Making Music is delighted that two of our members, and a conductor of a member group, have been nominated for the 2025 Royal Philarmonic Society (RPS...
Making Music is proud to champion and celebrate leisure-time music groups and all those who work with them. We present annual awards for best music creator and best music arranger, who are nominated by Making Music member groups they have worked with.
Below you can find more information about the pieces, listen to recordings, and find out how to access the scores if you wish to perform them yourselves. We look forward to many more performances of these wonderful new compositions and arrangements - let us know if you're thinking about performing them!
Roderick Williams, best music creator 2024
To celebrate Saffron Walden Choral Society’s 140th anniversary in 2023, Roderick Williams was commissioned to compose a 5-minute work for SATB choir and piano/organ, which celebrated the joy of singing and included opportunity for audience participation. As well as being an internationally renowned baritone, Roderick Williams is now establishing himself as a highly regarded composer too. The resulting piece was challenging to learn, but within the choir’s technical ability. It met the brief exactly and was a joy to perform. The audience feedback was incredibly positive and they enjoyed their chance to sing too.
Although Roderick’s busy schedule meant he was unable to attend any rehearsals in person, he listened to brief recordings we made in rehearsals and was in constant touch during the creative process. He asked members of the choir to contribute their thoughts on what singing means to them. Some of these comments were included in the final text of ‘Sing Joyfully’, along with an eclectic selection of other texts about singing. When Roderick had produced the first draft, he sent it for feedback from Quintin Beer, our MD. All the feedback was gracefully received, and the requested changes were all made.
‘Sing Joyfully’ was first performed by SWCS at Saffron Hall on 24 June 2023 and was introduced by Roderick Williams in a short film. It is published by Edition Peters and has subsequently been performed by The BBC Singers.
Simon Arnott, best arranger 2024
'Wanting to bring a quintessentially British performance to America, we decided with Simon on a ‘Mary Poppins’ set, for which he arranged Trip a Little Light Fantastic. Passionate about vocal pedagogy and musical development, Simon provided a fun arrangement that complemented our development goals as a choir, developing our vowel-matching and synchronisation.
The arranging process was extremely collaborative. Simon was sensitive to the group’s needs and worked closely with us to ensure the arrangement was perfect. He was especially good at explaining to our members (of varying musical knowledge) the reasons behind his arranging choices, which brought it to life for everyone. We adore singing this song!
The arrangement artfully captures the essence of the original song whilst also tailoring it to shine on a competition stage. It has a great flow and narrative that provides plenty of chances for the group to have fun and delight audiences. The attached recording shows our performance of the piece on stage in Louisville. We were delighted to break the British record for any group in the 85-year history of the competition, finishing 11th Globally. This was testament to the amazing arrangement that Simon kindly provided us. We love him and hope you’ll consider him for best arranger.
Our group was preparing to represent the UK at the International Barbershop Harmony Competition in Louisville Kentucky. Simon worked with us to identify a song that provided the needed ‘wow’ factor for competition, stretched our musical abilities, and represented our identity on the international stage.' - Central London Barbershop Harmony Club
Fran Carter, best arranger 2023
'Fran Carter has been a member of Vocal Dimension Chorus since 2013. Soon after joining, her arranging talents started to come to the fore. A passionate musician, Fran enjoys arranging in four-part harmony. In 2022, with the pandemic still very much on everyone's minds, Fran offered to arrange Harry Style's song "Treat People With Kindness". This was a perfect choice to reflect how everyone felt at that time – in need of something uplifting which celebrated the best of human nature and carried a message of hope.
Fran really captured the mood of the song and arranged it knowing our strengths and vocal range so it fits the chorus perfectly. She liaised with our chorus director during the arranging process to ensure that the range of each part was appropriate and the rhythms were clear. The arrangement allows lower voices to share the melody line, which can be a rare feature of a cappella arrangements, giving them an opportunity to shine. Fran's musical ability enabled her to bring a simplicity to the arrangement which makes it appealing to sing while still conveying the feel of the original song.
It has been a real chorus favourite – so much so that it has been picked up by other a cappella choruses in both the UK and Australia – and audiences love it!' - Vocal Dimension Chorus
Richard Blackford, best music creator 2023
Winner Richard Blackford wrote Babel, a cantata for choir and small orchestra, for Camden Choir’s 50th anniversary. The panel praised the piece’s assurance, pace, part writing and convincing use of musical colour. The piece is based on the stories of Noah’s Flood and the Tower of Babel. A recording with the National Orchestra of Wales was made under Lyrita Records and is available to purchase via Nimbus Records.
Nathan James Dearden, best music creator 2022
'On commissioning this work for National Youth Training Choir of Great Britain, the composer Nathan James Dearden reflected on our relationship with the outdoors, the possibility of such a group being able to sing together after such a long period of online meetings only, and his Welsh heritage. Working with Welsh haiku specialist Paul Chambers, he amalgamated three haiku written by Welsh poets. The texts express human connectivity (or lack of) with their surrounding landscape. The prose directly influenced the music, and he created a choral landscape for the young singers to breathe, reflect, and think about their own connections to the landscape in which they find themselves.
In this work, performers were asked to create new and exciting vocal sound worlds, such as a 'blanket of murmurs'. This is where each performer individually whispers/softly freely recites one, or a selection, of the following short phrases in the Welsh language: Y bryniau hyn/ dim byd i'w ddweud / a bwrw ymlaen / anadlu ['These hills have nothing to say and go on breathing.']
The composer worked closely with the Principal Conductor, Greg Beardsell, and a handful of singers to craft a work perfect for young voices. He adapted the piece for young, developing, and/or changing voices through optimum tessitura and vocal range selection (while still creating rich and arresting harmonies) and created equilibrium between homophonic support and contrapuntal writing. He struck a balance between conventional choral writing and challenging the young singers with semi-improvised material.' - National Youth Choirs of Great Britain
Michael Betteridge, best arranger 2022
'When the early 2021 lockdown was announced, our MD Michael Betteridge made it his mission to create an arrangement that could be rehearsed, recorded, and videoed remotely and within government guidelines. He also ensured the health and well-being of our members through singing as well as other activities. As a group of LGBTQ+ people, our mental health is lower than the national average. We are more likely to live alone or in less-than-ideal situations (prejudice from family or housemates, etc.).
Michael arranged Joni Mitchell’s Urge for Going. In this arrangement, he created a very simple structure in which every part (tenor, baritone, and bass) had the opportunity to sing the melody at least once with other parts accompanying it. He also created a rousing ending that allowed the choir to sing in three parts (albeit all remotely!) for extra excitement at the end of the video.
In addition to recording at home, we invited members to go on walks in the snowy landscapes of Greater Manchester (and beyond), filming themselves and each other. It allowed members to meet one another safely, socialise and avoid isolation. There was also the opportunity for solos at the start of the piece that allowed certain members who wanted extra engagement during a busy period to engage in singing for their well-being.
Finally, our accompanist learned the piece on guitar, and so we were able to film his part outside!
We have performed this song live since, and it’s a very emotional experience!' - The Sunday Boys
Neil Brownless, best music creator 2021
Nominated by Abingdon Concert Band
'As Musical Director of Abingdon Concert Band, Neil was very keen to encourage band members to participate in inventive ways to keep everyone playing while rehearsals weren’t possible. He wrote his original piece, Keep the Rhythm Going, as a tribute to all of the musicians that 'kept the rhythm going' with online performances while they weren't able to perform in person. The composition works to the strengths and weaknesses of the regular band but the first performance of the piece, via a collage of individual performance videos, was opened up to players from around the world, attracting 108 players to submit videos for the virtual world première.
'The piece is designed to be uplifting to provide some positivity in what was a difficult time for all of us who love making music. Within sections, parts were written at different ability levels to enable as many musicians as possible to take part. Some conservatoire trumpet players joined in and took the part up an octave which added another dimension to the composition for the performance, but was left out of the score so that the piece remains accessible to many bands for public performance.' - Abingdon Concert Band
Paul Ayres, best arranger 2021
Nominated by Harrow Choral Society
'We began rehearsing online and making virtual recordings quite early in the process of Covid-19 restrictions, using music selected by our Music Director, Simon Williams. In searching for appropriate pieces, he spoke with our accompanist, Paul Ayres, who is an established and highly regarded composer and arranger in his own right. They both felt that Paul’s arrangement of Handel’s aria Where’er you walk would be an excellent choice. Handel wrote the piece as part of his opera Semele where it is sung as a tenor solo but Paul’s new arrangement is for SATB choir.
'The reasons for it being so suitable for us include the fact that it is a lively, well-known and cheerful tune, making it particularly enjoyable to sing during a time when spirits may generally be low. Furthermore, although the arrangement is challenging in places, it is not difficult to learn – an important attribute when much of the choir’s preparation had to be done in glorious isolation, unsupported by fellow singers! Paul also made a major contribution to the learning process by taking regular sectionals, courtesy of the Zoom ‘break-out rooms’ facility. He would either take the tenors & basses or the sopranos & altos, alternating each week with the Music Director. Having the arranger on hand throughout was invaluable. Before embarking on the arrangement, Paul established that the piece is out of copyright with no restrictions.' - Peter Miller, Harrow Choral Society
Michael Betteridge, best arranger 2021
Nominated by The Sunday Boys
'In winter 2020 our musical director Michael Betteridge was planning an outdoor immersive choral experience based in the car park we had been rehearsing entitled Voices of the Polar Night in which audiences would be blindfolded then encircled by the choir who sing folk songs from the Nordic countries as well as texts from Icelandic folk tales and the Kalevala. ‘Summer will come again’ formed part of that cancelled programme. Firstly, the arrangement was specifically arranged for the cathedral like acoustics of the car park embracing the boomy reverb that the surroundings offered.
'Secondly, at a time when not many members were attending rehearsals due to the cold (it was 4 degrees one week!), Michael created something in three parts with some unison singing to aid learning in what were short rehearsals (only 60 minutes) for limited numbers (18 max – 3 groups of 6). Thirdly, Michael did what he often does in arrangements and ensures every part has something interesting to sing with both the tenors and the basses getting the melody at different points. He utilised the range of the choir and created a fantastic emotionally journey that the choir loved to sing. Finally, Michael’s rewriting of the words provided an amazing opportunity to look to the future in a year full of disappointment and frustration.' - The Sunday Boys
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