orchestra

Workshop: Blow the Dust off your Instrument!

Orchestral Playing Day: 10.00am – 5.00pm
Albert Hall, North Circus St,
Nottingham NG1 5AA

      

Alex Robinson, Angela Kay, Josh Goodman 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 2024.

Conducted by Angela Kay, Josh Goodman and Alex Robinson this playing day will give you the chance to renew 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 movements from Tchaikovsky’s playful Nutcracker Suite, the dramatic Grand March from Verdi’s Aida, Ennio Morricone’s well-known Gabriel’s Oboe, and some historical pageantry from Sibelius’ Karelia Suite.

There will also be items for windband (conductor Josh Goodman) and string orchestra (conductor Alex Robinson).

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      £40

Non Members                                  £50

Benefit Claimants/Students             £25

How to Enrol

Online – pay by card here:

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

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!

Course: Summer School 2023

*Booking for Summer School 2023 is now closed*

Welcome from the Summer School Artistic Director – Rachel Parkes

“Welcome to the 2023 Music for Everyone Summer School: three days of shared music-making, with courses and workshops for intermediate and advanced musicians aged 16+. Across three days you will hone your musicianship, meet new like minded people and discover the delights of repertoire old and new. We are excited to introduce you to some fantastic repertoire and artists who resonate with our theme of ‘Broader Horizons’. We will be recognising and celebrating the achievements of women in music, looking beyond boundaries and borders to new lands and a bright, inclusive future.

Whether you want to immerse yourself in the shimmering sounds of Sibelius’ Finlandia, explore luscious choral repertoire from Brahms to Joni Mitchell, or work on your chamber skills with our string and saxophone ensembles, there really is something for everyone!

We look forward to seeing you for another unforgettable summer of music.”

The Summer School Experience

Trent College

We will be back in the beautiful Trent College in Long Eaton, where an intensive programme of rehearsals will be linked by relaxing and uplifting recitals, outdoor warm-ups under the trees, and energy packed body-percussion workshops from Stomp inspired ‘Beat goes On!’. New for this year, our saxophone ensemble, led by Keiron Anderson, will have their own dedicated sessions, and will be joining the orchestra and choir for Finlandia. A Summer School pack with all your music will be sent out to you four weeks in advance.

Each day will start at 10am (registration from 9.30am) and finish at approximately 5.30pm with a Showcase Concert early on Wednesday evening.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend three days!”

Be part of the social buzz. There is plenty of time to chat to tutors, browse the stands and enjoy the school grounds. There will be coffee and pastries to welcome you on the first day and farewell drinks and nibbles after the Showcase Concert. Please bring a packed lunch – the grounds of the school are ideal for a picnic.

 

Guest Conductors & Artists

We are thrilled to welcome many familiar faces along with several new artists including acclaimed saxophonist Naomi Sullivan and all-female a cappella ensemble Papagena, who will bring their talent and expertise to the workshops.

Conductors – Keiron Anderson, Hilary Campbell and Robert Hodge

Keiron Anderson was born in Aberdeen and studied trumpet and keyboard at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where he started both a light orchestra and big band. His career has multiple strands: musical director, composer, performer, teacher.

Keiron currently directs Yorkshire Wind Orchestra (1994 – ) which he has brought to its present level of excellence, Nottingham Symphonic Winds (2006 – ) with whom he has produced many excellent concerts and recordings, and Phoenix Concert Band (2003 – ) which he has developed into a high-quality community wind band. He has worked with many other groups including Harlequin Brass, Leeds Conservatoire Wind Orchestra, Nottingham Symphony Orchestra, the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain and numerous chamber ensembles throughout the UK and Europe as part of a diverse and rich schedule of conducting.

Keiron approaches each group differently according to its particular character, capabilities, ambition and rehearsal schedule! He recently conducted his own music at the Bavarian Music Academy Annual Wind Orchestra course in Germany, coaching composers and conducting the excellent orchestra. Keiron is a prolific composer producing unique and exciting new music across an eclectic mix of styles. Some of these works are written specifically for the groups he directs or as commissions for other ensembles. Others are intended to be enjoyed on Soundcloud.

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. 

 

 

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.

 

 

Richard Cox – Summer School accompanist

Local pianist Richard Cox has been working in the Nottingham area and beyond for many years, accompanying numerous soloists and ensembles. He studied music at Nottingham University, specialising in piano performance with Brenda May, and began working with community organisations after graduating, initially through Music for Everyone (then known as the Nottingham Choral Trust). He now spends the majority of his time running music-related businesses, including Europadisc (selling recordings of classical music to collectors around the world), and local woodwind specialist, Windblowers.

 

Guest Artists – Beat Goes On, Papagena and Naomi Sullivan

Katie Mallard – Beat Goes On

Katie is a community percussionist, composer and performer with a passion for bringing rhythms to adults and children from all backgrounds and abilities. A psychology graduate, she is known for her compassionate teaching style, energetic workshops and for the vibrant community percussion ensembles she has founded.

 

 

Papagena – A cappella group

Sopranos: Imogen Russell, Elizabeth Drury, Suzzie Vango. Altos: Shivani Rattan, Suzie Purkis

Papagena is a rarity in the UK, an all-female consort of five professional singers set up to explore music from medieval times to the present day written specifically for female voices. The group’s programming defies pigeonholing; drawing richly on traditional folk music and women’s working songs from around the world, Papagena juxtaposes these pieces with more classical repertoire from Kassia and Hildegard of Bingen to Imogen Heap and Katy Perry, as well as writing its own material and commissioning from an eclectic range of composers including Errollyn Wallen, Oliver Tarney, Janet Wheeler, John Duggan and Jim Clements. Medieval, classical, folk and contemporary music is interwoven into intriguing programmes such as Nuns and Roses, The Darkest Midnight, Still Moving and A Winter’s Dawn which fascinate diverse audiences.

Formally launched in 2015, the group has performed at numerous festivals throughout the UK including the Edinburgh Festival, Brandenburg Choral Festival (London), the Shropshire Music Trust, Music at Christchurch, Nottingham Cathedral and Bromsgrove Festivals and the 2019 Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester. As regular featured artists on BBC Radio 3 and Scala Radio, the group has also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, promoting their Darkest Midnight album which reached #6 in the UK Classical Charts in 2018. Collaborations include projects with the Orchestra of the Swan, Lynda Sayce (theorbo), Victoria Davies (harp), Cathy Lamb (organ) and vocal ensemble The Queen’s Six.

For more information please visit: www.papagena.co.uk or follow on social media: @papagenasingers

Naomi Sullivan – Saxophone

Naomi Sullivan has a varied career performing as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. She is currently performing with the Laefer Quartet who are soon to record their debut album –  as well as with Sounding Cities – a project that explores urban environments through music and visual artists. After a tour of South Africa in 2017, Sounding Cities has been part of the Bechstein Series at Wigmore Hall, The Goodman Gallery opening night and have performed at galleries in Birmingham and London.

Naomi has been part of a number of chamber groups, syzygy (a quartet she co-founded in 2009) and Flotilla, lead by Kyle Horch. As an orchestral musician, Naomi has worked for many UK orchestras including Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Aurora Orchestra and Chineke! 

Naomi has given masterclasses at the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Trinity Laban, Chetham’s School of Music, the Purcell School as well as conservatoires and festivals in Europe and the USA. She also teaches young musicians from schools and educational projects in London, Birmingham and further afield – including the Nation Youth Orchestra and Aldborough Young Musicians.

She is Head of Saxophone at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and Professor of Saxophone at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She studied with Kyle Horch (RCM) and Northwestern University (Frederick Hemke).

How to Enrol 

The Summer School fee of £120 covers all music, tuition, refreshments at breaks, and drinks and nibbles after the showcase concert. In order to provide the best quality experience for all participants, some instrument numbers will be capped. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

The Summer School is now closed for applications.

To book online, click the button below, or download a form here and return to the office with your payment.

*Booking closes on Tuesday 1st August 2023*

 

    

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!

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.