No particular theme for today’s #MfEMonday, just another place to share some news!
As always, please continue to send through your events & happenings to admin@music-for-everyone.org as would love to feature them.
Summer School You can now book your lunchtime recitals and concert + buffet tickets online and through the MfE Box Office.
Open Voices At Friday’s Open Voices Les Misérables concert over £200 was raised through generous donations. Thank you so much, and huge congrats to Open Voices. Here’s to your future!
Third Party Events page Playing in any concerts? Looking for new members for your group? Want to see events happening near you? Our Third Party Events page on our website is chock-full of upcoming concerts and opportunities. Email admin@music-for-everyone.org if you have anything you’d like to advertise for FREE!
My last #MfEMonday… “It has been my absolute pleasure to work for MfE as Adult Programme Assistant/Marketing Officer for the past 6 months. Angela + the office team have made me feel so welcome and I will forever be grateful for my time here! Rest assured I will continue to be a part of the excellent courses + concerts for as long as I can, but oh, how I will miss writing the #MfEMondays!!! All the best for the future, see everyone at Summer School!”
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
A Tuesday #MfEMonday for you (it’ll make your week feel shorter!)…
Yesterday the MfE Office was dominated with the upcoming Summer School– music has been sent out to 150 excited participants, in preparation for three glorious days of music-making at Nottingham High School this August!
I’m sure you’ve all heard about our Summer School, and this one certainly is not one to miss. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, we have a stellar repertoire list everyone can enjoy, including Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, the theme from The Onedin Line, an arrangement of Jupiter, Ola Gjeilo’s Across the Vast, Eternal Sky, the classic Fly Me To The Moon and more!
We also have talented special guests Scaramella, Hilary Campbell, the Miyabi Duo and Zephyr joining us to take workshops and recitals.
There is more information with a full repertoire list on the Summer School website. We are super excited for our 5thSummer School and hope to see you there!
On another equally as exciting note, Music for Everyone is delighted to announce that we have received a grant for our Open Voices initiative, all thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund!
This grant will support the group as it grows and continues to enlighten the lives of individuals and their communities.
Keeping the space-theme, we are OVER THE MOONto accept this grant!
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
After a year of planning and 6 months of activities, The Big Youth Music Experience weekend finally took place! Two full days of music, energy and entertainment spreading from Nottingham’s Albert Hall, to the Cathedral, Playhouse and Sky Mirror.
We were blessed with good weather so we were able to have some of our fringe events outside by the Sky Mirror, and we had healthy attendance for both days to make the most of what was on offer!
We are promising to keep this blog page updated with pictures and videos – if you attended any of the events/activities over the weekend and would like to share any pictures you have, please get in touch!
A huge HURRAH and thank you to everyone who attended over the weekend. Whether you were volunteering or taking part – we hope you had fun!
SATURDAY 13 JULY
Robin Hood Orchestra (City Music Hub) Flash Mob FRINGE
What an idea, and what a response! The RHO flash mob made waves throughout Nottingham on Saturday – they started outside the Council House and passed through locations like the Arboretum and Trent Bridge. They were in bright green shirts and produced amazing atmospheres everywhere they went! Well done all!
We began Saturday the best way possible – filling the Albert Hall up with the incredible sounds of the Binns Organ!
A handful of excited pianists each got a dedicated slot with Mike Smith, experienced organist and teacher and got to play on one of the finest instruments in the country!
Senior Percussion WORKSHOP
The first percussion workshop of the weekend was aimed at grade 4+ players looking to perform on the full range of percussion instruments! Glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone and marimba, as well as timpani, the drum kit and a variety of smaller items.
Pure Steel Band FRINGE performance + ‘Come & Try’
Mansfield’s own Pure Steel joined us on Saturday afternoon at the Sky Mirror, providing a unique steel band performance – they even let people have a go themselves! It’s a lot harder than people realise, and takes good muscle-memory to know what note goes where!
Senior Strings WORKSHOP
Under the tuition of accomplished violinist and conductor Chris George, the senior strings enjoyed a vibrant rehearsal in the Neville Studio above the Nottingham Playhouse Bar & Kitchen. Amongst the repertoire studied, senior strings later got the chance to play in the epic Game of Thrones piece, ‘Light of the Seven’!
Senior Wind Band WORKSHOP
Another instrumental group that had Game of Thrones preparations for Saturday’s concert was the senior wind band.
MfE were happy to bring in Chris Swann (Sinfonia Viva, Royal Northern College of Music) to take the workshops, and also welcomed clarinet soloist Oliver Lee (Royal Northern student) in Weber’s Concertino.
Senior Singing – Gospel WORKSHOP
By far one of the most popular workshops of the whole weekend, the Gospel workshop was led by award-winning local gospel artist Freddie Kofi.
He brought new approaches and techniques to singing and challenged participants to step out of their comfort zones and learn new ways of bringing songs to life – a few singers who had never sung solo before took the plunge and sang before the audience in the evening concert.
A unique day for everyone.
‘Come and Try’ Endangered Instruments Windblowers stall
All of our fringe events were popular and well received amongst adults and youth. However, the particular favourite fringe “activity” of young people was in fact Windblowers’ stall!
With a gorgeous selection, people were free to try out an instrument they might have never laid their hands on before, including endangered instruments.
Nottingham Youth Jazz Orchestra FRINGE
The Nottingham Youth Jazz Orchestra joined us on Saturday afternoon outside the Sky Mirror, presenting a set of uplifting and energetic pieces that got every foot in the audience tapping!
SUNDAY 14 JULY
Junior String WORKSHOP
Kicking off Sunday’s activities was the junior string group. Guest professional conductor Rowen Cozens was fantastic with the young string players, and helped them learn a super range of music, including the Sailor’s Hornpipe, and a quirky Caribbean number which had players use their instruments as percussion!
Junior Wind Band WORKSHOP
Also kicking off Sunday was the junior wind band, led by Chris Swann and joined by the junior percussion kids. They enjoyed a vivid selection of band music, including the impressive Aztlan by Victor Lopez, to be performed in the informal afternoon concert.
SambaDrumming FRINGE WORKSHOP
Holding two fringe workshops throughout Sunday was Nikki from Artbeat. Bringing her own Portuguese drums and various percussion instruments, participants enjoyed learning rhythms and hearing how a traditional Samba group sounds altogether – explosive!
Bhangra Dancing FRINGE
A highly-anticipated fringe event, crowds and participants were not disappointed with Vijay’s excellent performance and workshop. Most of the weekend’s youth had never witnessed Bhangra let along give it a go themselves!
Junior Percussion WORKSHOP
Led by percussionist-extraordinaire Jackie Kendle, young percussion players really got a taste of everything there was on offer!
The Big Family Sing WORKSHOP
Following on from the success of our February/March BIG FAMILY SINGING EXPERIENCE workshops, we couldn’t not bring it back for BYME!
The children and their families rehearsed in the Cathedral under the tuition of Helen Hayes – they sounded fab in those acoustics! – and had a selection of fun songs up their sleeve for that afternoon’s concert, including some with actions!
Capoeira FRINGE
Another highly-anticipated fringe event was another unique one – Capoeira dancing from the group Capoeira Nottingham. Capoeira dancing is an Afro-Brazilian martial art, combining dance, acrobatics and music – simply put, it is something fascinating to watch!
Pictured below was the group’s lead ‘singer’ playing the berimbau. Keeping the tempo and singing to dancers in a ‘call & responce’ way, the berimbau and its player is essential to Capoeira.
Boy, was it hard to photograph them!
All photos/videos were taken by MfE staff unless otherwise specified. *More pictures coming soon!*
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
With ourBig Youth Experience officially under a week away, MfE’s Kirstie and Robin headed down to BBC Radio Nottingham this morning to chat to Andy & Sarah.
Particularly interested in the ‘Come & Try Endangered Instruments’ fringe workshops taking place on both days, they were joined by East Midlands Youth Windband member Alistair, who explained why he loved playing the endangered Baritone Sax!
Andy & Sarah were also given a challenge – to learn the flute in a week!
With a crash course from Kirstie, both presenters seemed up to the challenge. Find out how they get on by listening on Wednesday and hear their final performance on Friday.
More information on the BYME weekend can be found on our website homepage. Remember, BYME is celebrating the youth of Nottinghamshire, but that doesn’t mean adults can’t get involved too!
Big congratulations to the participants of Saturday’s Blow the Dust off your instrument – despite the dreary weather you helped create a vibrant day of music-making enjoyed by all! See you all in 2020 for the next one!
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
The past two weekends have seen our youth groups out & about, bringing their end of term performances to venues across Nottinghamshire!
Greeted by lovely crowds and even lovelier weather, Music for Everyone’s youth did not fail to impress in the gorgeous surrounds of Rufford Abbey, Beeston Canalside Heritage Centre and Rushcliffe’s Proms in the Park.
Click the names of our youth groups to learn more about them!
Nottingham Festival Chorus met on Saturday for a choral singing day of English Romantic Partsongs – songs about the delights and torments of the English Summer. Pictures on the website here.
Our next NFC course is in October – The Armed Man, limited availability so book your place today!
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
Music for Everyone is thrilled to announce the NEW Autumn course & concert, The Armed Man. Be a part of the Nottingham Festival Chorus and perform Karl Jenkin’s powerful The Armed Man (A Mass for Peace), and Mack Wilberg’s moving arrangement of All people that on earth do dwell.
Plus, we are delighted that guest conductor, Martin Van Der Brugge will be bringing his choir from Holland to join us for this special concert!
Course: Saturday 5, Sunday 6 October Concert: Saturday 12 October Full enrolment fee £40. Benefit claimant/student £30. Music available to hire/purchase. More information & booking details on the web page.
Can’t wait until October? Join the Nottingham Festival Chorus this Saturday for a day of singing and strawberries! TheNFC English Romantics workshop daypresents a rare opportunity to explore the choral delights of the English Partsong, including Pearsall, Elgar and music set to Shakespeare texts. Places still available! Music available on the day. Book now online or by calling the office on 0115 9589312.
A huge congratulations to Freya Whitfield on winning Lincolnshire’s Young Music Maker of 2019! Thank you to everyone who voted for her following our 3 June #MfEMonday. We look forward to welcoming Freya to our Big Youth Music Experience weekend in July.
In collaboration with Sherwood Art Week and Daytime Voices, our Open Voicesgroup are excited to share their inspiring energy in a fun and enjoyable performance entitled ‘Songs from Les Miserables’! Join them for FREE at St Martin’s Church in Sherwood this Friday. More information can be found on their Facebook event.
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
Less than a month to go! Our July BIG YOUTH MUSIC EXPERIENCE weekend is fast approaching. If you’ve been um-ing and ah-ing over whether to sign up, let this #MfEMonday serve as a reminder to do so!
It’s
a large-scale festival weekend of youth music-making activities, and with
nationally recognised tutors/conductors and top guest ‘acts’, this is a
festival to truly celebrate the musical youth of the region.
However,
it’s not just for Nottinghamshire’s youth! There are a fabulous selection of
‘festival fringe’ events suitable for everyone to get involved with on the day,
regardless of age or experience! These include a steel band and Capoeira
dancing (free events), samba drumming and a BIG FAMILY SING for all the family!
(pre-booking fee applies).
(Be
sureto check out our
#MfEMondays blog about our last BIG FAMILY SINGING EXPERIENCE, and listen to
the BBC Radio Nottingham feature to hear what’s to come in July! www.music-for-everyone.org/news/mfemondays-0804/)
There
are also concerts each day open to the public to enjoy, including the Saturday
evening Festival Concert, where an epic Game of Thrones piece brings orchestra,
choir and organ together at the Albert Hall.
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
At
Friday’s East of England Singers concert (7 June), a small competition was held
called ‘Name That Country’. Angela Kay got the audience members to annotate
their programmes and try to guess the country of origin for each of the pieces
performed.
The winner will be contacted today (10/06) – congratulations to them! We are thrilled to gift them two free tickets to a Music for Everyone concert of their choice.
If you’d like to find out all the answers to the competition, please get in touch. Look out for more competitions in the future!
Win
Win Win!
With
easyfundraising, you can support Music for Everyone forfree when
you shop online. It’s so easy – many of you are already signed up with us, but
if you haven’t, here’s your reminder to sign up now!
And, as a special easyfundraising giveaway, you can be entered to win an LG TV! It will only take 2 clicks of your Monday: click here, then click a retailer and you’re entered for free!
And,
if Amazon is more your thing, we can be supported through AmazonSmile too. For
more information click here.
Exciting
dates for your diary:
NFC Summer Singing Workshop – a ‘come and sing’ summer workshop day exploring the delights of English Partsongs
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
Friday 7 June is on the Music for Everyone radar for 2 reasons…
It is our upcoming East of England Singers (EOES) concert, ‘Summer is a-comin’ in!’, and
It is the last day to vote for the Lincolnshire Young Music Maker of 2019!
Summer
is a-comin’ in!
This Friday 7 June join the East of England Singers and Angela Kay as they present a varied and entertaining programme of music from around Europe – Holst, Elgar, Kodály, Ešenvalds and more!
Taking place at St Mary the Virgin Church, Bunny, Notts NG11 6QW at 7.30pm. Tickets are £8, with £7 for concessions and £4 for Children/Students – buy now online and on the door (subject to availability) – don’t miss out!
Freya
Whitfield
Freya is a bright young musician and one of three finalists for Lincolnshire Music Service’s ‘Young Music Maker of 2019!’. Freya is grade 8 in the violin and viola, grade 7 in the Bb and bass clarinet, and a grade 6 pianist. She has a variety of amazing accolades and experiences under her belt, and has been a participant in our Bandwise! weekends and BIG YOUTH MUSIC EXPERIENCE project!
Voting
closes on Friday 7 June, so we would love it if you could take a few seconds
out of your Monday to vote for her here.
You can read her full bio on the website too.
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.
Vocals!
2019 took the Albert Hall by storm yesterday in an exciting concert of The Greatest
Showman & Mary Poppins hits, amongst more!
Each
Vocals group got to dazzle in the spotlights in front of their friends &
families and, with boundless energy, show off all the hard work (and dance
moves!) from their workshops.
Vocals! will return at Christmas to prove yet again that our East Midlands kids can sing, and there will be another opportunity following the success of our Big Family Singing Experience days for families to sing together on 14 July. Check out our website for more information or drop us an email.
#MfEMondays are Music for Everyone’s new 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.