There was a buzz in the air all day in anticipation of the evening’s performance. Morning and afternoon, instrumental and choral pieces were given a final polish in both the individual and combined groups.

The lunchtime recital was a real treat, given by professional guitarists Saki Kato and Hugh Milington – the Miyabi Duo. Their performance of music spanning several centuries revealed the variety of styles and sounds possible from the guitar, including the use of both body and strings as percussive elements. Like other performers at previous Summer Schools, Hugh had participated in MfE activities as a youngster, though not as a player but a singer!

As you can imagine, arranging a hall to accomodate 150+ performers in wind band, string orchestra, full orchestra and choir formation, with three conducting points, four conductors, two pianos, an organ, two sets of timpani, lots of percussion and a table for tuned wine glasses, while still leaving space for a solist and audience of family and friends, takes some time and is no mean feat, but we did it.

Getting ready for the final rehearsal.

The performance of music reflecting this year’s theme of ‘Voyages of Discovery’ – both in space (Now you understand this blog post’s title!) and at sea – was well received. Everyone sang and played with great enthusism. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished in three days of intensive rehearsal with great tutors and conductors. Of course there were a few wrong notes, but there was always the right spirit in the music and the opportunity to perform, which is what Music for Everyone is all about.

The String Orchestra enjoyed a rare opportunity for an amateur group – playing a concerto with a professional soloist. Conductor Abi Smith and leader Isobel Bounford ensured a wonderful balance between orchestra and soloist, Hugh Millington, leading to a beautiful performance of Vivaldi’s Guitar Concerto.

The concert ended with a mighty fine I vow to thee my country by all performers and audience – this was within the full orchestra’s rendition of Holst’s Jupiter, which included particularly splendid horn playing.

At every great event, much goes on behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly and each participant has a great experience. MfE office staff Amy and Kirstie packed away the urns after the final break having made and served several thousand cups of coffee and tea. (Not forgetting putting out hundreds of biscuits that always disappeared within a few minutes.) They then turned their hands to playing percussion in the evening concert, alongside ‘Events’ Anne tootling her flute and Executive Director Robin compering the evening. And somehow, inbetween and after all that, they collected, set up and served the farewell buffet, then cleared EVERYTHING away until the High School was as though we had never been there.

Huge thanks go to them all, and to conductors Hilary Campbell, Gill Henshaw, Angela Kay and Abi Smith, recitalists and workshop leaders, Richard Cox – THE most amazing accompanist, Nottingham High School for being such fab hosts, and to every participant. We hope you had a great time.

Hilary encouraged the choir to ‘be more Hollywood, less British’, so it seems fitting to say ‘It’s a wrap’ for Summer School 2019! We’ll be back next year with Summer School 2020.

Rehearsals for all groups continued throughout the day. Hilary Campbell had the singers drawing the Z of Zorro with imaginery swords – one swiped line for each triplet note to ensure the perfect rhythm of three against two.

Hilary also rehearsed the string orchestra for the works accompanying the choir, with MfE’s Abi Smith taking and inspiring the group’s other rehearsals.

Today’s recital, given by Zephyr Winds – five professional players with national and international careers – was a virtuosic display of the colour and versatility of flute, clarinet, obe, horn and bassoon. The playing was by turn dramatic, tender and comical – particularly superb were the animal sounds in Jim Parker’s Les Animeaux. Director Chris Swann dazzled on clarinet in the world premier of an arrangment by Matthew Lax (MfE’s Treasurer and Trustee) of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Flight of the Bumble Bee. Phew!

Lunchtime recital – Zephyr Winds

Each member of the quintet led a workshop for small groups of Summer School players – brass, oboes, bassoons, flutes, clarinets and saxophones. These groups then performed their workshopped pieces to each other. This was in addition to the players rehearsing as a windband with MfE’s Gill Henshaw, and then with the strings in the full orchestra.

The visiting professionals offer Summer School participants unique access to leading players, singers and conductors. There are opportunities to ask them for advice about individual issues or technique in general. But the days are not all work – there are refreshment breaks morning and afternoon, and today’s sunshine meant outdoor lunch for many. There is time to chat with friends, meet new people and browse the stalls, including Windblowers’ array of instruments.

You can hear the improvement all the tuition and rehearsing is bringing about. Players and singers are developing confidence in performing their own lines, listening more carefully to each other to create a blended sound, and adding in not only the dynamic and expressive effects written into the score, but the emotion that turns notes into music and a collection of individuals into a band, orchestra or choir. Tomorrow’s concert audience is in for a treat.

Today’s interesting fact: Oboes are not automatically always in tune!
An oboe gives the note for the band or orchestra to tune to because its sound is clear and carries. To enure the note given is spot on, the responsible oboist must first warm their instrument and tune to a perfect A by using a tuning fork.

Click for biographies of the staff of MfE at the Summer School

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook page.

Feeling the chill of winter coming on? Warm it up by booking for one or both of our opportunities for adults, or tickets for the Festival Chorus Concert.

DSC01424Blow the Dust is for instrumentalists, including recorder players, on Saturday 7 January 2017 at Nottingham’s Albert Hall. We suggest Associated Board Grade 2 and above (or equivalent). You will play in different groupings of instruments to give you a wide and enjoyable experience during this orchestral playing day. If you play the recorder, any size of recorder, the ensemble meets in the afternoon only. For more details, click here.

What will we be playing?

The music has been chosen to give scope to players of all abilities and will include Berlioz’s rousing Hungarian March, Tchaikovsky’s lyrical Waltz from his Serenade for Strings especially arranged for full orchestra, the well known Trumpet Tune by Purcell and Elgar’s stirring Pomp and Circumstance March No 4.

There will also be items for windband (conductor Gill Henshaw) and string orchestra (conductor Ann-Marie Shaw). The recorder ensemble will have a varied diet of music carefully chosen by their conductor, Chris McDouall.

MfE-9839The Nottingham Festival Chorus event is spread over two weekends. The rehearsal course, always fun and a challenge to polish up those notes and your singing ability, will be led by Angela Kay, and takes place on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January at the Bluecoat Academy, Aspley. The final rehearsal and concert are the following Saturday 4 February in the Albert Hall. For more details, click here.

What will we be singing?

This year, there are two works. One of the favourites of the choral music repertoire, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, which is packed full of memorable themes and classic choruses. And then, from the declamatory opening to the final exultant flourish of chorus and orchestra, Dvorak’s Te Deum is a joyous whirlwind of vitality and excitement! We are delighted to welcome Marcus Farnsworth as guest conductor of the concert. What a privilege and treat.

Concert: To book tickets for the Festival Chorus’s concert, click here.

 

 

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Two hundred instrumentalists from Nottinghamshire and beyond gathered in the Albert Hall for a day of blowing the dust off their musical instruments. Participants of wide ranging experience played music selected and arranged for differing tastes and abilities.

There were more flautists than seats on a double decker bus, tootling beautifully, fine woodwind and brass sections, strings playing sensitively or with gusto (all those notes, and so fast!), and a trio of percussionists with sticks in mouths and/or on drums, triangles, cymbals and all sort. In another room the recorder group practised away on all five sizes of recorder, from sopranino to bass.

DSC01451Angela Kay, Gill Henshaw and Chris McDouall conducted different groupings of instruments. An informal concert, performed to an appreciative audience, concluded the day.

Repertoire included music for strings alone, for concert band, full orchestra, and for recorder group. The varied programme took us from Dowland to Bernstein, Elgar to Pirates of the Caribbean and, of course, Hucknall’s very own Eric Coates.

Blow the Dust will be back later in the year, so polish your trumpet, rosin your bow, search out your recorder etc. Whatever you play, there’ll be a part waiting for you.

For more photos, see Music for Everyone’s Facebook page.

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P1110328Imagine a very large rectangular hall, high-ceilinged. The orchestra filling a third of the space, the choir in four rows along a wall running the length of the hall, and an eager audience of about a hundred.

First Robin Reece-Crawford introduces the evening and comperes the concert with information about the composers and the musicians.

Every configuration of instrumentalists and P1110376singers from the Summer School perform several pieces with great enthusiasm. The atmosphere is fantastic. As I’m tucked away in a far corner, which is fine – love those tymps! – I’d handed my camera to Charlotte Pullen, daughter of one of the violinists. See what happens when you sit in the front row! During the concert she takes some wonderful photos to give us a collection of happy memories. Well done, Charlotte, and thanks.

P1110378There is music from Byrd to the Beatles, Pergolesi to Gershwin, Vivaldi to Rutter. In addition to the groups, tutor Owen Cox plays as he conducts Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and tutor Gill Henshaw, accompanied by the orchestra, plays a movement of Weber’s Clarinet concerto. Stunning.

The choir sings in different configurations under the ‘baton’ of three conductors. (Not that we’ve have seen a baton all week, have they gone out of fashion?) Here is the lower voices’ moment of glory, with Mike enthusing them from the front. P1110356

The concert comes to an end with a rousing performance of Johann Strauss’s Radetzky March, and choir and audience clap along. Beat that for enthusiasm, Vienna Philharmonic!

P1110382And then our three amazing days of music making, learning new pieces and techniques, listening to first class music, being lead by dynamic conductors who worked so hard and brought out the best in us for the short time of the School, is over. Not forgetting the concerts and masterclasses. We trip off into the night with tired bodies but light hearts, new friendships made, challenges risen to, fine music and much laughter.

More photos to follow – it might take a few days!

Here’s hoping there will be another Summer School – this one was aided greatly by the generosity of the University of Nottingham (my alma mater), who provided the space and facilities. Thanks too for the Summer School go to the Assistant Artistic Director of MfE, Alex Patterson P1110368(I think this was his baby, if you see what I mean), Artistic Director Angela Kay, Adult Programme Co-ordinator Robin Reece-Crawford, Anne, Su and Gemma from the office, tutors and conductors Owen Cox, Mike Gregory, Gill Henshaw, Jane McDouall, Isobel Bounford, accompanists Stefan Reid, Tim Uglow and Martyn Parkes, and other musicians who kindly gave of their time to fill in the gaps or to encourage parts and sections, and of course to all the delegates. (Apologies if I’ve missed anyone.)

Now you might be wondering what happened to Quote of the Day. Well, it was awarded to Angela Kay, we had a titter about it but it is unprintable, so come along to a Music for Everyone event and join in the music making and fun. Thanks for reading – around the world, we gather!

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Helena 

There was a buzz in the air as we gathered for a day of rehearsals in preparationP1110249 for this evening’s concert, a buzz that continued through lunch eaten in the sunshine.

During the day’s rehearsals the choir polished movements of Vivaldi’s Gloria, Byrd’s Civitas Sancti Tui, Mozart’s Veni, Veni, Spiritu, and two songs from Rutter’s When Icicles Hang.

The lower voices rehearsed Stanford’s Songs of the Sea with Mike Gregory, and the upper voices learned the opening movement of Pergolesi’s wonderful Stabat Mater, which I have always wanted to sing. Jane McDouall gave us great tips for raising the soft palate for a bigger sound and ensuring the shape of the mouth is right for a richer tone.

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But what of the instrumentalists? The saxophone group – 4 alto saxes and 1 tenor – were swinging some Gershwin.

Third from the left is Gill Henshaw, a clarinetist and one of the tutors and conductors.

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The Wind Band blew the years away with a medley of Beatles numbers.

Here’s Helen on percussion. Drum stick not in mouth at this point, but later. Sometimes two hands are just not enough.

And there’s Chris on bass. Wait a minute, isn’t that Chris on sax above?  Not in the picture, but blowing their hearts out, were the tootling flutes, oboes, saxes and a french horn.

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The strings ran through Peter Warlock’s Capriol Suite – ah, memories of school orchestra days, and isn’t there a piano version? A bit of trick photography in this shot – Owen didn’t have his back to anyone…!

After a final rehearsal, orchestra and choir together for the first time, we tucked into a wonderful buffet made by Jo from Beeston’s Local not Global Deli. Very tasty.

Here’s the final rehearsal with Angela Kay. More news tomorrow.

Helena 

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logo_GreenSometimes everything goes quiet in August, but not this year!

A large, brown envelope dropped through my letter box a few weeks ago brimming with information and music for the three-day Music for Everyone (MfE) Summer School. It starts next Monday, the 17th of August, at the University of Nottingham. I’m looking forward to excellent music-making with the other 203 delegates, lots of fun, and relaxing breaks (Ice cream!) in the beautiful surroundings of the University Park.

Visiting professional musicians, a cappella ensemble Apollo 5, mezzo-soprano Carris Jones, violinist Owen Cox and clarinetist Sarah Watts, will be giving workshops, masterclasses and short public concerts.

No doubt the tutors, Angela Kay, Alex Patterson, Gill Henshaw, assisted by Jane McDouall, Mike Gregory, Isobel Bounford, Owen Cox, and Stefan Reid, will bring out the best in us. Having sung with MfE before, I know it’s going to be great. MfE have invited me to blog about it, which I’ll happily do between singing pieces from Byrd to Rutter, Vivaldi to Kodaly, and a few surprises yet to be revealed. I’ll pop in on the instrumentalists too. They appear to have an exciting programme of classical music, jazz and swing awaiting them. Maybe I should dust off my flute… Did I mention we’ll also be learning how to conduct?!

Helena Durham

A note from the MfE office: Details of the concerts and tickets can be found here.