Judy usually plays Bb Clarinet with the Edinburgh Concert Band, but when the chance to try her hand as a percussionist arose as part of their collaboration for Adopt a Composer, she didn't know quite what she was letting herself in for.
"We need a volunteer for percussion - anyone up for stepping up for Gaynor’s ‘Step Up!'...?"
At Rockschool, our ethos has always been to empower musicians and help them achieve their aims, whether they’re applying for university, passing on their expertise and advice, or simply just having some fun with the music they love.
Learning via a graded exam system is often seen as something for younger learners and may seem daunting to adult learners. However, after talking to many Rockschool teachers up and down the country, we have learned that their adult students find doing grades to be fun and fulfilling.
Peter Yarde Martin reflects on his involvement on the Adopt a Composer scheme, and looks forward to what comes next.
With the first performance of my new piece ‘Starsong and Nocturne’ on 12th May, my Adopt-a-Composer project with Bellfolk Handbell Ringers reached its culmination. It was wonderful to hear my piece take shape over the course of the collaboration, and I was thrilled with how they performed it in concert!
In beautiful setting of St. George’s Colegate, the spatial effects and ethereal harmonies were positively spine-tingling.
Many of our member groups perform concerts several times a year. Some of these groups have dedicated and enthusiastic writers who spend their time researching the music and penning interesting articles to go into a programme, to help the audience understand and appreciate the performance even more.
Bands For Hire is a UK based music agency with a passion for exceptional musicianship and vocal ability. Founder Adam Mezzatesta began life on the music scene as a songwriter and performer, working in a function band as a way to fund his original musical projects. In 2010 Bands For Hire was born with the ambition to bridge the gap for working musicians looking to make a living whilst also pursuing a career in the music industry.
With only days until the first performance of ‘Starsong and Nocturne’, and the culmination of my adoption by Bellfolk Handbell Ringers, the project is reaching its final phase. This can be a strange part of the process for the composer having finished the piece nearly two months ago, while the Handbell team have been frantically rehearsing and getting to grips with what I’ve written.
We know members are passionate about music education for under-18s and as life-long learners themselves are aware of the benefits of music (appreciation and participation) for everyone, at all stages of their life.
But there are barriers to people engaging with music and we’d like to find out more about what you think those are – and what could be done to address them.
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We know that for most groups, budget is a key element in the choice of tour destination. Finding the right destination, which will excite and inspire your performers, work with your concert programme and ensembles and also be affordable can be a challenge.
Further to the recent depreciation of the sterling versus both the euro and the dollar, ensuring you make your money travel as far as possible is even more important. Here are some helpful key points to consider when planning your next music tour.
The government’s Taking Part survey may have its flaws, but it does give us some significant – and useful – statistics on leisure-time music, writes Making Music Chief Executive, Barbara Eifler
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