Southern Africa (SOSA-XA!) Street Heat Samba Band Street Orchestra Live Sunset Swing Swing Express Tan House Singers Teddington Chamber Choir The Commonwealth Resounds The Glasgow Barons The Harmony Corporation The Light Orchestra GB The Music Makers The Music Makers of London The Old Dalby Singers The Sussex Symphony Orchestra Three Valleys Gospel Choir Totnes Early Music Society Vale Royal String Orchestra Vibrant Voices Vocal Accord Whiteknights Ensemble Wiltshire Police Band Wycombe Concert Band

Autumn 2018

HIGHNOTES

FROM OUR TEAM

PROJECTS Keeping you up to date with projects and programmes

Photo: Member group, Bristol a Cappella, perform on Make Music Day

Project Manager Alison Porter gives us a round-up of the fabulous events that took place

Events, some run or participated in by Making Music member groups, ran from the Isle of Lewis to the Isle of Wight in all kinds of locations including train stations, shopping centres, pubs, libraries, music shops, hospitals, schools, parks and dales. Make Music Day is celebrated in 120 countries worldwide every year, always on 21 June. 2018 is the second year that the UK has held a coordinated national event, marking significant growth since last year. This year’s highlights included a brass band parade across London Bridge with Kinetika Bloco to celebrate New Orleans 300th anniversary, Watford’s Cassiobury Park brought to life by Electric Umbrella’s music collective for 16 HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

adults with learning disabilities, singing and piping on top of Edinburgh’s Waverley shopping mall, performances and live streams from libraries across Norfolk, and performances in schools in Northern Ireland as part of Beyond Skin’s peace building initiative. Other favourites include Whitby Community Choir’s Dawn Chorus, singing in the sun at 4.30am, What the Folk performing aboard the Severnside Rail, Ivories and Strings live streaming performances from the Yorkshire dales in partnership with NYMAZ, and gospel performances at the British Library to commemorate the Windrush anniversary. But there’s too many to count – all events were brilliant in so many ways. Thank you to everyone who took part and helped make the day fantastic – and here’s to making next year an even bigger success! www.makemusicday.org.uk

We know that many of our member groups are leading the way when it comes to new music, whether commissioning it from professional composers, or composers within their ranks. We’ve mentioned some new music in the news section but here are a few more examples of the fantastic projects out there: Aldworth Philharmonic Orchestra has commissioned at least one new work from a young composer every year since 2003. 18 young composers have written about 4 hours of music: www.aldworthphilharmonic.org.uk

Make Music Day – thank you! On 21 June 2018, the UK celebrated Make Music Day in style with over 500 free performances to live audiences of almost 50,000 people all over the country.

NEW COMMISSIONS - WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

Wimbledon Symphony Orchestra’s (WSO) conductor composed a trumpet concerto for a local young performer, which was performed by the WSO: www.leogeyer.co.uk/somewhere-inbetween

Did you know? 9 of our 13 youth volunteers said that using video to show off your group’s sound, friendly people or charismatic MD would make them more likely to sign up

The Rhyl Music Club is presenting a cycle of three concerts in which all ten of Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano will be played at venues around Wales. Each concert will feature new commissions inspired by the sonatas, written by Welsh female composers: www.rhylmusic.com/beethoven-inwales If your group has a commission up its sleeve, we’d love to hear about it - we’re looking into creating an exchange platform for member groups’ commissions. If you’d like to share your commission with other groups, please get in touch to tell us about it at: info@makingmusic.org.uk

THE REALLY BIG CHORUS

Sing with us – just for a day!

With anything from 1,000 to 3,500 singers at the Royal Albert Hall, we can tackle the choral works smaller societies cannot reach, with full-scale professional orchestra, brilliant young soloists and top UK choral directors.

Youth Messiah · Ben Parry Messiah from Scratch® · Brian Kay Royal Albert Hall Sunday 2 December, 2.00pm/7.00pm Haydn – The Creation · Brian Kay Megaron Concert Hall, Athens Thursday 4–Sunday 7 April 2019 Verdi – Requiem · Bob Chilcott Royal Albert Hall 7.00pm, Sunday 12 May 2019 Orff – Carmina Burana · Brian Kay plus orchestral favourites by Walton, Handel and Elgar Royal Albert Hall 7.00pm, Sunday 14 July 2019

Beethoven Piano Trio in Eb, Op 70 No 2

Camille Pépin ‘The Road Not Taken’ for piano trio (UK première)

Pauline Chenais piano

- Geka Magdalena violin

Schubert

Angèle Legasa cello

Piano Trio in Eb, D.929

Monday 26 November 2018 7.45pm - Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall The 2019 Parkhouse Award takes place 16, 17 and 20 April 2019 in London. Deadline for application 1 December 2018. See parkhouseaward.com for details.

Tickets: £10 - £20 southbankcentre.co.uk 020 3879 9555

The Parkhouse Award is supported by The Gordon Foundation The Tertis Foundation Registered charity 1014284

Enlarge your choral horizons www.trbc.co.uk

Barcarolle Choir

Wakefield Cathedral

Saturday 20th October - 7pm £12 (£10 Concessions)

Including Hubert Parry’s

Songs of Farewell

stpetersconsort.co.uk

Conductor: Philip Collin

International Group of Women who love SINGING ON A THURSDAY AFTERNOON

For all women who want to discover or improve their voice and have fun

with music from Paul Hindemith’s

Messe

and Luca Marenzio’s

Two sister choirs: One pop, jazzy and one classical

Ninth Book of Madrigals

Musical Director: Sam Evans

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In the heart of Kensington

www. barcarollechoir.com info@barcarollechoir.com

Barcarolle Choir

FEATURE

Music education for all Chief Executive Barbara Eifler presents our members’ views on the music education landscape and what we can do to save it In recent years more and more voices, famous or not, professional, community and hobby musicians, instrumental and school teachers, have spoken up persistently and passionately about their disquiet on the current state of music education. In England, this is despite the existing National Plan for Music Education. In Wales, where music services have been much cut recently, a national plan has just been proposed in a Culture, Welsh Language and Communications Committee report. In Scotland a massive outcry has meant the axing of free instrumental tuition in schools was partially reversed; an online petition created by a leisure-time trombonist has attracted over 100,000 signatures and is leading to a parliamentary committee session this autumn. Making Music lobbies on behalf of the leisuretime music sector on a number of issues. Music education is one where so far we have supported other organisations’ work (e.g. the ISM-led Ebacc campaign and activities by the Music Education Council). But the growing alarm we sense from members has led us to question if there is more Making Music and leisure-time musicians could do. This was one of the reasons for our survey earlier this year which was also motivated by the current government review of the National Plan for Music Education (England),

18 HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

and by other consultations like the ABRSM-led Music Commission. We felt it was time to ask for your views in more detail. Under-18s The results are now in and reveal members think that above all music education should be about finding out about and learning to appreciate many different kinds of music. Cost was identified as the biggest barrier for young people – lessons, instruments, and event tickets. Other major issues raised were lack of understanding from parents and non-music schools staff (especially leadership teams) and lack of non-classroom musical activities in schools. Schools were agreed on as the best place to provide music education, as children are already there, but parents’ help is still vital (late band rehearsal, supporting practice at home etc.). Other recurring themes were access – financial, physical (e.g. disabilities), geographical (e.g. rural); and musical genres. There seemed to be a common thread in many comments suggesting the need for greater access to all kinds of music (not ‘just’ rock/pop or classical), so that every young person can find ‘their’ music and want to engage with it. Over-18s For adults, the major hurdle is lack of confidence – all

FEATURE

ages and abilities, beginners or returners. Cost is also an issue (instruments, lessons), as is the lack of opportunities or lack of awareness of them. Practice space also presents problems.

WHAT CAN I DO NOW?

We now have a much greater understanding of the issues members are worried about, and interesting ideas on how some of these could be tackled. The next step will be a plan to suggest what Making Music and member groups (and their members) could do to work towards a better future for music education. The UK has a huge amount of diverse leisuretime music groups in all communities, thanks to widespread access to music education in previous decades. We all know what amazing benefits that has for our own lives and our communities, so fighting to keep and improve access to this for future generations is surely well worth the effort.

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Share the report on social media

•

Email it to your MP and/or AM/MSP/MLA

•

Show it to your councillor and local authority’s cabinet member for education

•

Send it to your children’s or local school’s headteacher and Chair of Governors

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Share it with your group

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Use our research on the benefits of music, at: www.makingmusic.org.uk/resource/ evidence-bank

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Scotland: attend the parliamentary committee session in the autumn (date tba)

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Wales: read the report, ‘Hitting the Right Note’ (www.assembly.wales/laid%20 documents/cr-ld11595/cr-ld11595-e.pdf) and send comments to its Chair, Bethan Sayed AM

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England: Ralph Riddiough, instigator of the petition in Scotland, has started one in England; 100k+ signatures are needed for a parliamentary debate (https://petition. parliament.uk/petitions/223408 ). You can also support the Ebacc campaign at: www.baccforthefuture.com

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All nations: you can fill in our survey (https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ PZ3FCRD )

Read the report at: makingmusic.org.uk/news/ member-consultation-music-education MUSIC EDUCATION HUBS (ENGLAND) Created under the National Plan for Music Education in 2012, in many cases hubs have incorporated or expanded the work of the old music services. The survey confirms our previous anecdotal evidence that – but for truly notable exceptions – there is little interaction between hubs and local leisure-time music groups: 66% of respondents had no contact with their music education hubs since their creation. Given that the overwhelming majority of the under18s will not become professional musicians, and the now abundant evidence for the benefits of musicmaking for adult mental and physical well-being, it is surprising there is not at least mutual awareness and signposting.

Come and play event at Westminster Music Library, Make Music Day 2017 Photo: Rey Trombetta

“… We all know what amazing benefits that has for our own lives and our communities, so fighting to keep and improve access to this for future generations is surely well worth the effort.”

Autumn 2018 HIGHNOTES

MEMBERS

EXPLORING MUSIC Readers tell us about the music they love. Email editor@makingmusic.org.uk

Jukebox Readers share how a particular piece of music inspires them Down The Wagon Way / Sweet Jayne / The North Downs Way by Chris Wood and Andy Cutting www.youtube.com/ watch?v=R8wz9CPgxoA

It was an overcast Sunday morning in Autumn 2006 and I had just spent the night camping solo behind a sea wall on the Essex coast – I’d saved listening to the CD I had received through the post the previous day to this particular morning – and it was a musical awakening. I had listened to Chris Wood and Andy Cuttings’ previous albums which I’d say were fairly straight-down-the-line traditional dance tunes from England, France and Quebec. This one was different.

From where I sat on the bench upon the sea wall, overlooking the grey sea and sky, headphones on and the CD playing, I was transported to a near transcendental state where my surroundings and what I was listening to met in unexpected harmony. I still listen to this album regularly, and this piece carries with it a particular significance. The repetition of phrases, occasional discord, and incredible use of just three instruments to build up a thick texture lifts this music from ‘folk’ to something meditative and perhaps spiritual. It still conjures up visions of a grey and blustery sea on the Essex coast. These days I make guitars and other instruments on the Suffolk coast. I take great inspiration from experiences such as that in Essex, and rekindling ourselves with a sense of place and the ‘vernacular’ through music. By making instruments out of predominantly locally grown woods, I try to instil a sense of identity within them. Otis Luxton www.luxtoninstruments.co.uk Email us and tell us about your favourite song or piece of music editor@makingmusic.org.uk

Brass banding The British brass band originated in the early nineteenth century, with the industrial revolution. The sudden increase in the amount of raw metal available meant that instruments could be made more cheaply and were more accessible. Companies began to take an interest in providing a hobby for workers in an effort to improve the local area and keep the workforce occupied in their spare time. Brass bands in many industrial towns and villages grew quickly and performed to a high standard. They held local performances and contests, and the community would pay to see their home bands perform, and to see visiting bands. Brass bands were also springing up as part of the activities of the Salvation Army corps across the country. Enlistment of the men who played in brass bands during WWI led to a period of decline in the bands being at the centre of community life. Despite this, and ensuing financial uncertainty throughout the first half of the twentieth century, brass bands and the tradition of competitions have become ever popular in recent times, particularly in Yorkshire and Wales. A brass band uses ‘conical bore’ (shaped like an ice cream cone) instruments: cornets; tenor, baritone and flugel horns; euphoniums; tenor and bass trombones; basses (Eb and Bb tubas); and two to three percussionists. Pitch control is similar for most brass 20 HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

Left: Jubilee Brass

A social pastime as much as a musical one

instruments and all parts are written in the treble clef. This is crucial to how brass bands have survived so well – when numbers of players were low, or with the flow of players in and out of an area, some of the players could simply switch. Brass bands have grown in popularity right up to the present day and, with the founding of youth bands, have welcomed new generations to continue the tradition. Find out more about brass bands at https://4barsrest. com/default.asp, Marching Bands UK: www.mbauk.org.uk and www.brassbandsengland.co.uk

EX CATHEDRA

2018-2019 Season 6 Oct

Inspiring singing

Classical & Jazz Concerts Fidelio Trio

Faure, Ravel & Schubert Piano Trios

10 Nov

The Carice Singers

Parry & other British composers

8 Dec

Dom Childs & Simon Callaghan

Saxophone works (inspired) by women

19 Jan

Scott Hamilton Quartet

John Pearce, Dave Green & Steve Brown

23 Feb

David Gould & Chelys Consort

Music Inspired by paintings

23 Mar

David Gordon/Christian Garrick

Baroque-influenced Jazz Trio with Violin

27 Apr

Music Theatre: ‘Mary’s Hand’ Clare McCaldin (mezzo) & Trio

Mary Tudor tells her story, with cards!

2018-19 season on sale In 40 Parts Bach - Christmas Oratorio Christmas Music by Candlelight Beginnings & endings Purcell – The Indian Queen Bach – St Matthew Passion Summer Music by Candlelight Concerts in Birmingham, Hereford, Leicester, London, Wolverhampton & more

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FROM OUR TEAM

DROP THE MIC If you have any software, hardware or performance tips you would like to share, email editor@makingmusic.org.uk CORPORATE MEMBER SERVICES

ARE YOU LISTENING?

Know the score

Composer and arranger Roger Cawkwell reviews composition software Dorico

Our ears are vital tools when it comes to making music. However while practising singing or playing an instrument improves our performance skills, it’s easy to forget that practising listening to music can improve our musicianship too. Here are some quick tips on how you can improve your listening skills.

Two versions of this new scorewriter, created by the team that gave us Sibelius, are now available to download for a free month’s trial: Elements restricts the user to a maximum of 12 staves but is otherwise capable of producing professional level output as printed documents or PDFs, whereas Pro can cope with unlimited staves and can be tweaked in even greater detail with regard to formatting, fonts, automatic cues and ossia passages. Rather than having more than one musical activity open at once as in Sibelius, rather like Finale, Dorico separates different musical activities into five modes, for example entering notation in one mode and formatting it in another. Excellent support for the newcomer is provided in the forms of an extensive PDF manual, numerous helpful YouTube videos and replies to individual queries on the

Facebook group from both experts and experienced users. The default settings will produce attractive scores and parts for the beginner, though if required most items can be customised in great detail. Both version can play back scores, Pro with Steinberg’s HALion orchestra and a more basic system for Elements users. Dorico is not yet complete – even though we are at version 2 some features still await inclusion, playback trills and DS and Coda signs, for example, but if version 1 was anything to go by the team are working to release free updates as soon as they are available. Elements £85, Pro £480 with reductions for crossgrading from other scorewriters. www.dorico.com/compare-editions

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Enhance your aural skills and learn active listening anywhere, anytime: close your eyes and take in your ‘sound environment’. What do you hear? Pick out and listen to low and high sounds: whether it’s people talking, cars passing in the street, birds singing.

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Work on your ability to identify rhythm when you’re listening to music by audibly counting out loud or clapping the beats, or off-beats.

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Test and improve your ability to hear intervals, chords, scales and chord progressions using apps such as Toned Ear: Ear Training (£4.19 in Google Play and Apple app store).

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For practising pitch, when you’re listening to music just sing or hum along to the melody!

Got musical tips to share? Email editor@makingmusic.org.uk

WYCOMBE ORPHEUS MALE VOICE CHOIR

War and the pity of war.

BRITTEN

Accompanist required in South Bucks The Wycombe Orpheus Male Voice Choir requires a regular Accompanist for its Wednesday evening rehearsals in High Wycombe and to support the Choir’s busy Concert programme. The post requires an accomplished and committed pianist and there is scope for advancement as we renew our musical team. Full details of the position and the commitment required can be found on the Choir Website at www.wycombeorpheus.org.uk/musicteam OR from the Musical Director, Louise Langley, on 07973 985603, e-mail: md@wycombeorpheus.org.uk Applications will close on 30th September.

FOUNDED 1923. REGISTERED CHARITY No. 298518

WAR REQUIEM

The Bach Choir Philharmonia Orchestra Staats- und Domchor Berlin Choristers of Westminster Cathedral David Hill conductor Sally Matthews soprano Andrew Staples tenor Benjamin Appl baritone Philip Scriven organ

Tickets £50–£12 Wed 3 Oct 2018, 7.30pm Westminster Cathedral London

thebachchoir.org.uk/concerts ticketmaster.co.uk 0844 844 0444

MEMBERS

READERS’ PAGE Got something to say? We’d love to hear from you: editor@makingmusic.org.uk.

Why I make music

Mutiny in the ranks

Who? Terry Noel MBE What? Steel pan, Melodians Steel Orchestra

I was first introduced to the steel pan in Trinidad where I grew up. I was 14 years old when a guy passing in the street took me to a panyard, gave me a pair of beaters and told me to try it out. A few years later I tried it again with my athletics team band and I loved it so much that I was soon running the band. At this time, in the early ‘60s, no ‘decent’ person was seen playing the pan. My aunt, who I lived with at the time, didn’t even know I was playing it until she saw me at a carnival! When I came to live in the UK in 1967,

one of the many things I did was work in a cross-borough school cultural programme, where I set up the Groovers steel orchestra. We had a lot of great experiences, including recording the theme for the BBC coverage of the Commonwealth Games in 1978. This was a calypso piece but showing people just what the steel pan is capable of is very important to me. When we came second in a local music festival competition with an arrangement of Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite no.2 ‘Farandole’, we were the only steel orchestra in the competition. I knew I wanted to play more music like this and educate people. On the pan you can play anything from Khachaturian to David Bowie, which is why our current band is called the Melodians Steel Orchestra, rather than band, as we play a range of music. It’s been going for over 30 years, and we’ve travelled to many corners of the world to show what the instrument can do. Playing is a hobby for me but also people are fascinated by the pan and I enjoy teaching them about it and the culture behind it; music is a universal language that breaks down barriers. www.melodiansuk.co.uk

Compose your music with Artificial Intelligence www.calmus.is

I’m a string player and I joined an orchestra because, apart from the fun you can have playing music with other people, I’m no longer in education and don’t have music lessons anymore. It’s a super way to keep up the playing. However, I didn’t join to rest on my laurels. I like to be challenged – so it was really frustrating when I’d been in the orchestra for some years and the seating plan never changed. I don’t expect to lead the entire orchestra but I’m there to learn and quite frankly it can get pretty boring playing the same parts all the time. And no, it’s not just me overestimating my own skills – there are others who feel equally stuck where they’re sitting. It also doesn’t help matters if the section leader isn’t too bothered about learning our names. So section leaders, please do say hello! And change things up once in a while. Even if you don’t want to promote us, factor in some sectionals so that we can feel like we count. Or just come over and have a chat in the pub once in a while! Anon Email editor@makingmusic.org.uk

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Steinberg specialises in audio and music technology products. Cubase is one of the most popular sequencers (DAW) with schools and professionals whilst Dorico is the future of scoring notation software. Both can be used with Steinberg’s UR audio interfaces, apps and VST instruments. steinberg.net

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FROM OUR TEAM

MAKING MUSIC PEOPLE

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT

STAFF MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

ANDREA LEE

CAITLIN GOREING

FUNDING RESEARCH VOLUNTEER

PROJECTS AND MEMBERSHIP ASSISTANT

What do you do in your role?

When did you join Making Music?

I write links for the ‘Find a Funding Opportunity’ in the Resources section of the Making Music website.

I started working here in mid-March 2018.

How long have you been volunteering with Making Music? Just over a year. What inspired you to volunteer with Making Music? I want to see leisure-time music flourish and grow. It’s such an important part of so many people’s lives in very positive ways. What has been your most rewarding experience with Making Music so far? I’ve done lots of fun things including piano playing at London Bridge station for Make Music Day. However, the funding research work is really rewarding. I hope it helps members achieve their aspirations. Do you play an instrument or sing? I’ve played the clarinet for as long as I can remember and play regularly in a concert band. In recent years I’ve learnt the alto saxophone and set up a saxophone ensemble. If you could invite three people, past or present, to dinner, who would they be and why? I’d invite a composer, a conductor and an instrumentalist. Beethoven for his sheer creative genius. Marin Alsop as I’ve learnt such a lot from her in my endeavours as a novice conductor. Finally, my favourite jazz saxophonist, Paul Desmond – if only I could emulate his sound which he described himself as being ‘like a dry martini’. Do you have a particular favourite piece of music or song? ‘The Catskills’, From East Coast Pictures by Nigel Hess for wind band. I’ve never been to the Catskills Mountains but this music conveys the wonder, majesty and power of the natural landscape.

26 HIGHNOTES Autumn 2018

Interested in getting involved? Visit makingmusic.org.uk/volunteers

What does your role involve? Day-to-day I work in the Membership Team, answering phone and email queries from members, writing guidance for our website and sassing my colleagues. I also work on a few of our projects: currently I’m doing a lot of administration for the PDGYA award and subsidies, and some for Adopt a Composer. What inspires you most about working here? The passion and dedication of our members, volunteers and staff is up there, of course. But what I’ve found most inspiring about working here is the seemingly endless list of Making Music projects, resources and ideas that I keep coming across – every time I think I’ve got to grips with all them, I learn about a new one. Do you play any instruments or sing? I sing (constantly). I grew up singing in youth choirs, got into opera when I was a teenager and now do bits of pro and semi-pro singing around London. I stopped practising violin and piano a few years ago but I’m thinking of taking them up again since we have a piano teacher who gives lessons in the office. Do you have a particular favourite piece of music or song? It changes week-to-week depending on what I’m learning and listening to, but the best thing I’ve sung in the past year has been Richard Wagner’s ‘Wesendonck Lieder’. If you could invite three people, past or present, to a dinner party who would they be and why? My three sisters (I’m a pragmatist).

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