aviva-community-fund-banner-600x160Voting is open!

We have applied for £5000 for our SOUND WAVES  – music for wellbeing – programme, now we need your votes to (hopefully) bring that money to Music for Everyone:

  • more Open Voices (singing groups for adults with learning disabilities)
  • music sessions for teenagers with cancer in the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, QMC
  • and other projects currently in the planning stages

Hogarth-nurse-base210 votes are allocated to every registered email address. We hope you’ll use all 10 (which you can) for Sound Waves and share your love of music-making.

Click on VOTE and, well, vote. Vote in less time than it takes to make a cuppa. Persist if the site’s busy, or try again later.

DSC04631Ask your friends, relatives, colleagues, fellow dog walkers, shop assistants, the postman, anyone you can think of, to vote, vote, vote for SOUND WAVES! Let’s share the joy of music-making! And copy and paste this link https://www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk/voting/project/view/17-4115  into an email, send a ’round robin’ to your entire address book asking them to vote too. You get the picture.

 

 

Never mind the nights drawing in, come to a glittering afternoon concert of choral and orchestral music associated with coronations and fireworks, Sunday 29 October 2017, 3.30pm, Nottingham’s Albert Hall. Tickets: (Green button at bottom of link page)

The concert features the Nottingham Festival Chorus, East of England Singers and Nottingham Concert Orchestra, and four very special soloists, all of whom were once singers and players in Music for Everyone’s youth groups and events. They are now all professional musicians.

We are delighted to welcome them back, particularly in this our Year of Youth. Huge efforts are going into offering music making to younger people, many of whom have fewer opportunities for music in schools compared with some years ago, when instruments were loaned, lessons were free, and there was time in the school day for many musical activities. THANK YOU to everyone who has kindly donated so far to help us with this work.

Ruth Provost copy

Ruth Provost, soprano

Emily Hodkinson

Emily Hodkinson, mezzo-soprano

AT-18 copy

Adam Torrance, tenor

Geoff Williams copy

Geoff Williams, baritone

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruth was a cellist Stringwise participant and later a member of the youth string orchestra. Whilst reading music at Cambridge, she decided to pursue a career in singing. As well as solo performances she has worked with leading choirs – The Sixteen and The Tallis Scholars, to name but two. She is a ‘local’, living in Southwell.

Emily recently graduated from the University of York, where she was awarded the highest Finals Recital mark in her year. She has a career in opera as well as oratoria and  solo performances. She sang in MfE Nottingham Youth Voices and East Midlands Youth Voices when a choral scholar at St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham.

Adam is currently a fellow at Guidhall School of Music and Drama, where he also studied. He performs operatic roles with a wide variety of companies and is also an accomplished song and oratorio singer. Additionally he is an assistant director. He, along with Geoff, was one the first members of MfE’s Youth Choir, which he enjoyed very much.

Geoff is an accomplished soloist who sings with some of the top London choirs, including Westminster Cathedral, and also enjoys operatic roles. He received a Masters with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music. He has fond memories of his membership of MfE’s Nottingham Youth Choir, where he enjoyed the ambitious and varied repertoire chosen by their then conductor, Jane McDouall.

But back to the concert: The first half is devoted to George Frideric Handel, who was granted British citizenship by act of parliament in 1727. His sparkling Music for the Royal Fireworks is a great concert favourite. Two of his jubilant Coronation Anthems, including Zadok the Priest, will be conducted by another special guest, Jakob Grubbström, who recently conducted the much praised East of England Singers’ concert. The second half opens in the baroque period with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto 3, which has what must be the shortest second movement in the entire classical repertoire – two chords, and if you’re lucky, a short improvisation! This is followed by Mozart’s joyful Coronation Mass, complete with MfE alumni soloists and conductor and MfE Artistic Director, Angela Kay.

Tickets: (Green button at bottom of link page)

 

angelakayHello everyone

As many of you know, this coming Saturday there is gong to be something ‘rather special’ happening at St John’s Church Carrington!  A very rare opportunity to hear a rich variety of both thrilling and soothing music performed by a leading chamber choir, interpreted and conducted by a Swedish conductor, Jakob Grubbström. Do come along if you possibly can, it should be a great evening, and if you feel like letting your creative juices flow during the evening, then why not enter the very first MfE Writing Competition!

Concert information and tickets here until Friday 4pm, and on the door, subject to availability. Doors open 6.45pm.

Angela 
Artistic Director, Music for Everyone
Writing Comp p1 Writing Comp p2

DSC03287Stringwise bookings are flying in from people catching the earlybird price. This offer ends tomorrow, places will be £1.50 more from Thursday 5 October. Ann-Marie Shaw is Artistic Director of Stringwise, a playing experience for youngsters aged 7-18.  Whether you have only recently started playing the violin, viola, cello or double bass, or have been playing for years, there will be music you can play. You’ll practise in both a small group and DSC03198the big orchestra. All the music will be within your ability, whether you can play opens strings only or are up to Grade 6 (or more!) There will be plenty of people there to help you in every way. We’re sure you’ll have fun, and perhaps make new friends.

We send the music and a CD to you so you can look at your part and play along at home. There are then two days of rehearsals at Bluecoat Academy, Aspley, 4 & 5 November 2017. The following weekend you’ll have the amazing experience of performing in a concert at Nottingham’s Albert Hall, Sunday 12 November. All your family and friends can come to the concert, and no doubt give you a huge round of applause.

Click through for futher information and the booking button 

Did you know, Music for Everyone also has regular groups for young string players? There’s Strictly String for Grades 2-4 and the East Midlands Youth String Orchestra for players of Grade 5 and above. New members are always welcome.

 

angelakayA message from Music for Everyone’s Artistic Director, Angela Kay MBE

Hello everyone

As many of you know, last year we were raising money for a project to provide music making opportunities for adults with learning difficulties.

Our first meeting of Open Voices (the name we have given the group) took place on Friday 29 September in Sherwood and I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to know that about 18 people came along (this number included some carers). Everyone enjoyed a morning of music making and they all say they’ll come back next week!

Looking to the future – our plan is to start a 2nd group (probably in West Bridgford) in January and then a 3rd group (probably in the Beeston area) after Easter – the idea being that all three groups come together for a performance in July.

Please do keep spreading the word about this new initiative.

Angela

Open Voices Sherwood