On 5 May, there are local elections in many local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. When your local candidates come knocking, you may want to talk to them about your music group.
Below we have put together some asks you could pass on to your candidates: issues at a local level we have become aware of through contact with members. Use them if relevant in your area and adapt them as necessary.
Some general thoughts:
Ben Lunn looks back at the last 16 months of socially-distanced rehearsals, Zoom videos, bell caps, face masks, and a storm that nearly stranded the conductor in Heathrow - culminating in the Ugie Voices and Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra recording and performing his work, 'Rhymes and Recollections'.
Jon Box of Shrewsbury Symphony Orchestra explains how his group has decided to programme and play work by women composers over the past three years.
In 2019, we decided that our spring 2020 concert would be Ethyl Smyth’s The Wreckers: Overture, Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps and an Amy Beach symphony. This was quite a radical step, but it had the full support of the committee, as we believed that there is no justification for the absence of works by women composers from standard playlists.
Volunteers Glynne Stackhouse and Stephen Leeder share their reactions to having been awarded the 2021 President’s Award for their exceptional service to Making Music.
Here's what Stephen had to say:
New corporate member Biiah gives us the lowdown on their portfolio for leisure-time music groups.
At Biiah, we're building a global community that understands the importance of singing for wellness. In our mission to motivate everyone to rethink how they interact with their instrument, we're continually innovating new and fun ways that inspire people to connect with the power of their voice and feel the benefits of singing regularly. Discover our weekly online singing events and free gaming app
In this joint blog, Sheila Biegala of Ugie Voices and Foss Foster of Aberdeenshire Saxophone Orchestra (ASO) describe their tumultuous recording session.
Hannah Fredsgaard-Jones describes her first meeting with Voices of Exmoor as part of their Adopt a Music Creator 2022 collaboration.
Britain’s Big Platinum Performance will showcase the UK’s best leisure-time music groups on a recording that will be gifted this Platinum Jubilee year to Her Majesty The Queen.
As part of Classic FM's 30th birthday celebrations this year and to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Making Music has teamed up with Classic FM to invite groups from across the UK to submit a recording of a celebratory piece of music.
Elizabeth de Brito - musicologist, host of The Daffodil Perspective podcast, and guest speaker at our recent event on programming women composers - shines a light on influential female composers of colour, and gives some tips on diversifying your repertoire.
John Andrews, conductor of Trinity Orchestra, provides some welcome reflections on programming women composers for performances with his group.
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