#MfEMonday – 16th May 2022

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10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://youtu.be/VviWab5J2ao

#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 – 9th May 2022

9th May 2022 Music for Everyone

If you follow MfE on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) you may have seen a lot of activity last Thursday when we spent a ‘Day in the Life of…’ following Josh on his busiest day working for MfE. Josh conducts the Daytime Orchestras, Thursday youth bands, Strictly Strings groups and accompanies the Lunchtime Voices – a total of six groups! Four of these groups meet on a Thursday and we posted regular updates so everyone can see a typical day in the MfE world!

Here is a recap of his pictures for those that missed it or were not able to see it. In between many rehearsals, Josh pops into the office for an admin catch up and a trip to Windblowers to collect some music!

If you don’t already follow us, all the links to join Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are at the bottom of this e-newsletter.

As we move into May with the first glimmers of summer on the horizon, surely we should have a spring in our step and joy and hopefulness in our hearts? Unfortunately with the cost of living crisis, the various debacles in Westminster and ongoing situation in Ukraine, you might be feeling less than positive at the moment!

However, here at MFE, we firmly believe in the life changing and affirming power of music, and it would seem that we are not alone in this thinking –

“Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music”. – George Eliot

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything”. – Plato

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which nature cannot do without”. – Confucius

“As long as we live, there is never enough singing”. – Martin Luther

Most of us will have experienced a situation when listening to music or participating in music-making has brought much-needed relief or sense of perspective back into our lives. When we came across this video of the Kiev Symphony Orchestra playing Ukrainian composer Maksym Berezovsky’s Symphony No. 1, it certainly blew away some of the storm clouds away and let the warmth of the sunshine appear again. Enjoy!

If you have a spare few minutes, why not try your hand at this Guess the Classical Composer quiz? Let us know if you get them all correct. Good luck! https://youtu.be/H2H0IoBB5os

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

09/05/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 25th April 2022

25th April 2022 Music for Everyone

Greetings after yet another wonderful weekend of MfE music-making!

Saturday and Sunday saw the massed forces of the Nottingham Community Voices (featuring singers from our various daytime voices groups plus members from the Lunchtime Voices, Nottingham Chamber Singers and various other community choirs around the county), combining in a truly stunning ‘chorus line’ for our West End to Broadway musicals course.

Our singers worked hard on their renditions of the romantic and sumptuous scores of My Fair Lady and The King and I, along with smooth and sensual excerpts by the legendary Irving Berlin, before rounding it all off with their riotous rabble of revolutionaries in Les Miserables! They were accompanied by the stunning Nottingham Concert Orchestra, who serenaded us with a string of Broadway hits, including a heart-rending suite from Bernstein’s West Side Story. It was an absolute treat. Adding a little extra shimmer and sparkle to all of this, were the fantastic talents of Simon Theobald and Kate Taylor, whose performances left us simultaneously rolling in the aisles and weeping into our programmes. It was a triumph – huge congratulations to everyone involved!

Our Vocals weekend is next. With expert tuition from Alison Bennett and Rachel Parkes, this is an absolute steal at only £15.00 for the entire event (two workshop afternoons and a concert afternoon). Please tell all the young people (of primary school age) in your lives that it will be a wonderful chance to learn some new and entertaining music, as well as some well-known Disney tunes from Moana. These massed musical events tend to be formative in our experiences and memories, so help us to spread the word. We know you will want to come and support them in their concert on Saturday 21^st May – tickets are available on our website.

Finally for those instrumentalists amongst you, our Summer Blow the Dust day is fast approaching. Tell your friends, or even bring someone along from out of town … it’s a wonderful day to relax, enjoy and bond with other like-minded orchestral players out there! If you fancy an extended chance to waggle those clarinet keys or refine your ‘ricochet’, then our Summer School is for you. More details available at www.music-for-everyone.org

With the sun shining, our minds at MfE are turning to our Summer School. We are really looking forward to returning to Trent College and hopefully enjoying their lovely grounds in the sunshine. If you haven’t yet decided whether to come along, let us motivate you with a few facts about Vaughan William’s, who’s music we will be exploring to mark the 150^th anniversary of his birth:

He was well connected; His great-uncle was Charles Darwin, and ceramics magnate Josiah Wedgewood was his great-great-grandfather.
During the Second World War, he is rumoured to have done a stint of cleaning at the local public toilets in Dorking.
The composer never took his privileged background for granted and worked all his life for democratic and egalitarian ideals. He viewed music as being part of everyone’s everyday life, rather than being the preserve of an elite. Something we wholeheartedly agree with at MfE!

As the French Presidential Elections closed yesterday, we found it fitting that the French national anthem was composed on this day in 1792, here is Berlioz’s arrangement ‘La Marseillaise’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZWabwLPUXc

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

25/04/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.music-for-everyone.org/

#MfEMonday – 11th April 2022

11th April 202211th April 2022 Music for Everyone

The MfE groups are taking a well-deserved break for Easter after a busy Spring term.

While the groups are off, the artistic and office team are busy prepping for a wonderful summer term full of music – all the details can be found on our website, below is a quick overview of what is coming up!

Musicals course and concert – 23/24 April
Vocals course and concert – 14/15 & 21 May
Blow the Dust playing day – 11 June
NFC Jubilee workshop and concert – 25/26 June
Summer School – 8/9/10 August

We’re sure you are all familiar with the traditional Easter Egg (painted/decorated/chocolate/etc!) but we’ve found out some interesting facts about the ‘other’ type of easter egg… the ones that double as secret or hidden messages in music.

One of the first composers to do this was J.S. Bach and he hid one Easter Egg so well, it wasn’t discovered for 250 years in his Mass in B
Minor!

He would often sign his name into his music B A C H as an ‘easter egg’ (in German notation, the letter H is used for B natural, and B is used for B flat). Whether these were always intentional will never be known, but it seems to most experts that he would add them to the beginning or end of a piece as a ‘signing off’.

Do you know of any others that he hid his name in?

Bach: Mass in B Minor – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FLbiDrn8IE

And for Easter, here is Bach’s St John Passion, composed in 1724 for the Good Friday Vespers service in the same year – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMf9XDQBAaI&t=4s

Happy Easter from the MfE Team!

Quiz time! Can you work out the John Williams film from these emojis? Some are easier than others… https://www.classicfm.com/lifestyle/quizzes/john-williams-film-score-emojis/

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

11/04/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMondays – 4th April 2022

4th April 2022 Music for Everyone

Congratulations to both Daytime Orchestras (Loughborough and Nottingham) for their fantastic end of term performances last week. Josh is incredibly proud of you all and looking forward to attacking the new repertoire in the summer term. New players are always welcome, especially in the string and brass sections!! If you know of anyone who might be interested please let them know. For more details visit: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/whats-on/adult-music/daytime-orchestra/ or email josh@music-for-everyone.org

The Lullaby Bank has also had another successful term. Working in partnership with Inspire, Rachel Parkes has been leading the sessions for babies aged 0-9 months and their parents in West Bridgford and Beeston libraries. The groups offer the chance to sing and listen to melodies from around the world and provide a calm space for parents to bond with their babies. More details about the groups can be found via this link: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/health-well-being/the-lullaby-bank/

Musicians worldwide have been joining forces to show their solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Violinists from around the world have joined together to perform the Ukrainian folk song “Verbovaya Doschechka”. Illia Bondarenko a violinist in Kyiv filmed himself playing in a basement shelter along with nine other young violinists sheltering in Ukraine. They were accompanied in harmony by 94 violinists from 29 countries. He had to film in between the explosions because he could not hear himself play. https://youtu.be/mQSIeD-x6dQ

The sheet music is available to download here for anyone on any instrument who wishes to create their own recording to raise support for those affected by the crisis.

In Nottingham last weekend members of the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra and friends joined together to play at the Brian Clough statue just off the Market Square. They performed the Ukrainian National Anthem and You Will Never Walk Alone to raise money for Ukrainian refugees.

If you’re in need of a soothing lullaby here is a jazzy take on the classic Brahms Lullaby by legendary pianist Dave Brubeck recorded as a gift to his grandchildren: https://youtu.be/fzLDcX-lG98

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

04/04/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 28th March 2022

28th March 2022 Music for Everyone

A wonderful time was had by all on Saturday at our Family Sing day! It was a great turn out, in spite of fears that the glorious weather may tempt people away from singing and into the garden! A huge thank you and well done to all the children, parents, grandparents, friends and families who came along. We hope you enjoyed it just as much as we did!

Daytime Concerts!

This week our fantastic Daytime Orchestras are both giving informal concerts under the baton of our Principal Instrumental Animateur Josh,

to mark the end of the Spring term. Do come along to All Saint’s Church, Loughborough to hear music by Dvorak, Coates, Strauss and more on Tuesday 29th at 11am, and to St Martin’s Church, Sherwood, to hear works Schumann, Sibelius, Mendelssohn and more on Thursday 31st at 11am.

Beethoven lovers – Bookwise still has the Beethoven Book list available and the CD list is now also available from the donation of the gentleman lover and devotee of Beethoven who is terminally ill. Please email Jane McDermott at jachmcd@gmail.com and she will email you lists – available on a first come, first served basis.

As the end of our Spring Term nears, and we complete our regular groups’ end-of-term concerts this week, we are reminded of our favourite Leonard Bernstein quotation:

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.”

Tomorrow, 29^th March, marks 120 years since the birth of celebrated British composer William Walton (1902-1983). We are delighted to be including his rousing Agincourt Song in the programme for our summer school, for which places can be booked here. In case you need a bit of get and up and go this Monday, here’s his equally rousing Spitfire Prelude and Fugue — guaranteed to help you attack this week’s to-do list!

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

28/03/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

Johannes Brahms – Lullaby

#MfEMonday – 21st March 2022

21st March 2022 Music for Everyone

On Saturday afternoon, the MfE youth bands put on their end of term concert, Bandtastic! at West Bridgford Methodist Church. All 3 groups performed individual items as well as joint pieces they had been working on throughout the term and the result was a brilliant concert enjoyed by all!

As part of the concert, MfE’s Instrumental Animateur Josh Goodman arranged a piece especially for the adult player helpers who give their time each week to support our young players.

The chosen piece, Melodia, was written by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk and recently featured as an encore by the CBSO in concert. Here is a recording of our performance on Saturday on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/n9yPun9pN10

This week, we are preparing for the Family Sing, taking place this coming Saturday 26^th March at Kingswood Methodist Church in Wollaton.

We still have spaces left for families to attend – children, mums, dads, aunts, uncles, grandparents – bring everyone! More detail and how to sign up here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/family-sing-workshop/

We love a playlist at MfE, so here’s one to help you celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday.

Perhaps the most recognisable piece associated with mothers, this gentle little number has been soothing babies to sleep since its first performance in 1869.

Richard Strauss – Muttertändelei

This rapid-fire tongue twister captures the joy of a new mother who would not give her child away ‘for all the coins in the world’.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – O Zittre Nicht, Mein Lieber Sohn

The aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute is a comforting song from mother to son that translates as “Tremble not, my dear son / You are innocent, wise, pious.”

Anton Dvořák’s – Songs My Mother Taught Me

A song of love spanning generations. A young woman recalls hearing a lullaby from her mother, and then completes the cycle by singing it to her own child.

Schumann’s – Frauenliebe und Leben

The song-cycle chronicles a woman’s experience of finding love, marrying, and having children. An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust (On my Heart, on my Breast) is a dance-like, joyous expression of the mother’s joy over her newborn.

Edvard Grieg – Grandmother’s Minuet

Don’t forget Grandma! Grieg certainly didn’t with this piano piece. It’s unclear whether it was written specifically for his own grandmother, but we still think it deserves a place on this list!

Click here to have your say in the battle of the coluratura! Our money is on Diana Damrau for full-on Queen of the Night drama, or (for the Harry Potter fans amongst you) Kathryn Lewek for channelling pure Bellatrix Lestrange vibes!

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

21/03/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 14th March 2022

14th March 2022 Music for Everyone

MfE Review of 2020-21
Yesterday the MfE AGM took place via Zoom. The meeting ended with an entertaining review of the MfE Year 2020-21 on our YouTube channel. If you would like to watch it then please, just click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mCtQsBBvDA

It’s an enjoyable watch – get the popcorn out!

This coming Saturday afternoon, 19^th March, MfE’s three youth bands have their Easter concert – Bandtastic! – at West Bridgford Methodist Church. For an afternoon of great windband music, find out more on our website! Tickets will be available on the door: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/youth-bandtastic/

Musicals course (Saturday 23 April) and concert (Sunday 24^th April).
We are in the process of sorting out all the music for our Musicals course. If you haven’t signed up and would like to come along and sing some of the best music from well-known Musicals then it’s not too late! Just visit our website https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/ncm-come-and-sing/ download the attached form or give our office a ring on 0115 958 9312 – we would love to see you there.

The 75^th BAFTAs took place yesterday, celebrating the best in film from the past year.

Amongst the winners were several musical films, including brand new music and the remake of a classic!

You may well have heard of new animated film Encanto (almost definitely if you have children and grandchildren!) This gets a mention regularly in our office, here’s a catchy song from the film to keep your Monday afternoon going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQwVKr8rCYw

Another big winner of the night was a story we all know well… the remake of West Side Story has received high praise and brings back those classic songs, including this one that needs no introduction! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoQEddtFN3Q

Did anyone else see the chihuahua performing a routine from Swan Lake at this year’s Crufts? (Yes, it really did happen…) They entered the ‘Heelwork to Music’ category, see a snippet here https://www.classicfm.com/composers/tchaikovsky/chihuahua-swan-lake-crufts/?fbclid=IwAR1QDWnj8bmHjF61j1vmnxeSwwPlgKWBbYkXkrkBek14fV_vDNeC6l_6-94

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

14/03/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 7th March 2022

7th March 2022 Music for Everyone

This weekend has been a busy one for MFE. Saturday saw the Nottingham Chamber Singers giving a concert in St Mary Magdalene Church, Hucknall. The first half was a performance of John Rutter’s Requiem with Sarah Trevers singing the soprano solo in the Pie Jesu and Lux Aeterna. The second half included a series of part songs by Schumann and Brahms and local composer Guy Turner’s Songs and Legends of Robin Hood.

Sunday was the culmination of our Big Youth Music Experience with a concert in the Albert Hall for family and friends. The 160 young players of the Stringwise and Bandwise groups gave sterling performances of music by Telemann, Holst, Bernstein, Bizet, to name but a few. The concert ended with all the players coming together in a special arrangement by Josh Goodman of the Frank Sinatra classic New York, New York.

The opening ceremony of the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games got underway at the National Stadium in Beijing on Friday night. Themed “Inspiration,” the countdown performance had two parts – Looking back at the history of the Paralympic Games and the Inspiration of the Paralympic Spirit.

These ceremonies always have spectacular dance and music presentations, and this year was no exception. However, you may not be aware of a dynamic arts organisation which is based much closer to home. The vision of Able Orchestra is to create a totally inclusive ensemble of disabled and non-disabled musicians. From its origins as an “iPad orchestra” for profoundly disabled students in North Nottinghamshire, Able Orchestra has expanded to bring together diverse young musicians and emerging music leaders with world-class professional artists from a range of music and digital genres.

Have a look at this introductory video to see what fantastic work they are doing –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkJt2pottZY&t=109s

Two local concerts you might be interested in…
Friday March 11th 7:30pm – Mosaic – A concert of music for Unaccompanied Voices. Church of our Lady of Mercy and Philip Neri, Melbourne, Derby DE73 8EJ
Saturday March 12th 7:30pm – Nottingham Symphony Orchestra – American Classics. Albert Hall Nottingham NG1 5AA. Special 25% discount for MFE members – use code MUSICALNOTTS! when booking online http://nottinghamsymphony.org.uk/

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

07/03/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 28th February 2022

28th February 202228th February 2022 Music for Everyone

Spring is finally in the air!! After all the storms and wild weather of February, it finally feels like the warmer weather, longer days and spring flowers are on their way. This week many of us may well be flipping pancakes in a frenzy before choosing to be somewhat more virtuous for Lent. One thing we’re certainly not giving up at MfE is putting on fabulous concerts for your entertainment and delight, and this coming weekend is no exception…

On Saturday 5th March, the Nottingham Chamber Singers (formerly EOES) will be performing a programme of music to soothe your senses, with a springtime theme of reflection, remembrance and renewal. The choir will be joined by an eclectic mix of instrumentalists for their performance of the Rutter Requiem, Brahms Four songs for upper voices, Schumann’s Six songs for lower voices, and local composer Guy Turner’s Songs and legends of Robin Hood. We will also feature two contemporary settings of music set to the texts of Lord Byron, who incidentally is buried in the graveyard of the parish church of Hucknall where the concert is taking place. It promises to be a romantic feast for the senses, we hope you can join us… book your tickets now! 7.30pm concert at St Mary Magdalene Church, Hucknall.

Book tickets online (also available on the door but we do recommend booking in advance!): https://www.music-for-everyone.org/ncs-concert-booking-page/

Happy Pancake Day for tomorrow! How do you like yours? Plain, sweet or savoury?

Here are some musical pancake inspirations if you’re feeling up to a challenge…

In New Orleans and other parts of the world people will be celebrating Mardi-Gras with Carnival on 1st March, so maybe put this wonderful toe-tapping tune on and have a dance around your kitchen whilst you’re flipping your pancakes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na5sXo0Oqhw

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

28/02/2022

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF