Music for Everyone

NFC Singing Workshop with Robert Hollingworth

Come and be part of an amazing choral experience and perform a dazzling concert. All participating singers become the Nottingham Festival Chorus for the day! 

St Nic’s Church, Maid Marian Way, City Centre, Nottingham, NG1 6AE

10am-4pm

Workshop Leader: Robert Hollingworth

Accompanist: Angela Foan

Enjoy a day getting to know beautiful and intriguing music from the 16th century: not the ‘usual’ sacred fare but the most expressive and characterful secular pieces. From Italy, some quite perfect Monteverdi. From Spain, a cancion (five in a bar – best sung as when limping). From Germany – inspired by the Italians – a heart-rending lament. From France, a rather cool chanson (which, however, inspired a very funky dance). England offers a simple-looking madrigal but actually is so full of ideas, it needs calming down a bit.

A day with Robert Hollingworth is so much fun that you might not realise how much you’re learning. His breadth of skill and knowledge, mixed with off the wall humour and excellent anecdotes, is guaranteed to bring the music bouncing off the page and into glorious technicolour.

Ability to read music is essential, however, all music will be made available in advance. Links to music recordings will be given as well as recordings of the pronunciation for the non-English poems.

What is the Nottingham Festival Chorus?

  • Mixed choir of 100+ voices, no auditions
  • Expertly led, highly enjoyable workshops and concerts
  • Distance-learning packs provided

What experience do singers need?

The ability to read music and some previous singing experience is needed for this course.

  • Mixed choir of 100+ voices, no auditions
  • Expertly led, highly enjoyable rehearsal weekends
  • Distance-learning packs

Don’t miss out, book your place now!

Venue

The course and concert on Saturday 26th September will take place at St Nic’s in the city centre. Find out more about St Nic’s here: About — St Nic’s Nottingham

Workshop Leader

Photographer Matt Brodie

Robert Hollingworth

Robert founded I Fagiolini in 1986 and has since spent much of his life thinking about how audiences receive music, instead of just how performers want to deliver it. Aside from his work with I Fagiolini, he is a conductor, broadcaster, educator, editor and festival director. Robert has conducted orchestras including the English Concert, Academy of Ancient Music, BBC Concert Orchestra, Irish Baroque Orchestra and directed some of the world’s finest chamber choirs including Accentus, NDR Chor, RIAS Kammerchor (Berlin), Netherlands Chamber Choir, National Chamber Choir of Ireland, BBC Singers, Danish National Vocal Ensemble and Capella Cracoviensis. Robert is Artistic Director for Stour Music Festival and the new ‘Fairest Isle Festival’ on the Isle of Wight.

At the University of York, Robert directs two choirs and the UK’s only MA in Solo-Voice Ensemble Singing, now in its 13th year. He has written and presented programmes on BBC Radio 3 and more recently created over 30 episodes of the YouTube choral series SingTheScore as well as co-founding and presenting the UK’s top choral podcast series, Choral Chihuahua, with Eamonn Dougan and Nicholas Mulroy, now in its twelfth season. Both are made by Polyphonic Films (Greg Browning). Robert Hollingworth is managed worldwide by Percius.

 

Repertoire

Monteverdi – Sfogava con le stelle

Schein – Da Jakob vollendet hatte

Anchieta – Con amores mi madre

Tomkins – Weep no more, thou sorry boy

Sandrin – La volonte

Music Scores

We offer music collection points. Please choose an option when booking.

Provisional Timetable –

Saturday 26th September: St Nic’s Church

Registration: 9.45am

Singing sessions: 10am – 4pm

To include tea, coffee and lunch break and end with an informal concert.

Workshop Fee

The fee includes all music copies, the workshop experience and coffee or tea at the morning and afternoon breaks.

All – £30; Benefit Claimant/Student – £10.

We don’t want anyone to be excluded from MfE activities because of their financial circumstances and there is a subsidised scheme available for any who needs it. Please contact anne@music-for-everyone.org if this is the case.

How to enrol

Click the button above and fill in your details: Payment can be made via debit/credit card (no additional fees)

By post – pay by cheque:

For any further information, email admin@music-for-everyone.org or telephone 0115 9589312

MfE Membership

Join us as a member and become part of a unique community of music makers. Your membership will also help to sustain, strengthen and shape the future of MfE, enabling others to experience the joy of music too.

Membership benefits you will receive are:

  • Special membership rates for courses/workshops
  • Invitation and voting rights for the annual AGM
  • Priority early booking of tickets for all events including concerts

Annual Membership – £40 per year

N.B. If you play or sing with one of our regular groups i.e. Daytime Voices / Daytime Orchestras / Nottingham Chamber Singers you are already part of the family and will automatically receive these membership benefits as part of your termly subscription. You do not need to take out membership.

Click here to become a member

 

Summer Garland Concert, Sun 10 July, East of England Singers

Music for Everyone

strawberries-and-cream-19What better way to pass a Sunday afternoon than by listening to music and eating strawberries?

Join the East of England Singers, conducted by Angela Kay, Artistic Director of Music for Everyone, for their end of season concert at the Djanolgy Recital Hall (opposite Lakeside, University of Nottingham), 3.30pm. There will be madrigals, folks songs, vocal and instrumental soloists.

Travel by tram, or park on the campus. Enjoy a walk before or afterwards.

Click here for tickets.

The East of England Singers is the auditioned chamber choir of Music for Everyone, its members are the tea and coffee makers extraordinaire of other MfE choral activities, conductors of several MfE groups, MfE admin staff, MfE Bookwise and shop ‘managers’ etc, etc. Here’s what the critics say of their singing:

“The work’s driving rhythms, catchy melodies and irresistible exuberance swept both audience and performers off their feet”
William Ruff – Nottingham Evening Post

“First-class choral singing, well balanced and with a depth of understanding which brought every line of the texts to life”
Grahame Whitehead – Nottingham Evening Post

Do you know Tim Peake, or someone who might know him?

Music for Everyone

Imagine Major Tim Peake sending a message or song from space to MfE’s Vocals children. Wouldn’t it be amazing? tim-peake_3528246bWe need your help to make it happen.

On the principle of 3 – 6 degrees of separation between one person and another on (and off, in Tim’s case) the planet, you could well be able to contact him more directly than MfE tweeting him over and over (poor man). He probably gets many requests and might not know about the awesome work of Music for Everyone, and how singing and science are coming together for the youngsters in the next 10 days.
dreamstime_l_27523004background removed copy1smallIf you know someone who might know someone who might know someone else who might know Tim Peake, could you set a chain of contacts going to see whether we can reach him? There will probably be a Mars Bar or a Milky Way, and definitely our undying admiration and gratitude, for anyone who achieves our dream.

The children start rehearsing Reach for the Stars this weekend, and the concert of exciting space themed music is the following Sunday, 15 May, 3.30pm at the Albert Hall. It will also feature the amazing Mad Science, so do come along for a stunning, starlit, inter-galactic concert of music and entertainment. Tickets available here. Advance booking recommended.

Concert – tomorrow!

Music for Everyone

There will be a wonderful concert in Beeston Parish Church tomorrow, Saturday 16 January, 7.30pm. Four Music for Everyone groups join together to perform a programme of classical music spanning more than 300 years. The most recent composition, Flame, by Ben Parry, was written in 2012 and inspired by the concept of the Olympic torch. Tickets will be available on the door. Come by tram, bus or car, but arrive early for the best seats as the New Year concert is popular. Participating are Nottingham Youth Voices, the East Midland Youth String Orchestra, East of England Singers and the New Classical Players. Composers include Handel, Mozart, Brahms, Bizet, Pergolesi, Holst and Parry. Hope to see you there.

 

Congratulations, Angela Kay

Music for Everyone

awardYesterday, BBC East Midlands Today filmed some of both the rehearsal and concert of Music for Everyone’s Christmas is Coming. During the concert, founder and Artistic Director Angela Kay was presented with the Lady Hilary Groves Prize for her outstanding contribution to music in the community. Peter Lawson, Chair of Making Music, read a wonderful citation of Angela’s achievements. She was warmly applauded by musicians and audience alike for creating opportunities and enjoyment for so many people, and of all ages. Many congratulations, Angela.

We have managed to get the video of Angela on East Midlands Today, see if you can spot yourselves!

 

 

East of England Singers

Music for Everyone

cropped-logo_darkblue_green-copy.jpgHaving founded the Nottingham Choral Trust (now Music for Everyone) in 1983, Angela decided that a permanent chamber choir might add to the confidence of the Nottingham Festival Chorus and enable even more challenging works to be sung. In 1985 she formed an auditioned group, the East of England Singers (EOES), originally intended to perform for part of each season with the East of England Orchestra (now Sinfonia Viva) – hence the name.

2015 EOES

Some of the current choir have been members ever since, and in June 2015 the choir celebrated its thirtieth birthday with a reunion choir performance of Bach’s magnificent Mass in B minor. Members often say that EOES is the friendliest choir they have ever sung with. We work hard not just at our singing but also for Music for Everyone, with most of us contributing something to other groups, both adult and youth: Tea makers, cake bakers, shop runners, Bookwise helpers, blog writers, programme note writers, tour organisers, membership secretaries, accounts, NFC accompanist, Daytime Voices and Vocals! conductors, accompanists and helpers, recorder players, organist, violinist, harpsichordist, staging, lighting, sound, photography etc. You name it, we do it!

Our next concert is very soon. Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm, St John’s Church, Mansfield Rd, Carrington, Nottingham. The programme, spanning almost three centuries, comprises sacred and secular works that vary in mood from sombre to joyful, and in sound from gentle and melodious to rhythmic and dramatic. There will be trumpets and drums, other brass and wind instruments and, of course, the choir. We would be delighted to see you there and for you to enjoy music by Purcell, Stravinsky, Mozart and Bruckner.

Click here to see the programme and for tickets.

More about EOES and joining the choir.

 

 

 

 

Angela Kay – a very worthy recipient

Music for Everyone

The 2015 Lady Hilary Groves Prize for outstanding contribution to music in the community is awarded to Music for Everyone’s founder and artistic director, Angela Kay MBE.

Many congratulations, Angela, we (singers and instrumentalist, staff and supporters) are delighted that your commitment to inclusive music making in Nottinghamshire since 1983 has been recognised once again. Thank you for enriching the lives of so many people with great music making and infectious enthusiasm.

Follow the link to read all about it: Making Music: Lady Hilary Groves Prize 2015

Angela being applauded by the audience, orchestra and choir after conducting Bach’s Mass in B minor, June 2015

The Grand Finale!

Music for Everyone

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!

P1110387

Helena 

We have lift off!

Music for Everyone

Oh yes, we were given a pencil! And a wrist band and a delegate pack full of useful information before being welcomed by the ever Tiggerish Angela Kay and Robin Reece-Crawford.

Many moons ago, aged 14, I joined a small choir where one piece became my favourite, The Lover’s Ghost by Vaughan Williams. Imagine my joy when Apollo 5 opened the Summer School by singing this to us. Sublime.

P1110171The group are not named after the space rocket but Apollo, the god of music, and the number of vocalists. They taught us using the Voce8 method. We limbered up body and brain, adopted a good singing posture and began building up layers, including the pop beat of Western music, rhythms from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin-America and India, sol-fa from Hungary (Who knew? Thanks Kodály!), Asian vocal inflections and melodic lines. We got physical, we got vocal, and we did all this in up to 7 parts. As the session progressed more delegates volunteered to co-lead a section. Some parts were beat-box or vocal percussion in sound, others melodic or to add harmony. Fantastic, and then we were ready for coffee.

We returned to Houston, I mean the rehearsal room, and took off with three new songs that used the techniques learned earlier. After a quick lunch (do bring a packed lunch, would be my advice) we were ready for Apollo 5’s wonderful concert.

P1110174Clare Stewart, Greg Link, Alex Haigh, Ciarán Kelly and Charlotte Brosnan sang Dylan, Adele, Java Jive, Finzi, Bairstow, Sondheim and others with such attention to detail, listening intently to each other to keep the tuning and harmony tight, conveying the story of the lyrics and the emotion of the music. There was rapturous applause before we said goodbye. They set off to teach a lucky group elsewhere.

News of the afternoon to follow.

Helena Durham

Apollo 5 are part of a music education charity based at the Gresham Centre, London.

My bags are packed, I’m ready to go…

Music for Everyone

My journey however doesn’t require a jet plane (as the song goes), bus and feet will take me to the Department of Music, University of Nottingham for the first day of the Music for Everyone Summer School.

So I have packed: lunch, water, throat-soothing sweets and tissues (I have the remnant of a cold, bother), camera and pencil – though I’m hoping the MfE tradition of a issuing a commemorative and useful pencil will add another to my collection, but NO music, at least not for the first day.

This feels rather liberating. As a singer, I’ll be spending the morning with vocal ensemble Apollo 5. Watching them on youtube tells me we’ll be listening to each other carefully and having fun too.

If you’d also like to hear them live, they are giving a concert at 1.30pm today, Djanogly Recital Hall, in the School of Music (next building down from the Djanogly Gallery and cafe), University Park campus. Tickets are £5.