Location
Making Music are thrilled to be partnering with one of our corporate members, Rayburn Tours, to host an online webinar, aimed at music leaders who wish to take that brilliant, brave and rewarding step into the world of touring!
Whether it be performing in sacred cathedrals or embracing local culture, concert tours present choirs, bands and orchestras with fantastic opportunities to develop and perform to international audiences. But for many volunteer committee members the practical and logistical aspects of organising the experience may seem overwhelming and confusing!
Bringing a range of advice and experience we will hear from: Ian Colman, Musical Director of Taverham Brass Band; Hellen Wallace and Morag Campbell, Chair and Secretary of Crieff Choral; Diane Beal, manager of Generation Groove; and Hilary Osbourn and Sue Mason, founding member and Secretary of Stannington Choir. Please see below for guest speaker biographies.
We'll talk about:
- What are the benefits of touring for a music group? Recruitment, retention and more!
- What exactly is a concert tour and how to go about choosing the perfect base!
- Attracting international audiences – a once in a lifetime experience for performers
- Overcoming challenges and streamlining the process – all our speakers have been there and done it!
- Anything else that arises on the topic!
There will be an opportunity to ask questions via the chat function during the event.
Who this event is for: Whether this is your first time or you are an experienced tourer, any leaisure-time music makers wanting to learn more about the ins and outs of touring are welcome to attend.
Cost: FREE for members
We will be using Zoom to host the meeting, and will email you the joining link two days and again two hours before the event is due to start.
Please read the event information below before reserving your place.
Registration for this event closes at 4pm on 11/02/2024.
Event information:
- This event will be mainly discussion-focused
- Questions will be taken via the chat function at this event
- Automated closed captions (subtitles) will be available at this event. If you require live captioning, please contact us to request this
Expected event schedule:
- 6pm: welcome and how we will use the Zoom features
- 6.05pm: event topic
- 7.00pm: finish
Timings may vary on the day.
About the guest speakers
Ian Colman:
Musical Director and producer Ian Colman has been part of Taverham Band since 1978 and has served as the musical director for 33 years. Ian reflects his passion for music onto others, encouraging musicians to pick up their instruments, no matter how long it’s been, and providing entertainment to the public through the band’s performances.
The band currently has up to 37 musicians, but this number can go as high as 50, all with a varying level of musical experience. Ian is committed to providing entertainment and tends to select a repertoire of popular music that everyone enjoys. In his words “Music is the most common language throughout the world”. The bands performances on tour are often spontaneous; with 20-30 pieces rehearsed, Ian will choose the setlist on tour based on the type of audience attending the concerts. A masterpiece in the making!
“It’s one thing playing to an audience, but engaging with an audience is another thing, particularly when there’s a language barrier but music is a common shared language. Understanding your audience on the day, and their role in the success of your performance is key. On tour your audience is the public, and they are there to be entertained.”
Ian proves that concert tours are for all and illustrates the role touring plays in nurturing commitment for members to rehearse. For audiences who want to be entertained, Taverham are the band for you!
Helen Wallace:
Helen Wallace, Chairwoman of Crieff Choral, is a singer in the choir and handles much of the administration related to planning concert tours. A vital role for any group organising a tour. Crieff Choral is made up of 50 singers and primarily performs choral, classical and folk music from across Europe.
She portfolios how with careful planning, closely liaison with your tour operator, allowing plenty of time to plan and being flexible with the objectives of your tour will allow the space for you to create a perfect tour.
Helen is here to share top tips including planning well ahead, don’t fear having a vision from the off, trust your tour operator and always be flexible.
Approaching Rayburn allowed Crieff Choral to benefit from the specialist on the ground expertise that they craved.
Diane Beal:
Diane Beal manages four bands: Academy Band, New Generation, Getting in the Groove, and Generation Groove and she is also the founder and musical director. Formed in 2002, Generation Groove started with six musicians who wanted to play their instruments together. Within weeks the band grew to 30 musicians and has continued to see generations of families join over the years, which inspired the name Generation Groove. She is committed to giving everyone a chance to learn, with each band a different level of musical expertise. Diane describes the group as “a little family of bands.”
Diane was a professional musician before she started her teaching and was therefore used to touring. She wanted to bring a joyful experience to her own band. The band now tours every 2 years, with their most recent tour to Belgium, where they had the incredible opportunity to perform at the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. All the groups come together, combining their talents into one band, turning it into the ultimate tour!
“I was accustomed to going on tour, and at the time of being a musician I was also doing a little bit of teaching in Coventry, and we decided to organise a tour over to Strasbourg. We took 90 kids with us, an orchestra, a choir and a band, and we all loved it. I’ve also wanted to do it again and Generation Groove got to the point where we could achieve this, it was the best thing that’s happened as it’s really brought the band together.”
We are delighted to invite Diane to the floor to share her experiences of bringing musicians together of different expertise in a touring environment encourages everyone to develop and perform their best.
Hilary Osbourn and Sue Mason:
Hilary Osbourn is one of the choir’s founders and has been the musical director for 12 years. Joining Hilary is Stannington Choir’s secretary, Sue Mason, who joined 13 years ago and is the longest-standing committee member. Since the pandemic, Stannington choir has grown from 30 members to over 50, attracting a younger audience to join and helping adapt the choir, keeping the members engaged.
As the choir has grown, both Sue and Hilary feel that touring has helped consolidate the choir and its new growth. It has encouraged closeness among the group and has inspired others to join the choir after the success of the tour. Stannington choir began touring because they wanted to challenge themselves and provide something positive for their singers to look forward to. Hilary believes that “there’s a sense of achievement facing something challenging, in a fun way!”
Both Hilary and Sue reflect on their concert tour to Tuscany and how it has impacted the future of the choir, bringing new bonds, new adaptations and new members.
Recording information:
We may decide to record this event, either for publishing on our website, or so that we can review it internally.
- We will announce at the beginning of the event if a recording is being made and what it will be used for
- We will usually record in speaker view, meaning only people who speak will be recorded
- If you speak, your image and voice will be captured in the recording
- Attendee names as displayed in a Zoom meeting will not be captured in the recording
- If you do not want your image to be captured, you may turn off your camera during the event. However, please be aware that if you do, your name will be displayed in place of your image, unless you have uploaded an image to your profile in Zoom
- Breakout rooms will not normally be recorded
- Your comments in the chat box will not form part of the recording
By booking a place and attending this event, you consent to being recorded in this way.
Inclusivity statement:
We aim to make our events as accessible as possible. If you have any particular accessibility requirements or if there is anything else we can do to help make the event a better experience for you, please let us know.
Cancellation policy:
Making Music reserves the right to cancel an event due to low attendance numbers, adverse weather conditions or other circumstances which make it no longer possible to run the event.
