orchestra

Workshop: Blow the Dust off your Instrument!

Orchestral Playing Day: 10.00am – 5.30pm
Albert Hall, North Circus St,
Nottingham NG1 5AA

    

Josh Goodman, Gill Henshaw, Angela Kay conductors

Let’s Blow the Dust off our instruments

Music for Everyone invites you to a friendly, relaxed playing day at Nottingham’s Albert Hall.

Did you learn to play an instrument when you were at school but haven’t got it out of the case for a long time? Or have you taken up playing an instrument in adult life just for fun? Do you like playing orchestral music?

If the answer is YES to any of these questions then come to Blow the Dust off your Instrument 2023.

Conducted by Angela Kay, Gill Henshaw and Josh Goodman, this playing day will give you the chance to renew your old skills or put new-found ones into practice in a friendly relaxed and supportive environment.

The music has been chosen to give scope to players of all abilities and will include Bizet’s lively Overture to Doctor Miracle, an orchestral arrangement of Puccini’s well known Nessum Dorma from his opera ‘Turandot’ and to remind you of the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna, Strauss’ thrilling polka The Hunt!

There will be items for wind band and string orchestra. The instrumental parts will be sent out in advance of the workshop to give you time to get to grips with the notes ahead of the day itself.
NB Please note: This course is suitable for players of a standard Associated Board Grade 3 and above.

Workshop Day Timetable

9.40 am          Registration opens

10.00 am       Morning rehearsals (to include coffee break)

12.30 pm       Meal break

1.30 pm          Afternoon rehearsals for all players (to include tea break)

4.15 pm          Break

4.30pm           Informal performance for friends and family

5.30pm           End of course

Informal Performance This performance is designed to be part of the workshop experience for participants to enjoy. Friends and family will be welcome to attend. There will be no tickets but voluntary contributions in support of MfE will be much appreciated via a retiring collection.

Workshop Day Fee

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

Orchestra players

Members of Music for Everyone      £30

Non Members                                  £35

Benefit Claimants/Students             £20

 

How to Enrol

Online – pay by card:

BOOKING FOR THIS COURSE IS NOW CLOSED. Please keep an eye on our website for the next course, which will be on Saturday 17th June.

Just click the button below and fill in your details. Payment can be made via PayPal or debit/credit card.

By post – pay by cheque:

Please download and complete this pdf form and post it, together with your enrolment cheque (made payable to Music for Everyone) to Music for Everyone, 10 Goose Gate, Hockley, Nottingham NG1 1FF

For any further information, email admin@music-for-everyone.org or telephone 0115 958 9312 (Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm)

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!

Course: Summer School 2022

…the English connection

NB The course is now full and bookings are closed.

Music for Everyone’s 2022 Summer School is a wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in quality music-making in a stimulating, friendly environment.

This year we are delighted that the Summer School will be hosted once again by Trent College. Their outstanding facilities, excellent bus and tram links and on-site parking make it the perfect location for an inspiring musical experience. And for those travelling a distance, the nearby town of Long Eaton has a selection of overnight accommodation and two hotels can be found at Junction 25 of the M1, just 2 miles away from Trent College.

We will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Ralph Vaughan Williams by exploring his musical connection with English composers such as Walton, Britten and Purcell.

Repertoire for full orchestra will include Vaughan Williams’ hauntingly beautiful Prelude: 49th Parallel and Ron Goodwin’s 633 Squadron. In separate groups, the wind band will explore the well known Folk Song Suite by Vaughan Williams and music by Grainger and Arnold. For the strings Britten’s tender Sentimental Saraband plus workshops with guest viola recitalist Carmen Flores.

For the choir there will be a rich variety of folksong arrangements by Vaughan Williams and contemporary composer Cecilia McDowell, anthems by Purcell and choruses from well-loved Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Singers and instrumentalists will come together for William Walton’s rousing Agincourt Song from the soundtrack of Henry V starring Laurence Olivier.

Add to all this workshops and recitals given by top professionals and you have three days of superb music-making.

   

The Summer School Experience

Playing or singing, develop your music-making through a series of workshops and rehearsals led by our expert and friendly tutors and guest conductors. With them you will explore a range of repertoire, both challenging and fun. Copies of the music will be sent to you about four weeks in advance.

All workshops and rehearsals start at 10am with registration on Monday between 9.30 – 10am. Recitals from our guest artists on each day will last for around an hour. The Summer School Showcase Concert will take place early Wednesday evening. A detailed timetable and repertoire list will be sent out with the music packs.

Gain unique insights into performance through our special programme of workshops and recitals given by professional singers and instrumentalists of national and international standing.

 

Be part of the social buzz. Extended breaks give you time to chat to tutors, browse the stands and enjoy the school grounds. There will be a welcome ‘coffee and pastries’ on the first day and a ‘farewell buffet’ after the Wednesday evening Summer School Showcase Concert – lots of opportunity to meet new people in a relaxed social setting.

The Summer School fee of £110 covers all tuition, tea and coffee at mid-session breaks and Wednesday evening’s buffet. Please bring a packed lunch – the grounds of the school are ideal for a picnic – alternatively, cafés and sandwich shops can be found a short walk away.

 

Guest Artists

Workshop sessions will be led by Music for Everyone’s artistic team and our highly talented 2022 guest artists: Hilary Campbell, Gill Henshaw, Robert Hodge, Anthony Thompson, Carmen Flores and Simon Theobald.

 

Conductors – Hilary Campbell and Robert Hodge

Hilary Campbell is a freelance choral specialist based in London. She is founder and director of professional chamber choir, Blossom Street, and Musical Director of Bristol Choral Society, Music Makers of London and Chiswick Choir. She has also recently been appointed assistant conductor of Ex-Cathedra. Hilary has released two award winning Naxos recordings and is a published and prize-winning composer. 

 

 

 

Gill Henshaw studied music at the University of Birmingham and has over 15 years’ experience of both teaching and conducting music groups in the Nottingham area. She is an accomplished performer on clarinet and saxophone and is principal clarinetist with the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra. After more than six years of being a valued member of the MfE artistic team, Gill returned to full time teaching in September 2021.

 

 

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Robert Hodge teaches conducting at the Royal School of Music and is known for his considerable skill, clarity of technique and excellent rapport with musicians.
He is the Musical Director of three symphony orchestras – City of Cambridge, Essex and Aylesbury – and works with many other orchestras, adult and youth, including the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

 

 

 

Recitalists – Carmen Flores, Anthony Thompson and Simon Theobald

 

American violist, Carmen Flores has created a distinguished career as a passionate advocate for viola repertoire and chamber music. Originally from San
Diego, Carmen has appeared as soloist and guest principle viola with orchestras and ensembles including English National Opera, Britten Sinfonia and the English
Chamber orchestra.
She is a founding member of the acclaimed Villiers Quartet, currently in residence at the Jaqueline du Pré Building, Oxford University

 

Anthony Thompson is one of the busiest trumpeters in the North of England! He has performed with major orchestras such as the Hallé, RPLO and CBSO, often as principle trumpet. In 2002 he was appointed principal trumpet and soloist of the New English Sinfonia, and in 2008 joined Sinfonia Viva as principal trumpet.
He enjoys teaching and has played on recordings with artists as diverse and Normal Wisdom and Shirley Bassey!

 

 

Nottingham born and bred, baritone Simon Theobald caught the singing bug at school when ‘frogmarched’ into a leading role in Fiddler on the Roof. At university his vocal studies culminated in an audition at the Wigmore Hall for the operatic baritone, Tito Gobbi.
A five-times winner of ‘Best Male Performer’ at the International Waterford Festival, Simon is well known for his characterful interpretation of musicals and operetta, with solo appearances across the North and Midlands.

 

How to Enrol 

The cost of the Summer School is £110.

NB The course is now full and bookings are closed.

Summer School – Day 3 The final leg of our European Tour

Music for Everyone

3 incredible days, 4 amazing conductors, 5 beautiful and inspiring concerts, 6 bottles of hand sanitiser, 12 pieces of music, 124 singers and instrumentalists, 184 sandwiches, 240 cocktail sausages, 425 photos and 628 cups of tea and coffee and that’s Summer School 2021!

The third and final day began with an unexpected warm up on the field for the singers when the fire alarm went off (false alarm!). After a few vocal exercises and stretches in the sunshine with Hilary, it’s back into the Chapel for performance preparation ahead of the Showcase Concert.

Meanwhile, the orchestra are settling into the Obolensky Building where the evening concert is to take place, to run through and polish their chosen performance items with Rob.
After the morning break with tea, coffee and biscuits in the sunshine, the wind band and strings focus on their pieces with Gill and Rob respectively – with some of the eager (and occasionally over-enthusiastic!) MfE team joining the percussion section for the wind band piece and Assistant Artistic Director Rachel shining on the tambourine!

Our final guest artist in the Lunchtime Recital programme is Summer School accompanist Richard Cox. We managed to coax him out from behind the choir and take us all on a whistle-stop tour of Europe with stunning performances of piano works by Bach, Dvorak, Debussy and Ravel.

The afternoon rehearsals include orchestra and choir coming together to rehearse the big finale joint item, then it’s concert time!

The Concert Programme

  • Brahms – Hungarian Rhapsody No.5 Full Orchestra
  • Trad. arr. Zimmerman – The Wellerman Choir
  • Makor – O Lux Beata Trinitas Choir
  • Mozart – Sinfonietta Strings
  • Holst – 1st Suite in Eb for Military Band Wind band
  • Pergolesi – Magnificat Choir and Strings
  • Faure – Cantique de Jean Racine Choir and Strings
  • Reed – El Camino Real Wind band
  • Hamilton – La Danza Espanol Strings
  • Strauss – Thunder and Lightning Polka Full Orchestra
  • Beethoven – Ode to Joy Combined Orchestra and Choir

An emotional end to the concert, for many, this is their first concert in well over a year, if not longer! MfE are also sad to say goodbye to Windband Animateur, Gill Henshaw, who will be leaving her role at the end of the summer to return to full-time teaching. She will be back at MfE events though, she can’t get rid of us that easy!

The performance over, it’s time to tuck into the buffet (which includes the 240 cocktail sausages!) and relax with a drink and a chat with fellow musicians and reflect on the past three days and celebrate the joyful return to music-making.

And that’s it for Summer 2021! Finally, we would just like to say a huge THANK YOU to all our guests and conductors from this week – Chris, Gill, Hilary, Rachel, Richard, Robert and Sam. This years venue, Trent College – amazing support and staff that have helped out. Also to all the singers, players and helpers that came along – thank you for continuing your support of Music for Everyone, particularly over the past eighteen months and we hope to see you all again very soon!

MfE Summer School 2021 – So good to be back!

Music for Everyone

After months of planning and wondering if it would indeed go ahead, the Music for Everyone Summer School for adult instrumentalists and singers returned with a bang today – and how wonderful it was to see everyone!

Trent College, Long Eaton – the setting for the MfE Summer School

This year seemed doubly exciting as well with a 2 year build up from the last course in 2019. We are thrilled to be back at Trent College in Long Eaton this year with 3 days of marvellous music making ahead with this years theme ‘A Grand European Tour’…

Day 1 – The best way to start Summer School is with morning teas, coffees and pastries, making sure everyone is well-fuelled for a busy day. Then it’s time to split into choir and orchestra and begin working together on the pieces that (hopefully!) everyone has been practicing at home.

We are joined this year by wonderful guest conductors, Hilary Campbell and Rob Hodge. Hilary is working with the choir, taking a tour of Europe with pieces by Faure, Beethoven and more. A final addition to their repertoire is ‘The Wellerman’ – a lilting sea shanty from New Zealand.

The orchestra, expertly led by Rob, take their European tour with Hungarian Dances, a Mozart Sinfonietta (strings) and Latin vibes with El Camino Real (windband with MfE Animateur Gill Henshaw).

Morning breaktime and the tea and coffee team have started the annual tally of how many cups will be poured this year. (results to be announced later in the week!) Luckily the weather stayed dry and the sun chose the best moments to appear as everyone enjoyed catching up.

The first guest artist of the Summer School is Sam Sweeney, local folk fiddling superstar from Nottingham and a past Stringwise player in his youth! Sam performed a lunchtime concert with many foot-tapping folk tunes and stories of music to be discovered.

The strings were then treated to a folk workshop with Sam, learning phrases by ear (no sheet music allowed!) and breaking down the basics of folk fiddling – adding a ‘new string to their bow’ (couldn’t quite resist that pun…!)

Squeeze in another cup of tea and coffee (and a biscuit of course!) and one final rehearsal and that’s day 1! So much more to look forward to with special guest artists Chris Swann and Summer School accompanist Richard Cox performing lunchtime recitals over the next 2 days, not forgetting the Showcase Concert on Wednesday evening and the much anticipated buffet! Check back later in the week for another instalment of Summer School 2021…

#MfEMondays – Keeping in Touch

Music for Everyone

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Hello everyone,

It’s MfE Summer School time! And as we come to the end of our 1st day, everyone is a little tired but really looking forward to two more days of making music together. And the sunny weather is forecast to continue over the next couple of days – hooray!

Today we all marvelled at the folk fiddling wizardry of guest soloist Sam Sweeney.  Sam originates from the Nottingham area and used to come on our Stringwise courses – it’s amazing what some of our youth players have achieved – fantastic!

We have also very much enjoyed the rehearsals taken by our excellent visiting conductors, Hilary Campbell (choir) and Robert Hodge (orchestra).  And there is so much more to come – exciting!

Here are a few photos of what we have been up to.

Angela

Sam Sweeney’s ‘tune sharing’ and folk workshop.

The singers enjoying a tea/coffee break before heading back to rehearsal with Hilary Campbell

The orchestra finishing off their first day with guest conductor Robert Hodge

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

09/08/2021

admin@music-for-everyone.org

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

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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.

Concert: A Kaleidoscope of Love – Wagner, Whitacre, Orff

Helena Durham

Saturday 3rd February 2018, 7.30pm | Albert Hall

Angela Kay MBE | Artistic Director

Victoria Barlow | Guest Conductor, East of England Singers

Nottingham Festival Chorus, East of England Singers and Nottingham Concert Orchestra

What’s interesting about this concert:

  • The Nottingham Festival Chorus of 220 singers is likely be the largest choir to perform a choral work of Carmina Burana’s scale in Nottingham this year. Experiencing this music (often used in films and TV) from a seat in the audience is a thrilling and uplifting experience.
  • Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll, peformed by the orchestra, and Whitacre’s Five Hebrew Love Songs, sung by the East of England Singers, are sensual works born of love: Wagner’s for his wife, Cosima, daughter of composer Franz Liszt, and Whitacre’s for his then girlfriend, now wife, the poet and soprano Hila Plitmann.
  • Carmina Burana, meaning Songs of Beuern, is the title of both the collected 13th century poems Carl Orff used as his text and of his composition. The choir sings words in Latin, Middle High German, Old Provencal and Old French. (We always provide translations in our programmes.) The themes of the poems are as familiar in the 21st century as they were when first written: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the mystery of life, the joy of the return of Spring, and the pleasures and perils of drinking, gluttony, gambling and lust.
  • Singing in a choir and listening to classical music have been shown to improve mental and physical wellbeing. During rehearsals our singers are learning useful Latin phrases from the poems, such as ‘In taberna quando sumas non curamus quid sit humus’, which means ‘When we are in the pub, we do not think how we will go to dust!’

Click here for further information and tickets.

Shout out to youth string players – EMYSO is auditioning!

Helena Durham

2016-03smile

EMYSO performing in Nottingham’s Albert Hall, 2016

Are you a string player, Yr 7 upwards, already have Associated Board Grade 5 or above? Would you like expert guidance in developing your ensemble and orchestral playing? Then come and audition for the East Midlands Youth String Orchestra and be part of this friendly and amazing group. Conducted by distinguished violinist and conductor, Richard Howarth, the orchestra performs a variety of music from the great string orchestra repertoire. Rehearsals are usually once a month on a Sunday afternoon.

Taking a bow after a great performance

Taking a bow after a great performance

EMYSO perform both in their own right and sometimes playing within one of Music for Everyone’s professional orchestral groups. This offers experience of a larger repertoire of both orchestral and accompanied choral works – a unique opportunity for young orchestral players.

Click here for details of the auditions on Saturday 16 July.