Nottingham Community Music

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/periods-genres/musicals/best-movie-adaptions-ranked/

#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 musical musings for your Mondays! We are aiming to send out something new each week.

#MfEMonday – 18th November 2024

18th November 2024 Music for Everyone

What a fantastic concert yesterday at our Big Youth Music Experience! Well done to everyone who took part, there was some fabulous playing. We were joined by special guest, MP Lilian Greenwood who was very impressed. Here are some photos if you missed it!

Yesterday morning Nottingham Chamber Singers and Hucknall Daytime Voices were spreading some festive cheer at the Hucknall Community Christmas Fayre.

It’s not long now until the ‘Stories of Christmas’ afternoon concert in Hucknall on Sunday 8^th December with songs, stories and carols for all to enjoy. Click here for tickets

As it’s getting colder this week, you might be considering staying warm and cosy inside! Always a good excuse to enjoy a movie!!

There has been excitement building about the new film adaptation of ‘Wicked’ the musical which is out this Friday so here are some suggestions for other favourite musicals which have made it onto the big screen:

If it’s got you in the mood for singing some of the hits then our next Musicals singing workshop takes place on Saturday 15^th March and is now open for booking! Click here for more details.

Just a reminder that we are looking for a part time administrator for Tuesday and Thursday mornings! If you know anyone who might be interested please send them this link: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/about-us/vacancies/

Closing date is Friday 29^th November at 12 noon.

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE

18/11/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 11th November 2024

11th November 2024 Music for Everyone

A great time was had at Bandwise and Stringwise this weekend where we were joined by over 120 talented young, enthusiastic instrumentalists. They sounded great and we can’t wait for their concert at the Albert Hall on Sunday!

Spaces are filling up quickly for our Christmas is Coming rehearsals and concert. Be sure to book your spot for the rehearsals happening during the weeks of December 2nd and December 9th. Simply click here to book, or call the office at 0115 958 9312.

After last week’s feature on soothing music for pets, we thought we would continue the pet theme with a smorgasbord of pet-related silliness!

Composing can be a lonely process, with hours spent in solitude waiting for inspiration to strike. It’s no wonder that many great composers turned to pets for companionship.

Ravel was obsessed with cats, allowing them to walk all over his manuscripts and even speaking to them in ‘cat language’. Ravel’s friend Vaughan Williams was equally fond of cats, owning a cat named Mrs Tim, and allowing his friend and fellow composer Gerald Finzi to be on cat-sitting duty when he was away on tour.

Mozart chose a starling as his less conventional pet companion! When his pet starling died, he planned an elaborate ceremony which included veiled mourners and hymns. Mozart himself recited a poem he wrote, which began, ‘A little fool lies here, whom I held dear, a starling in the prime of his brief time.’

Elgar adored dogs and after the death of his wife Alice, who hated dogs, he was finally able to have dogs of his own. His dogs were almost always at his side, and when they couldn’t be, Elgar would often keep in contact with them. He even wished them good night via a live radio broadcast when he was forced to be apart from them whilst celebrating his 70th birthday!

Click here to see Irish Setter, Elmo, singing a virtuosic solo, or here for a doggy duet with Pavarotti!

MfE is hiring! We are looking for a part time administrator to join the office team on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.

See the full details on our website here: Vacancies | Music for Everyone Please spread the word about this fantastic opportunity!

On 23^rd November, join Grantham Choral Society for a concert journeying from traditional and folk music to Jazz.

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE

11/11/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 28th October 2024

4th November 2024 Music for Everyone

Hello!

We are looking forward to welcoming back all our regular groups this week after a short break 🙂

There is lots to look forward to in the coming weeks including Christmas Concerts a-plenty!

7^th December, Youth groups @ Kingswood Methodist Church, Wollaton – Countdown to Christmas

8^th December, Nottingham Chamber Singers @ St Mary’s Church, Hucknall – Stories of Christmas

15^th December, Nottingham Community Voices @ Albert Hall, Nottingham – Christmas is Coming!

To join in the music making please visit our website or call our friendly office team for more details on 0115 958 9312.

You can sign up for the next Nottingham Festival Chorus course and concert here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/nfc-singing-course-concert/

Classical music has proved time and time again to be the perfect for calming anxious pets. With Bonfire Night tomorrow, classic FM have dedicated shows focused on calming music for pets, hosted by Dan Walker at 5pm on Tuesday 5 November.

Here you can also find recommendations of calming pieces to soothe nervous pets Calm music for pets: 10 soothing classical pieces – Classic FM

Nottingham Symphonic Wind Orchestra is performing “A Winter Celebration” in church at 3:30 pm on Saturday 30 November 2024. The orchestra will present a programme for all ages, which includes the music of Prince Igor, Take the A Train, Home Alone and Frozen, amongst many other favourites. There will also be few festive favourites sneaking in ahead of Advent Sunday! Admission prices are pay what you wish: Ticket A £15.00, Ticket B £10.00, Ticket C £5.00 – choose which ticket you want. Seating is unreserved. More information, including how to get tickets is available here: https://nsw.org.uk/nswo_concerts/a-winter-celebration/

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE

04/11/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 21st October 2024

21st October 202421st October 2024 Music for Everyone

Christmas is Coming!

Is it too early to talk about Christmas? We don’t think so! Santa is already polishing his boots in preparation for our festive family concert at the Albert Hall on 15 December. Join us for a magical afternoon of traditional carols and seasonal songs!

Do you know any young singers who’d love to be part of the fun? Our Vocals youth choir welcomes young singers of primary school age. Find out more here.

For adults, there’s also the chance to sing with the massed Community Voices. Interested? Learn more here.

Tickets are selling fast, so don’t wait—book yours today! Tickets can be purchased online here or by calling the office on 0115 958 9312.

Lullaby Bank

We’re incredibly proud of our Assistant Artistic Director, Rachel Parkes, who devised and launched the innovative Lullaby Bank project—special music sessions for mums and their babies in local libraries. The first group in Beeston was a huge success, and now the project has expanded, in partnership with Inspire, to seven other libraries in Nottinghamshire.

Read about Councillor Kate Foale’s recent visit to a session in West Bridgford here

As we gear up for our next Nottingham Festival Chorus workshop and concert, The Singing Bride, we’ve got Mozart on our minds! Think you know your Mozart? Try our fun Mozart or No-zart quiz and see if you can beat our office score of 18/20.

If you would like to take part in the next NFC course, details are on our website here.

Nottingham Trent University’s Culture Team is on the lookout for an experienced freelance choral conductor to lead both their University Choir and award-winning Chamber Choir. Please forward this information to anyone you know who may be interested https://www.ntu.ac.uk/about-us/news/news-articles/2024/10/ntu-arts-seeks-choral-conductor

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE

21/10/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://www.classicfm.com/lifestyle/quizzes/answer-only-music-notes/

#MfEMonday – 25th March 2024

25th March 2024 Music for Everyone

Well March has been a musical marathon at MfE, but PHEW, we made it!!!

West Bridgford felt more like the West End on Saturday after a wonderful day of singing at our musicals workshop. Rachel Parkes put the Nottingham Community Voices through their paces and we welcomed Open Voices who stole the show with a wonderful selection of their favourite hits. We were delighted to welcome Simon Theobald as soloist and compere for the event. Thanks to everyone who came along!

Enrolments have now hit 100 for the Big Youth Music Experience coming up in April! We still have spaces left for all string, woodwind and especially BRASS instruments so please encourage any young musicians to join in.

Bandwise – April 20th & 28th. Sign-Up Here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/byme-bandwise-apr24/

Stringwise – April 21st & 28th. Sign- Up Here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/byme-stringwise-apr24/

Thank you to those members who attended our AGM last Wednesday, it was lovely to see you there. We said a fond farewell to a couple of long-standing trustees, Angela Smallwood and Matt Lax – they are not disappearing completely and we will still see them around at events! We are delighted to welcome three new trustees on to the board: Gary Ackrill, Catherine Hocking and Josie Tanvir.

A presentation was made to Andrew James (ex-chairman of MfE) for the enormous contribution he has made to supporting Music for Everyone through the setting up and running of the Bookwise shops. We are extremely grateful for everything you have done Andrew!

I’m sure many of you will be looking forward to the giving and receiving of Easter eggs next weekend! But have you heard of “Easter eggs” in music?

For centuries composers have weaved secret messages or cryptograms into their works, from J.S. Bach to Shostakovich and this idea is still used today by songwriters such as Taylor Swift!

Find out more in this fun video: https://youtu.be/1GuJ-mFNauo?si=Tmg_mLDyhNUC06fN

Or why not test your ability to recognise words in musical notation?! Try this quiz:

Can you answer these quiz questions using just music notes?

You can read music, but can you READ music…?

www.classicfm.com

Can you spare a minute to nominate us for the chance to win £1000?! Click on the banner below.

Nominate now! – Movement for Good awards

We could receive £1,000 in the Movement for Good draw.

movementforgood.com

An exciting upcoming concert by Melodic Fanfare, a Nottingham based brass ensemble. They will be holding their first live performance : A relaxing lunchtime debut concert featuring a variety of classical music. The concert will be held at University Hall, Nottingham on Friday 5^th April with all proceeds going to Mind. Book tickets here.

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE

25/03/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 4th March 2024

4th March 2024 Music for Everyone

We’re gearing up for an exciting and busy March, so much music making coming up!

The Nottingham Chamber Singers concert ‘Angels, Dreams and Flying Machines’ is on Saturday 16 March at St Mary’s Church, Clifton. Join us for an evening of flight, fantasy and winged creatures, featuring poetry and musical works by Whitacre, Panufnik, Mendelssohn and Vaughan-Williams. Tickets available online in advance now: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/ncs-concert/ or you can buy on the door.

On Sunday 17th March, we’ll be ‘Springing into Music’ with our youth groups spring concert at Chilwell School for an afternoon concert of varied repertoire by string orchestras and wind bands. Tickets available online in advance now: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/yth-concert/ or purchased on the door, subject to availability.

Places are still available for West End to Broadway on Saturday 23^rd March. Don’t miss out the opportunity to learn from the fantastic Simon Theobald. Click this link to hear from the man himself!: https://youtube.com/shorts/qCPwQ5jhyk4?feature=share

Call-out for volunteers! We are looking for some extra help at our friendly Open Voices group in Mansfield. They meet on Friday afternoons from 1.45-3.15pm at Portland College in the wonderful Newstart Theatre. If anyone is able to help our leader Cliff and join in the singing that would be great! Please email su@music-for-everyone.org

It’s not quite officially springtime just yet, but as we have now reached March (and, fingers crossed, some nicer, dryer weather!) it seems apt to welcome the beginning signs of spring with some seasonal music. The most obvious is of course, Spring from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, who was born on this day, 4 March 1678: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LiztfE1X7E

Another is Vaughan-Williams The Lark Ascending, originating from a poem by George Meredith about the song of a skylark. The poem inspired Vaughan Williams to write a musical work of the same name: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbFi85piaEg Vaughan Williams also features in the NCS concert on 16 March.

If you haven’t already seen on our website, we have now released the choir repertoire for Summer School 2024! We’re thrilled that Hilary Campbell will be with us again and exploring the following pieces:
- Lily Boulanger – Hymn au soleil
- James MacMillan – O Radiant Dawn
- Harold Arlen – Over the Rainbow
- Roger Emerson – Ain’t no Mountain High Enough
The choir will also be doing Handel’s rousing anthem Zadok the Priest with the orchestra and an arrangement of Abide with Me with the string ensemble: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/summer-school-2024/

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

04/03/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 26th February 2024

26th February 20244th March 2024 Music for Everyone

It’s a new season of MfE, so it’s time for a new brochure!

See all the exciting events we have planned from March to August 2024, in our new brochure: https://simplebooklet.com/brochuremaraug24

Coming soon – From West End to Broadway Course and Concert – 23rd March

Places are still available for this course and concert and we are really excited to be welcoming back Simon Theobald, who will add his unique energy and charisma to the proceedings. We are also thrilled to be joined by members of our inspirational Open Voices groups.

It is going to be a wonderful evening of wine, music and smiles, so please join us! Course places are available here, and concert tickets are available here.

MfE on X (formerly twitter)

We have had to start a new X profile as our old one went awry! Please follow our new account @MfENott

A British Concert in Darkest Peru!

Attached is an interesting article from one of our members, David Gilmour, whose great-Aunt and Uncle took part in an extraordinary concert in Peru in 1869.

Tim Edwards, known to many of you for playing double bass at a number of MfE events, will be performing with his Viol Consort ‘Arculo’ at the cathedral on 15 March for a rendition of Buxtehude Membra Jesu Nostri. More details attached.

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

26/02/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

https://youtu.be/X69P_Vce9vw?si=rMKwOYS4udiJGv_i

#MfEMonday – 19th February 2024

19th February 2024 Music for Everyone

A message from Bookwise:

Bookwise need your help! They are planning some furniture moving around this week and would appreciate any help if anyone can come in any time this week to help.

There will be heavy lifting involved so please bear this in mind!

For more info, contact Gary Directly on 07818423536. Many thanks!

Hello Eveyone,

We hope you’re all feeling energised and ready for some more music-making!

A spotlight on our Musicals workshop and cabaret for adults on Saturday 23rd March at the Rushcliffe Spencer Academy.

Enjoy the glitz and glam of the theatre with our special guest compere and baritone soloist Simon Theobald, conducted by MfE’s Assistant Artistic Director, Rachel Parkes, and accompanied by Angela Foan.

Come along and sing a selection of foot tapping numbers from Oliver and Guys and Dolls, unforgettable melodies from West Side Story and Chess, and moving songs from hit musical Blood Brothers.

The day will finish with an informal cabaret-style concert and we are really excited that singers from our Open Voices choir will be performing their favourite musical hits for us!

To sign up for the workshop visit: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/ncm-come-and-sing/

If you would like to come and watch, tickets are £8 and include a free pre-concert glass of wine or soft drink from 4pm. For tickets visit: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/from-west-end-to-broadway/

There is still time for any younger singers to sign up for our next Vocals ‘at the Movies’ event on 9th & 10th March. Music packs have now left the building and the excitement is building for this special weekend! https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/vocals-mar-24/

Continuing the Musicals theme here are some fun facts about a couple of the shows which will feature in our workshop:

Chess – It’s written by the boys from ABBA and Sir Tim Rice!

What’s it about? Cold War, East vs West. In today’s era of Russia’s cyber-threat to Western Democracies, that seems more relevant than ever. Chess takes the rivalry, subterfuge and political plotting of two global super-powers and transfers the action to the World Chess championships, where defection, gamesmanship and espionage are as rife as in the corridors of power. It’s a love story between characters whose lives are torn apart by powers they cannot control. Chess is probably best summed up as “The Thinking-Person’s Musical.”

According to The Guinness Book of Records, the single “I Know Him So Well” remains the most successful ever by a female duo, retaining the No.1 spot in the UK Singles Charts for 4 weeks. It may also have broken the world record for the most cans of hairspray used on the video!! https://youtu.be/s2SDInk6voA?si=wsor_qnbPdt5wvGz

Guys and Dolls – A modern classic that explores the lives of two seemingly mismatched couples. It premiered on Broadway in 1950 and ran for 1,200 performances. In the smash-hit 1955 film adaptation of Guys and Dolls, the swingin’ and swoonin’ Frank Sinatra took on the role of powerful gambler Nathan Detroit. This was his first major film role, and the gamble paid off, he received critical acclaim for his performance!

The songs from the musical are total bangers and have been covered and adapted by numerous artists over the years, including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Barbra Streisand. ‘Luck Be a Lady’ in particular gained widespread popularity and recognition and has even made appearances in shows such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and can even be heard in the family favourite movie Mrs. Doubtfire!

String players! The Villiers quartet are about to launch their next online string quartet course this Sunday studying Haydn’s Emperor Quartet. The course is for amateurs who love to study their music in greater depth and want to explore the art of string quartet playing. For more information and booking visit: http://villiersquartet.com/vqdiscovery

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

19/02/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

#MfEMonday – 5th February 2024

5th February 2024 Music for Everyone

Well, what a fantastic and Gloria-filled concert we had on Saturday! A huge congratulations to all the performers in the Festival Chorus, Chamber Singers and the Nottingham Concert Orchestra for a stunning performance. There were not just Glorias being sung on stage, there were also 3 Glorias in the audience! They were invited to chat with the sheriff in the interval about the event and their namesake.

We were also delighted that Dame Judith Weir spoke to Alex and Rachel last week via Zoom, about her piece in the concert ‘Stars, Night, Music and Light’, in which she expressed how thrilled she was we were performing the full orchestral version of her piece, which she said was “a rarity”. See the full interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zd2ztuXP90

We are now looking forward to our next singing event for community singers ‘From West End to Broadway’ on Saturday 23rd March, conducted by Rachel Parkes with special guest soloist Simon Theobald.

Come and join for a singing workshop day exploring songs from the musicals and theatre, with an informal cabaret performance and glass of wine to finish. Click here to sign- up: Workshop Day: NCM From West End to Broadway (music-for-everyone.org)

Today is a big day for John Cage’s composition ‘Organ2/ASLSP ‘As Slow as Possible’. We spoke about this piece on MfEMondays in 2022, the last time a chord was changed and today a single chord is again being changed in this piece, due to last for 639 years! Find out more on Classic FM website here: https://www.classicfm.com/composers/cage/as-slow-a-possible-aslsp-germany-organ-chord-change/

We think Mondays need a little brain boosting exercise to wake up for the week… try this quiz where the answers can all be spelt using music notes! Some are tricky and beware the dreaded alto clef! https://www.classicfm.com/lifestyle/quizzes/answer-only-music-notes/

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

05/02/2024

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF