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Community junk? James Mews, chairman of the Music in Action charity, describes an unusual percussion event in April that will restore music making to children deprived of doing so during the pandemic. But you might need ear-muffs, as Terry Neale discovered
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hen James Mews begins to talk about music, his enthusiasm is infectious.
Not surprising, perhaps, given that his joint roles of chairman of the charity Music in Action and the Jersey Chamber Orchestra mean that his life away from the office is dominated by the subject.
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Almost everybody is exposed to music in some way and it is fundamental to both their physical and mental health
But there is another reason. When we meet on a gloriously warm sunny afternoon in mid-October, life is slowly starting to return to some degree of normality after 19 months in which Covid restrictions have silenced the joy of live music for performers and audiences alike. ‘Music making has been suppressed and I believe that this has had a massive effect on people’s wellbeing,’ said James. ‘Almost everybody is exposed to music in some way and it is fundamental to both their physical and mental health.’ From the perspective of Music in Action and its close work with the Island’s schools, the ban on singing has prompted some particularly innovative thinking in order to come up with a musical activity that will appeal to young people while following the rules and keeping them safe. The answer is one that seems certain to please. ‘The schools are currently not singing in their year groups and we would normally hold a big singing event each year with Key Stage Two children,’ James said. ‘There are still slight concerns about singing en masse, so we are trying something different.’ On 6 April next year, Andrea Vogler, the professor of percussion at The Royal Northern College of Music, will be coming to the Island. Her brief will be to lead what James describes as a community junk percussion project in which just about anything that can be struck to produce a musical sound - buckets, spades, dustbins, tables and chairs - will be prominently featured. Under the guidance of Professor Vogler - who was also responsible for creating the wake-up call that rouses the astronauts on the International Space Station from their slumbers each morning - the junk percussion project will give the students a good grounding in music. ‘She will initially come over in February to prepare for the April event,’ Mr Mews explained.
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