#MfEMondays – Paralympics closing ceremonies

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAhfnv-tlss

#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.

#MfEMondays

6th September 2021 Music for Everyone

With the Paralympics coming to a close, this month we have a look at music and musicians at the Paralympics.

Japanese violinist, Manami Ito, undoubtedly brought the 2020 motto ‘United by Emotion’ to life in her show-stealing performance at the opening ceremony in Tokyo, and this isn’t even her day job! After losing her right arm in motorbike accident at the age of 20, Manami went on to defy the odds by not only becoming the first amputee nurse in Japan and competing as a swimmer in the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics, but thirteen years after her accident, with a new lightweight prosthetic arm and a specially made prosthetic bow, returning to playing the violin!

Welcome to the new look MfEMondays! Every week, we will be sharing interesting finds and a quick MfE update with you – we hope you enjoy it!

Our regularly rehearsing youth groups meet again from this week! If you know of any young musicians who are looking for an opportunity to join a group, please tell them about our FREE Come & Try sessions which are happening next week, see the flyer for more details.

At Bookwise Nottingham, we have acquired from donations a lot of Sacred and Secular Sheet Music for various groups of singers from Unison to SSAATTBB Single Choir with some Double Choir pieces. We are unable to sell them in the shop due to lack of space to display them. Some individuals whom I have met at MfE courses have taken some in the past. However, due to lack of storage space in the shop to store the music, we would like to offer the music to any interested groups or individuals, free of charge, asking them to make a donation to Bookwise Nottingham in return.
This offer will be open to anyone interested, MfE members, friends or acquaintances, up to October 16th when it is planned that the remaining items will be brought along. After that time, the music will be recycled. MfE have had access to the music, but it is surplus to their requirements. If you would be interested in seeing a list of the music, please contact me: Jane McDermott, Voluntary Music Manager at Bookwise Nottingham, E mail: jachmcd@gmail.com.

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

06/09/2021

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

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#MfEMondays – Keeping in Touch

30th August 2021 Music for Everyone

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Hello everyone

There seems to be a bit of a nip in the air which means autumn is on its way and it also means Music for Everyone is resuming normal service!

As from September 1^st

the MfE office will be open 5 days a week (Monday to Friday – 10 Goose Gate, Hockley, Nottingham NG1 1FF tel 0115 958 9312)
our regularly rehearsing groups, both adult and youth, are recommencing
a programme of playing and singing workshops have been scheduled for the coming months
‘live’ concerts are back! Saturday 25^th September, 7.30pm at St John’s Church, Beeston – music inspired by Italy including a performance of Handel’s sparkling Dixit Dominus. Flyer attached – more information here https://www.music-for-everyone.org/news/tag/nottingham-chamber-singers

But we have not forgotten that the Covid virus is still about so please be assured that we will be following all government advice and sensible precautions will be taken at our event venues i.e. availability of hand sanitiser, plenty of ventilation and regular breaks for ‘fresh air’. If you wish to wear a mask for added protection whilst moving around then that’s fine.

Attached is a list of dates for the coming months. Please start filling up your diaries and also help ‘spread the word’ to your friends, families and work colleagues of all the musical goodies on offer! Further details can be found on our website https://www.music-for-everyone.org

And finally – as MfE is now back up and running and the staff are no longer furloughed, this will be the last MfEMondays that actually comes from me. I hope that during the last 18 months this e-news has helped you keep in touch with each other and with MfE and that you have enjoyed the many ‘on-line’ activities we have managed to devise – from our ‘challenges’ to our virtual Summer School, our Christmas concert to our on-line choir and orchestra rehearsals and performances.

Thank you for all your support, encouragement and appreciative comments and emails. It’s been a strange time for everyone, but MfE is still here and raring to go!

I very much look forward to seeing you at a Music for Everyone event very soon.

With all best wishes

Angela

Our Adult Singing Workshop (postponed from June) is now taking place on Saturday 16^th October. It is now possible to book for this workshop on line – just click here https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/autumn-singing-workshop-day/

If you have already carried over your enrolment to the October workshop from the postponed one in June then you need not enrol again – we will be in contact with you soon.

Details about our first youth instrumental event – The Big Youth Experience – can also be found on our website https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/big-youth-music-experience

You may remember a while back, we were contacted by someone who was looking to rehome a piano. We had quite a lot of interest in it and I’m pleased to tell you someone else is looking to rehome a piano! If you are interested, please reply to this email and we will put you in touch. The piano is free, but would need collecting and tuning.

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

30/08/2021

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMondays – Keeping in Touch

23rd August 2021 Music for Everyone

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Here we are, approaching the end of August, and after a very cloudy month so far it does look as though the weather is going to buck up – which is good for me as I am going away for a few days to the Cotswolds!

Nothing to report this week really – but, next week I’ll be telling you all about MfE next season!

Enjoy the remainder of the summer.

Angela

For a giggle, here is a hilarious rendition of The Typewriter with soloist Alfredo Anaya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4nX0Xrn-wo

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

23/08/2021

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMondays – Keeping in Touch

16th August 2021 Music for Everyone

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Hello everyone

I hope you are all having a good summer and, if you are able to, enjoying ‘getting away from it all’. All of us who took part in the MfE Summer School last week thoroughly enjoyed doing just that – good music, good company, good weather – what more could you wish for?

Our excellent guest conductors, Hilary Campbell https://www.hilarycampbell.com and Robert Hodge https://www.robert-hodge.com also had a great time – here is a message from them.

Hilary – ‘How wonderful to make live music again! From (not really) Pergolesi to sea shanties to contemporary Slovenian choral works, it was a whirlwind few days, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know and working with you all, and witnessing the sound continue to develop and grow. I hope the ear worms are slowly receding, and fingers crossed for a more normal forthcoming musical season.’

Rob (on Twitter) – ‘What an absolute pleasure to spend a few days with the lovely musicians of Nottingham. MfE is a treasure of an organisation, and making real, actual music again was a joy!’

Our Summer School is always rounded off with a farewell concert and buffet.

Happy memories!

Angela

P.S. The provisional dates for Summer School 2022 are Monday 8th – Wed 10^th August, why not put them in your diary now.

Have you ever wondered how high you can hear? Most people (adults) can hear around 8,000Hz, but as we get older – the ability to hear the higher frequencies decreases. Here is a test to see what the highest frequency is you can hear (Not entirely accurate!) If you can hear over 17,000Hz you might be superhuman! https://bit.ly/3iKXJZ7

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

16/08/2021

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

Summer School – Day 3 The final leg of our European Tour

12th August 202112th August 2021 Music for Everyone

3 incredible days, 4 amazing conductors, 5 beautiful and inspiring concerts, 6 bottles of hand sanitiser, 12 pieces of music, 124 singers and instrumentalists, 184 sandwiches, 240 cocktail sausages, 425 photos and 628 cups of tea and coffee and that’s Summer School 2021!

The third and final day began with an unexpected warm up on the field for the singers when the fire alarm went off (false alarm!). After a few vocal exercises and stretches in the sunshine with Hilary, it’s back into the Chapel for performance preparation ahead of the Showcase Concert.

Meanwhile, the orchestra are settling into the Obolensky Building where the evening concert is to take place, to run through and polish their chosen performance items with Rob.
After the morning break with tea, coffee and biscuits in the sunshine, the wind band and strings focus on their pieces with Gill and Rob respectively – with some of the eager (and occasionally over-enthusiastic!) MfE team joining the percussion section for the wind band piece and Assistant Artistic Director Rachel shining on the tambourine!

Our final guest artist in the Lunchtime Recital programme is Summer School accompanist Richard Cox. We managed to coax him out from behind the choir and take us all on a whistle-stop tour of Europe with stunning performances of piano works by Bach, Dvorak, Debussy and Ravel.

The afternoon rehearsals include orchestra and choir coming together to rehearse the big finale joint item, then it’s concert time!

The Concert Programme

Brahms – Hungarian Rhapsody No.5 Full Orchestra
Trad. arr. Zimmerman – The Wellerman Choir
Makor – O Lux Beata Trinitas Choir
Mozart – Sinfonietta Strings
Holst – 1st Suite in Eb for Military Band Wind band
Pergolesi – Magnificat Choir and Strings
Faure – Cantique de Jean Racine Choir and Strings
Reed – El Camino Real Wind band
Hamilton – La Danza Espanol Strings
Strauss – Thunder and Lightning Polka Full Orchestra
Beethoven – Ode to Joy Combined Orchestra and Choir

An emotional end to the concert, for many, this is their first concert in well over a year, if not longer! MfE are also sad to say goodbye to Windband Animateur, Gill Henshaw, who will be leaving her role at the end of the summer to return to full-time teaching. She will be back at MfE events though, she can’t get rid of us that easy!

The performance over, it’s time to tuck into the buffet (which includes the 240 cocktail sausages!) and relax with a drink and a chat with fellow musicians and reflect on the past three days and celebrate the joyful return to music-making.

And that’s it for Summer 2021! Finally, we would just like to say a huge THANK YOU to all our guests and conductors from this week – Chris, Gill, Hilary, Rachel, Richard, Robert and Sam. This years venue, Trent College – amazing support and staff that have helped out. Also to all the singers, players and helpers that came along – thank you for continuing your support of Music for Everyone, particularly over the past eighteen months and we hope to see you all again very soon!

MfE Summer School – Day 2 in pictures

10th August 202110th August 2021 Music for Everyone

The sun shone today for another spectacular day of music making at Summer School

Our guest artist Chris Swann worked with Gill and the wind band on Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No.2, performed to the strings and choir at the end of the day in a special sharing concert of pieces not included in Wednesday’s Showcase Concert

The singers worked with both Hilary and Rachel today – and were treated to a short recital by Rachel accompanied by Richard

MfE Summer School 2021 – So good to be back!

9th August 2021 Music for Everyone

After months of planning and wondering if it would indeed go ahead, the Music for Everyone Summer School for adult instrumentalists and singers returned with a bang today – and how wonderful it was to see everyone!

Trent College, Long Eaton – the setting for the MfE Summer School

This year seemed doubly exciting as well with a 2 year build up from the last course in 2019. We are thrilled to be back at Trent College in Long Eaton this year with 3 days of marvellous music making ahead with this years theme ‘A Grand European Tour’…

Day 1 – The best way to start Summer School is with morning teas, coffees and pastries, making sure everyone is well-fuelled for a busy day. Then it’s time to split into choir and orchestra and begin working together on the pieces that (hopefully!) everyone has been practicing at home.

We are joined this year by wonderful guest conductors, Hilary Campbell and Rob Hodge. Hilary is working with the choir, taking a tour of Europe with pieces by Faure, Beethoven and more. A final addition to their repertoire is ‘The Wellerman’ – a lilting sea shanty from New Zealand.

The orchestra, expertly led by Rob, take their European tour with Hungarian Dances, a Mozart Sinfonietta (strings) and Latin vibes with El Camino Real (windband with MfE Animateur Gill Henshaw).

Morning breaktime and the tea and coffee team have started the annual tally of how many cups will be poured this year. (results to be announced later in the week!) Luckily the weather stayed dry and the sun chose the best moments to appear as everyone enjoyed catching up.

The first guest artist of the Summer School is Sam Sweeney, local folk fiddling superstar from Nottingham and a past Stringwise player in his youth! Sam performed a lunchtime concert with many foot-tapping folk tunes and stories of music to be discovered.

The strings were then treated to a folk workshop with Sam, learning phrases by ear (no sheet music allowed!) and breaking down the basics of folk fiddling – adding a ‘new string to their bow’ (couldn’t quite resist that pun…!)

Squeeze in another cup of tea and coffee (and a biscuit of course!) and one final rehearsal and that’s day 1! So much more to look forward to with special guest artists Chris Swann and Summer School accompanist Richard Cox performing lunchtime recitals over the next 2 days, not forgetting the Showcase Concert on Wednesday evening and the much anticipated buffet! Check back later in the week for another instalment of Summer School 2021…

#MfEMondays – Keeping in Touch

9th August 2021 Music for Everyone

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Hello everyone,

It’s MfE Summer School time! And as we come to the end of our 1^st day, everyone is a little tired but really looking forward to two more days of making music together. And the sunny weather is forecast to continue over the next couple of days – hooray!

Today we all marvelled at the folk fiddling wizardry of guest soloist Sam Sweeney. Sam originates from the Nottingham area and used to come on our Stringwise courses – it’s amazing what some of our youth players have achieved – fantastic!

We have also very much enjoyed the rehearsals taken by our excellent visiting conductors, Hilary Campbell (choir) and Robert Hodge (orchestra). And there is so much more to come – exciting!

Here are a few photos of what we have been up to.

Angela

Sam Sweeney’s ‘tune sharing’ and folk workshop.

The singers enjoying a tea/coffee break before heading back to rehearsal with Hilary Campbell

The orchestra finishing off their first day with guest conductor Robert Hodge

If you’d like to see more of what is happening at this years Summer School, take a look at our blog, which we will update this week with lots of photos! https://www.music-for-everyone.org/about-us/blog/

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

09/08/2021

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – on a Tuesday!

3rd August 2021 Music for Everyone

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Hello everyone,

First of all, I’m sorry this ‘Keeping in Touch’ email is arriving in your mailbox a day late – my fault – just slipped my mind to press the button to get it sent out to you all!

Last week saw the annual MfE staff and office helpers SUMMER PICNIC. This tradition was started almost 15yrs ago and goes ahead no matter what the weather (I particularly remember a very soggy occasion in West Bridgford Park!) and Wollaton Park has been the venue for the past few years. The number of people coming along has gradually been augmented by the arrival of various children and grandchildren!

The picnic is usually rounded off by a game of football, rounders or cricket and here are a few photos of this year’s cricket match. Our general manager, Su is helping her little girl, Lucy to bat and some of my grandsons are in the field!

So with the picnic last week and the MfE Summer School next week I feel that Summer has well and truly arrived!

Enjoy the sun.

With all best wishes

Angela

If you, like us, have been watching the Olympics in Japan at the moment, you’ll know how exciting it’s been! But did you know there were many different genres of music included in the opening ceremony? From hymns to video game music, here’s a look at all the music for Tokyo 2020. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/tokyo-2020-opening-ceremony-music/

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

02/08/2021

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF