#MfEMonday – 28th November 2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s weekly emails designed to keep you up to date with MfE events & to circulate interesting finds, special features, and motivational moments for your Mondays! We are aiming to send out something new each week.

#MfEMonday – 21st November 2022

21st November 2022 Music for Everyone

Congratulations to all those Daytime Voices singers who took part in end of term performances last week. Not only did you raise the roof, but various cake sales also raised a very impressive £460 for their associated Open Voices groups! Click here to hear West Bridgford Daytime Voices absolutely rocking ‘Like an Eagle’. A special mention must also go to the newly formed Hucknall Daytime Voices group who were invited to perform at the Jon Godber Centre’s Christmas fair last Sunday – you were brilliant!

Coming up – Daytime Orchestra Loughborough will be performing at All Saints Church Loughborough on Tuesday 06 December at 11:30 as part of their Christmas Tree Festival. The concert is free and they will finish with a carol singalong! Please come along, it will be a wonderful way to kick off a month of festivities.

We are busy putting together the music and information packs for Blow the Dust and are particularly looking forward to hearing the orchestra perform the overture to Dr Miracle by Bizet. In typical operatic fashion, Dr Miracle is a bizarre story about how forbidden love is overcome with the use of a poisoned omelette! There is even an entire quartet dedicated to the serving of the omelette.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to pay homage to the humble omelette – there are still places available on Blow the Dust, click here for more information and here to sign up. And don’t forget to tell your friends!

On Saturday 26 November, Bingham and District Choral Society will be joining forces with Mansfield Choral Society and the Nottingham Symphony Orchestra to celebrate their 50^th Jubilee with a Last Night of the Proms concert at Southwell Minster. Why not join them to celebrate this Golden Jubilee milestone? Full details attached or on their website here.

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

21/11/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 7th November 2022

7th November 2022 Music for Everyone

Music for Everyone’s twice-annual mega youth event – The Big Youth Music Experience – kicked off its Autumn course with a bang this weekend. Over 150 young people, dozens of volunteers, five conductors, six instrumental tutors and many, many custard creams all assembled at South Notts Academy for a weekend of amazing music-making!

Bandwise 1 and 2 and Stringwise 1, 2 and 3 spent Saturday and Sunday preparing for next Sunday’s concert spectacular at the Albert Hall.

Tomorrow, November 7th, marks the 139^th Birthday of legendary British composer Arnold Bax. Why not celebrate with this gorgeous recording of his masterpiece ‘Tintagel’? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FX95ET4qSI

Incidentally, if you were interested in hearing this live, why not check out the Charnwood Orchestra’s concert on 26^th November! Details on the flyer.

Did you know that some new works by Vivaldi have been found? Musicologist Olivier Fourés has painstakingly reconstructed fragments of manuscripts found in libraries in Venice of works by composers including Antonio Vivaldi. The reconstructed works will be heard for the first time on an album coming out this month, featuring Ukrainian violinist Vadym Makarenko. Read the full story here.

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

07/11/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/best-halloween-classical-music-for-children/

#MfEMonday – 31st October 2022

31st October 2022 Music for Everyone

Greetings from us all at MfE!

We hope that all our daytime groups enjoyed the half-term break and are raring to go this week. Just a reminder that even though Christmas still seems a little way off, we are open for bookings for our spectacular family concert in the Albert Hall on Sunday 11^th December. Daytime Voices places are flying off the shelves, and the office elves are getting ready to stuff your musical stockings (ok – envelopes), so if you haven’t already sent your form in, please do so in the next week or so – and bring a friend or loved one too!

Remember that even if you can’t join us to sing, the concert is a fabulous family affair to get you in the mood, with plenty of well-known songs as well as new ones to enjoy. Our Vocals course is also filling up fast with 70+ young people already signed up, so do spread the words if you know primary aged children who love to sing, we heard that Father Christmas has put the date in his diary too…!

For further details, visit our website: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/

Need some spooky music to get you and the children in the mood for ‘Trick or Treat’ing tonight?

Have a listen to these 13 (unlucky for some!) Halloween pieces for children – it might give you some inspiration for your costume! Let us know if you’ve got a good musical-themed one…

If practical jokes are more your thing, why not try and catch your musical friends out with the ‘scariest phrases to say to a musician’! Sight-transposing anyone? ARGH! https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/scariest-musician-phrases/

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

31/10/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/blow-the-dust-off-your-instrument-3/

#MfEMonday – 24th October 2022

24th October 2022 Music for Everyone

November is just around the corner, that must mean that MfE Christmas and 2023 events are now open for booking!

Concerts

Nottingham Chamber Singers present A Mystical Christmas at 3.30pm on Sunday 4^th December at St Mary the Virgin Church in Bunny.

Christmas is Coming! On Sunday 11^th December, members of the MfE ‘singing family’ come together for MfE’s annual Christmas concert at the Albert Hall, Nottingham, featuring a special appearance from Father Christmas! Children tickets are just £5 each.

Further details and ticket booking link for concerts can be found here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/whats-on/concerts/

Workshops/Courses

Christmas Vocals – open to all primary aged singers, a singing afternoon on Saturday 10^th December, then join the Christmas is Coming concert to perform on Sunday 11^th December! https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/vocals-christmas-is-coming/

Nottingham Community Voices – Christmas. Members of Daytime Voices and Community Voices are invited to join Vocals on Sunday 11^th December at the Albert Hall, Nottingham for MfE’s annual Christmas concert. Optional rehearsals from 28^th November, https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/christmas-is-coming-daytime-voices/

Blow the Dust off your Instrument Saturday 7^th January 2023

Nottingham Festival Chorus workshop weekend and concert 28/29 January & 4 February 2023

https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/nfc-course-weekend/

The Nottingham Festival Chorus will be celebrating the 150^th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams in their next event, a singing weekend course and concert in January/February 2023, performing the stunning work Toward the Unknown Region.

The anniversary itself is being commemorated and celebrated throughout 2022 (our celebration comes a little later than the actual anniversary!) with October being the anniversary of his birth.

A champion of music-making in the community, he was a central figure to British musical life. His work The Lark Ascending is regularly voted the UK’s favourite classical work, and he was well known for writing for most major forms of genre in music, including film and stage.

Have a listen to brighten a rainy Monday to The Lark Ascending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR2JlDnT2l8

Bake Off fever has hit the office again, we’ve been enjoying some musical puns linked to baking – this one in particular made us giggle!

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

24/10/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 17th October 2022

17th October 2022 Music for Everyone

Call out for singers!

Josh and the Loughborough Daytime Orchestra are on the look-out for some keen singers to come and join their almost-Christmas concert on the morning of Tuesday 6^th December at All Saints Church Loughborough. This will be a chance to join MfE’s wonderful Loughborough Orchestra in some festive music and sing in one Leicestershire’s most historic and beautiful parish churches! Please contact us if you’re interested!

Choral Librarian

Following 15 years’ sterling work organising our vast collection of choral music, Jen Adams has stepped down as choral librarian. This means we are looking for a new volunteer to fill Jen’s rather large shoes (proverbially speaking, of course…) If you have an urge to organise, a desire to detail or a craving to catalogue, we want to hear from you!

As we approach the autumnal equinox on Friday, we are enjoying this gorgeous playlist of Autumnal-inspired music.https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/classical-pieces-inspired-by-autumn/

Horn Players – please see the attached flyer for British Horn Festival 2022, taking place in November in Birmingham!

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

17/10/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 10th October 2022

10th October 2022 Music for Everyone

The Music for Everyone family would like to thank Robin Reece-Crawford for his contributions to the organisation over many years, as he has decided to leave his current role as Senior Adult Co-ordinator. Robin’s first involvement was as part of the first choral event (Verdi Requiem) in July 1983. He enjoyed singing in the East of England Chamber Choir for years and became a member of the core staff team over eight years ago. Robin has worked in various capacities within the charity and will be missed. Although he is stepping away from his current role he is looking forward to continuing to sing at festival choir events. Well done for organising a hugely successful event on Saturday with Brian Kay, which was a sell-out. We wish you all the best in your next chapter Robin!

Jen Adams has been volunteering with Music for Everyone for fifteen years. She has supported the organisation as choral librarian, she has catalogued all our music, doing a wonderful job. Jen has been singing with us for many years and will continue to sing. We look forward to seeing her at future events and would like to say a big thank you!

Both Robin and Jen were thanked formally at a presentation on Saturday at the NUT Clifton Campus in the middle of the Brian Kay event. We wish you the very best for your future endeavours.

What a fabulous way to spend a Saturday. Singers enjoyed a stimulating day of choral music with former King Singer, Brian Kay including works by Chilcott, Dyson and Vaughan Williams.

Instruments looking for a new home – do you know anyone who might like this clarinet or cello? For further details please contact su@music-for-everyone.org

Today is ‘World Mental Health Day’ so we thought it would be a good opportunity to shine a spotlight on the many ways that music can benefit our mental health and wellbeing. It has been found to reduce stress, manage pain, help us to sleep better, improve our motivation, enhance our mood and help reduce symptoms of depression.

According to the charity Mind, researchers found that music releases dopamine, the feel-good chemical in your brain. It also found that this feel-good chemical goes up 9% when listening to music you enjoy. Powerful stuff.

Music-making exercises the brain as well as the body, but singing is particularly beneficial. Here are some of the reasons that singing in a group is particularly good for our wellbeing:

Increases confidence and promotes creativity
Builds community and a sense of belonging
Combats anxiety and is a natural antidepressant
Strengthens immunity and cuts down on illness
Produces endorphins and makes you feel energised
Reduces stress and helps you sleep better
Teaches posture, improves breathing and gives your body a workout
Boosts circulation an can help you live longer
Improves morale and fosters a sense of achievement

No wonder then that social singing is now being prescribed by doctors! We totally approve so let’s get everyone singing!!

The insanely talented singer/songwriter Jacob Collier got his audience singing in 3 part harmony at a recent gig and the effect is spine-tingling: https://youtu.be/3KsF309XpJo

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

10/10/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/classical-music-for-exercise-workout/

#MfEMonday – 3rd October 2022

3rd October 2022 Music for Everyone

We are really looking forward to welcoming Brian Kay back to conduct our Nottingham Festival Chorus workshop this Saturday. There are only a few spaces left for this marvellous opportunity to explore Bob Chilcott’s Dances of Time, George Dyson’s Three Songs of Praise and Vaughan Williams’ Linden Lea.

For more details click here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/autumn-singing-workshop-day/

Has this weekend’s marathon coverage inspired you to get active? If, like me, you’re a lifelong gym-avoider, perhaps these tunes chosen by ClassicFM will be the motivation you need to get moving!

And if high-octane cardio is not your thing, how about a bit of Erik Satie while you practice your downward dog, or some gentle stretches to one of Chopin’s Nocturnes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NDyhOCetQg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29JUpsOSTE

Research has shown that ‘Gonna Fly Now’ – the theme from Rocky – has proven to be a popular choice when exercising and helps motivate runners! Our young Bandwise and Stringwise players will be performing a special arrangement of this tune in the next Big Youth Music Experience concert in November! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioE_O7Lm0I4

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

03/10/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 12th September 2022

12th September 2022 Music for Everyone

A message from John Hess, Chair of MfE Trustees:

MfE Founder, Angela Kay, the trustees and staff of “Music for Everyone” would like to extend our sincere condolences to the King and Queen Consort and the entire Royal Family, for their personal loss. We are deeply saddened at the news of The Queen’s death, and we join the nation in mourning Her Majesty’s passing and also in celebrating her remarkable life of service and duty.

After wide consultation and in line with official guidance, we intend to go ahead with our singing and music group activities next week and throughout the national mourning period.

However, there will be a minute’s silence of reflection at the start of each session, and MfE groups and activities on the day of The Queen’s funeral will be cancelled. The MfE office will also be closed.

On behalf of the MfE family, we offer the Royal Family our heartfelt condolences and share with them our grief at their loss.

As John has already mentioned, all regular groups will be starting rehearsals again this week, except for Loughborough Daytime Orchestra as All Saints Church is open to the public for quiet reflection this week.

The youth members met yesterday for an Activity Day to welcome everyone back to the new term, here are some pictures of our day, with rehearsals followed by a tram journey and Adventure Golf at Highfields Park!

Your friends at MfE.

12/09/2022

www.music-for-everyone.org | 0115 9589312

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF