Summer School

#MfEMonday – 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 23rd 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

admin@music-for-everyone.org

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

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Summer School Day 3: From RELAXED to RE-ENERGISED (and everything in between)

Music for Everyone

The final day arrives, the sun is shining and everyone is raring to go one more time! The Obolensky has transformed overnight in to our concert set up and it’s time to polish up the corners of the music ready for the Showcase Concert.

To help RELAX after the final rehearsals and before the performance, participants were invited to eat their lunch in the chapel and enjoy some special mood lighting and relaxing piano music, played by Summer School accompanist Richard Cox.

A contrast in the afternoon with Katie from Beat Goes On designed to RE-ENERGISE with a body percussion stomp-style session with creating our own rhythms (yes, bottom-patting and much laughter was involved!). A final top and tail rehearsal then it’s SHOWCASE time!

The concert started with Katie getting everyone involved, audience as well, in body percussion to make a rain storm effect (we avoided the real rain thankfully!) The concert programme this year was chosen around the Summer School theme ‘New Horizons’, celebrating women in music in this 40th year of Music for Everyone. The first piece of music was a piece commissioned especially for the 40th anniversary by Nottingham born composer Libby Croad – Hail! Bright Cecilia then each group showcased talent and hard work from the 3 days, with pieces including Hymn by Harding from the saxophones, Gallimaufry by Guy Wolfenden by the wind band, Fantasia on Welsh Nursery Tunes by Grace Williams by the orchestra, Libby Croad’s Suite for Strings, Big Yellow Taxi (Gilpin) and Flower Duet (Delibes) by the choir and the big finale Finlandia by Sibelius performed by all 180+ participants!

Drinks, nibbles and a chance to sit and chat one last time after concert and that’s a wrap! as they say.

THANK YOUS
A huge thanks to our wonderful conductors, Keiron Anderson, Hilary Campbell and Rob Hodge for the incredible work they have done with singers and players. To our guest artists Naomi Sullivan and Papagena for unforgettable recitals and workshops. The tutors, Isobel, Sarah, Jonathan, Jenny, Tim, Rachel, Josh, Gill, Gordon, Dave, David and accompanist, Richard Cox for all their support and sectional rehearsals. The ‘behind the scenes’ staff and volunteers for copious tea/coffee making (we lost count this year!). Of course, a huge thanks goes to Trent College for hosting and being so helpful and also to Bookwise and Turner Violins for attending. We did notice one person didn’t get a mention in the concert… because he was doing the mentioning! Thank you to Robin! for his compering and everything else he did. Finally, to the participants – thank you for supporting MfE – what a 3 days!

Right, we’re off for a little lie down then start planning for next year – see you there?

#SummerSchool2023

Summer School Day 2: A Capella is the game, Papagena is the name

Music for Everyone

An incredible second day of Summer School on a (mostly) sunny Tuesday at Trent College.

Rehearsals for choir, orchestra, sax ensemble, string orchestra and wind band (busy, busy!) continued throughout the morning (fuelled by regular top ups of tea, coffee and biscuits of course!).

Today’s guests, all-female a capella quintet Papagena blew the roof off the chapel and received a standing ovation at the end of their lunchtime recital for Summer School participants. Their programme, aptly named ‘Nuns and Roses’ featured hauntingly beautiful melodies of traditional Ukrainian lullabies and Georgian hymns all the way through to ‘hard rock’ Guns ‘n’ Roses Sweet Child o’ mine and finishing with The woman’s ‘If’ – a work commissioned for Papagena and based on Caitlin Moran’s female perspective to Rudyard Kipling’s If. Many of the pieces in the programme were also arranged by members of the group. Simply amazing.

Papagena then led the choir in a workshop, teaching them one of the pieces from their recital and working on some of the repertoire chosen by Hilary for this year’s course.

Further rehearsals in the afternoon led to Tuesday’s ‘sharing concert’ – where the singers perform the players and the players perform to the singers. A short session to share items that won’t feature in the final Showcase Concert – from the choir with Hilary (with Richard’s debut performance on the drums…), the sax ensemble with Keiron, the string orchestra with Rob and the wind band, again with Keiron performing A Single Step of his own composition.

That wraps up another busy Summer School day, bring on the finale!

#SummerSchool2023

Summer School Day 2 in under 20 seconds!

Summer School Day 1: The many (many) sounds of the saxophone

Music for Everyone

Welcome to Summer School 2023! Taking place once again in the picturesque setting of Trent College in Long Eaton, we are delighted to be back with new and returning faces (participants and staff!).

We kicked off with pastries and a welcome from Robin then it’s straight down to the musical good stuff… Rehearsals! The choir head off the the Chapel with Hilary, orchestra are in the May Hall with Rob and brand new for this year, the saxophone ensemble get started with Keiron in the Rep!

This year, the focus for day 1 is the glorious saxophone, with amazing guest artist Naomi Sullivan treating us to a stunning recital with a varied programme featuring George Gershwin and Jules Demersseman.

The saxophone players then took part in a workshop with Naomi, creating unique effects and developing techniques beyond mere notes – at one point, impersonating a rain storm! (Check out the video clip in the round-up below – that’s the saxophones, not the weather!)

More rehearsals, sectionals and the traditional tea, coffee and biscuits rounded off a great first day – crossing our fingers the sun continues to shine and we’re looking forward to day 2!

#SummerSchool2023

SS23 Day 1!

#MfEMonday – 10th July 2023

Music for Everyone

You might have thought the 40th celebration weekend ended the season, but no! The next MfE event is this coming Sunday, 16 July 2023, in the stunningly beautiful setting of Belton House, just north of Grantham, with two performances by the Nottingham Chamber Singers: 1.30pm and 3.00pm.

Each 45 minute programme will be light and varied – from madrigals to the Beatles! The location of the two performances is weather dependant, but both indoor and outdoor options have been arranged.

So why not have a day out and enjoy Belton’s wonderful and extensive gardens and grounds? Take a picnic or buy lunch there, have a go in the adventure playground (a favourite with children), spot the location of various scenes from the BBC’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and enjoy the music!

Fine weather locations:

1.30pm in the Courtyard where you’ll find shops and the Stables Cafe – grab lunch, a drink or an ice cream and enjoy the singing.

3.00pm on the REAR steps of the house itself, overlooking the beautiful garden. You’ll find a few deckchairs there and grass to sit on, or you might even get lucky and claim one of the hidden benches – look in the low hedging!

Wet weather locations: at either 1.30pm and or 3.00pm

The Saloon – a grand room on the ground floor of the house. Enter via the front door. While we hope it will be a sunny day, it would be quite something for choir and audience to gather in the room where music has been performed since 1688!

Belton belongs to the National Trust. Parking and entry is free to members showing their cards. Otherwise, tickets can be bought in advance or in the entry kiosk.

See: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/nottinghamshire-lincolnshire/belton-house

Belton House | Lincolnshire

National Trust’s Belton House, Lincolnshire, is a country estate with formal Italian and Dutch gardens, and historic deer park.

www.nationaltrust.org.uk

See you there!

There are still places left on our Summer School this August (7th – 9th at Trent College) and we also have a special saxophone ensemble workshop on Monday 7th August with Naomi Sullivan for any sax players who would like to take part.

Please follow the link for more details and booking info: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/saxophone-ensemble-workshop/

Saxophone Ensemble Workshop

With Naomi Sullivan

www.music-for-everyone.org

  • Come along and support the Daytime Orchestras in their free concerts this week!
    • Loughborough: Tuesday 11th July – 11.30am
    • All Saints Church, Steeple Row, Loughborough LE11 1UX
    • Nottingham: Thursday 13th July – 11.30am
    • St Martin’s Church, Trevose Gardens, Sherwood NG5 3FU
  • If you’ve been getting into Wimbledon fever, check out these 10 links between tennis and classical music!

https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/tennis-and-classical-music/

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

10/07/2023

admin@music-for-everyone.org

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

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#MfEMonday – 5th June 2023

Music for Everyone

We hope you have been enjoying the sunshine recently! It is a busy time for us all at MfE, as we gear up for an exciting summer of concerts, courses and workshops.

Don’t forget to book for the FAMILY SING, which is happening this Sunday 11 June from 2.00pm to 5.00pm at The Grange in Radcliffe on Trent.  The whole family is invited to take part. It promises to be an uplifting experience, open to all keen singers aged 5+ (children must be accompanied by an adult). You will be singing favourites like ‘Celebration’ by Kool and the Gang and ‘Under the Sea’ from the Little Mermaid.

Special guests Pure Steel and our new Steel Pan ensemble will also be performing on the day. There will be an opportunity to ‘have a go’ at playing steel pan.

Full details and booking link here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/family-sing-workshop/  

NEW PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR – We are pleased to announce the appointment of Minder Kaur Athwal as our new Project Co-ordinator, supporting the 40th Anniversary season.  Minder is helping the team to deliver the 1st and 2nd July celebration events, as well as collating the exhibition for the Albert Hall.  We would like to thank Arts Council England for enabling this appointment and we welcome Minder on board.

BLOW THE DUST OFF YOUR INSTRUMENT is on Saturday 17 June – places are still available and we particularly welcome applications from bassoon, viola and brass players.  Items include Edward Elgar’s rousing Imperial March Op.32 and Queen’s iconic rock anthem We are the Champions. Find out full details and book online here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/blow-the-dust-off-your-instrument-3/ or contact the office on 0115 9589312.

TONY KOFI will be leading a special workshop with the Sunday Afternoon Music group, for those who wish to attend.  Tony is a jazz multi-instrumentalist born of Ghanaian parents, player of Alto, Baritone, Soprano, Tenor saxophones and flute. This closed workshop has been made possible through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants.

SUMMER SCHOOL – Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th August at Trent College, Long Eaton. Three days of shared music making with workshops for intermediate and advanced musicians aged 16+.

A MUSICAL CELEBRATION – 40th Anniversary Weekend 1 – 2 July 2023. Come and be part of Music for Everyone’s 40th birthday celebrations. Youth groups and invited alumni will perform on 1st July at 3.30pm. The combined Daytime Voices, Daytime Orchestras, Festival Chorus and Concert Orchestra will perform on Sunday 2nd July at 3.30pm at the Albert Hall

Book tickets for the concert now!

1st July: Spotlight on Youth https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/a-musical-celebration-spotlight-on-youth/

2nd July: Musical Celebration https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/a-musical-celebration-concert/

Have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

05/06/2023

admin@music-for-everyone.org

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

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#MfEMonday – 15th August 2022

Music for Everyone

We had a great 3 days of music making at Summer School last week. You can find out what we got up and see pictures of the sessions and amazing guests we had on our blog page, there is a post for each day of Summer School: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/about-us/blog/

Announcing 2022/23 dates!

Details of courses, workshops and concerts are now available on our website for the 40th Anniversary season. Information for regular groups (Daytime groups, etc) will follow soon including advance booking.

The rain has finally arrived, bringing some much needed freshness to the air after the most recent heatwave. We decided to look at music inspired by rain, hoping a rain-dance would open the heavens sooner than expected!

Chopin’s Prelude Op.28 (‘Raindrop’) with it’s repetitive pulse through the texture is thought to sound like raindrops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVau-JRGirg

An appropriately named piece The Welcome Arrival of Rain by Judith Weir, inspired by verse from the Hindu text ‘Bhagavata Purana’ – catching the sense of sudden rain and the renewal and growth that follows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU4PBYjDtkw

And something a little different to finish, here is a choir making the sounds of a rain storm using their hands and feet, impressive! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29qaN0M0o0s

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

15/08/2022

admin@music-for-everyone.org

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

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#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.

Summer School Day 3: The Big Finale

Music for Everyone

What. A. Day.

Everyone was still in high spirits despite the rather warm weather as final rehearsals and preparations for the Showcase Concert got underway.

Simon Theobald, our guest artist for today and firm friend of MfE having worked with us at our Musicals concerts in the past, brought us a programme that was ‘unashamedly popular’ (his words!) at the lunchtime concert, even managing to get everyone to join in at the end!

The singers were then treated to a workshop on some Gilbert & Sullivan with Simon, before all came together for the Showcase Concert for family, friends and guests in the Oblensky Building.

The concert was a triumph! A wonderful mix of music from Britten to Vaughan Williams, featuring harpsichords and recorders alongside the choir, orchestra, strings and band and a mega finish with the Agincourt Song. (More photos to follow…)
The traditional Summer School buffet followed after, with enough sausage rolls to feed an army and a chance to cool down after a ‘rather warm’ performance.

THANK YOU – firstly to all who took part on the course, for making this one a sell-out and singing/playing with enthusiasm and a smile, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Also to our superstar volunteer and ‘bumper’ team, helping to serve the endless tea and coffee, moving chairs and things when needed, manning the book stall and supporting all instrumental and vocal sections.
Our brilliant conductors Gill, Hilary and Rob – who once again smashed it (I don’t think we’ve put them off yet), our amazing guests Anthony, Carmen and Simon, and to the wonderful Trent College for hosting us once again, who have THE best site and staff team supporting us.

Phew! Right, where’s the [insert preferred alcoholic drink here]…

See you next year!

Summer School Day 2: Violas, Visuals and Very energetic dancing

Music for Everyone

Here we are again! They say a picture paints 1000 words, so here’s a whole bunch! (and some video clips… yes singers, we caught it all on camera…)

All these years of Summer School have taught us to give the people what they want, and what they want is coffee before they start the day! Fuelled and ready to go, the singers decided to take their warm-up outside, while the instrumentalists enjoyed some specialist sectionals followed by wind band and strings rehearsals with Gill and Rob respectively.

The viola was the star of the show today, with special guest artist Carmen Flores giving us a memorable recital accompanied by Paul Turner – a viola recital being a first for many! We were wowed by her beautiful playing, including the Viola Sonata by Rebecca Clarke (who used a composer pseudonym Anthony Trent back in 1919). After her amazing recital, Carmen worked with the strings on Telemann’s Viola Concerto to be performed to the other participants at the end of the day.

As we can’t fit all this years repertoire into tomorrow’s Showcase Concert, we finished with a ‘sharing performance’. The choir came to listen to the wind band perform the English Dances by Malcolm Arnold and the strings accompanied Carmen in the Telemann Viola Concerto.

Instrumentalists then went to listen to the choir in the chapel, where there was actual dancing in the aisles! Not sure if there was something in the air or perhaps the effects of the hot weather, but it was certainly a fun (and slightly energetic) end to the day!

Another glorious day of summer school comes to a close… hope everyone gets well-rested tonight for the ‘big one’ tomorrow – see you there!

Summer School 2022 – Day 1: Trumpets, Teas and Twiddly Notes

Music for Everyone

It doesn’t feel like a year since we were last here, writing about Summer School – but how great it is to be back!

We are once again using the beautiful setting of Trent College in Long Eaton, with many familiar and new faces taking part in this years course. The welcome ‘drink and pastry’ at registration gave everyone a chance to catch up with friends with Robin and Angela kicking things off with an introduction to the 3 days.

The orchestra, conducted by Rob Hodge, got underway with a warm-up involving a lot of standing up and sitting down to get the hearts pumping, then it was into the rousing 633 Squadron for the first rehearsal of the day.

The choir, delighted for Hilary Campbell’s return, enjoyed their morning sessions in the chapel, accompanied by the wonderful Richard Cox with some familiar MfE faces joining the choir this year.

Break time and it’s tea, coffee and biscuits outside in the sunshine, with a browse of the Bookwise stalls. With the help of our lovely volunteers and Chair of Trustees John Hess, teas and coffees were served, with John learning the secret to how many tea bags make a great pot of tea!

The first guest of Summer School 2022 is Anthony Thompson, making Monday the day of the brass instrument with a splendid lunchtime recital on trumpet and flugelhorn. Accompanied by Graziana Presicce on piano, they performed a beautiful and varied programme from Elgar and Vaughan Williams to pieces composed especially for this duo – including the first live performance of Anthony Hedge’s Sonata for Trumpet and Piano – what a treat!

The brass players then got a chance to get really stuck into technique and more in their brass workshop with Anthony during the afternoon… For those who ever wondered what the secret to good note production and articulation is – it’s all down to keeping your ears clean… who knew!

We are beyond thrilled that Gill is back at Summer School to take the wind band, rehearsals and sectionals were sounding great with lots of twiddly notes and scale runs to keep all on their toes!

The orchestra were also joined by an extra, unannounced guest (a remnant of a party over the weekend before we arrived) keeping Rachel company in the horn section, credit to Anthony Thompson for the ‘Tyrana-HORN-us Rex’ pun… wonder if he’ll stay with us the whole 3 days…

Looking forward to Day 2 tomorrow, with more sunshine and hot weather on the way, it promises to be a scorcher!