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!

*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 RosesThe Darkest MidnightStill 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*

 

    

2pm – 5pm at The Grange, Radcliffe-on-Trent

Online booking is now closed but we do have spaces to turn up on the door! Registration is from 1.45pm and we can accept cash or card payments.

Come and enjoy a fun afternoon of singing together. Children aged 5+ with their mums, dads, grandparents, carers, aunts and uncles – the whole family, friends too! Singing is great for health, togetherness, confidence and fun.

No preparation is needed, we will send all details out by email before the day – all you need is your best singing voice!

Music leaders – Sara King & Rachel Parkes

   

Join us for a fun afternoon singing workshop at The Grange in Radcliffe on Trent. The whole family is invited to take part together, enjoy well-known songs from ‘Celebration’ by Kool and the Gang, ‘My House’ from Matilda and ‘Under the Sea’ from the Little Mermaid, all led by our experienced conductors. There will also be an opportunity to have a go at STEEL PAN DRUMMING and listen to a short performance by our new ensemble!


Enrolment and Price

NB Please note, all children must be accompanied by an adult.

Price – £7 per adult, £5 per child (between the ages of 5 and 15)

Online – pay through PayPal or by card

Just click here 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 9589312

In partnership with:

What an amazing concert yesterday to end such a Christmassy week for MfE! A great big WELL DONE to all the singers in Vocals and Nottingham Community Voices for a great performance and a special thank you to Santa for taking the time to drop by.


We have been getting into the festive spirit with this great playlist of classical Christmas favourites – perfect for tree decorating, present wrapping and anything else that requires an alternative to Chris Rea!

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/occasions/christmas/best-festive-classical-music/


  • There are still a few places left for Blow The Dust Off Your Instrument! If you are looking at that cello in the attic, clarinet in the garage or trumpet in shed (don’t keep trumpets in sheds please) you have just a few days left to sign up for our 7th January BTD! All the info and how to book online is here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/event/blow-the-dust-off-your-instrument-3/

Stay warm and have a great week!

Your friends at MfE.

12/12/2022

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.

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!

Saturday saw 150 people gathering at Nottingham’s Albert Hall for our Autumn Singing Workshop and Concert. This was the first event for the Nottingham Festival Chorus since January 2020 which was originally planned to take place in June. However, despite the postponement, it was a fantastic occasion, the chorus in fine voice with rousing renditions of Vaughan William’s Let All the World in Every Corner Sing and Holst’s Psalm 148 accompanied by Henry Parkes on the organ along with the strings of the Nottingham Classical Players. Other music included three anthems by John Rutter and excerpts from Henry Purcell’s Ode to Queen Mary with Sarah Trevers, Rachel Parkes, Angela Kay and Greg Treloar singing the solo arias.

The concert programme also contained two organ solos, Elgar’s Chanson du Matin played by the strings and two items by the Nottingham Chamber Singers. All in all, a great day!

Here are some moments our photographer managed to capture.


As the daily temperatures begin to fall and the autumn colours appear on the trees, we thought you might like some music inspired by the change of season to listen to –

Autumn Music – Jennifer Higdon – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA8zWzGuDjg

Autumn (from Die Jahreszeiten) – Joseph Haydn – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHYBac1B6_g

Autumn (from The Seasons) – Aexander Glazunov – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg6dZScORQk

Autumn Leaves – Joseph Kosma – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9-6lnnUeT4


  • Performing music is often a very serious business but the duo of violinist Alexsey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo prove that classical musicians often have a sense of humour too…..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKZITB_r8t0

Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

18/10/2021

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.

KEEPING IN TOUCH

Hello everyone,

Well what a week of frustration and disappointment!

There we all were, along with thousands of other singers throughout the country, looking forward so much to joining together and having a SING!!

But – as I’m sure you are now all aware – the government made a screeching u-turn round about 5pm last Tuesday regarding choir rehearsals and singing was proclaimed DANGEROUS!! Professional choirs are able to sing together but only 6 amateur singers are allowed to sing under one roof!!

This meant that one of our choir rehearsals on Wednesday evening could not go ahead as planned and our Family Singing Afternoon at the Albert Hall, which was going to be a wonderful event with almost 100 singers from across the generations enjoying themselves together, was scuppered and has had to be rescheduled for later in the year (17th July). And it looks as though our Daytime Voices rehearsal scheduled for Wednesday of this week will have to be cancelled.  We’ll be in touch with singers round about lunchtime tomorrow to let you know what’s happening.

So we’ve hit the media to express our feelings!

Our chairman, John Hess gave an excellent interview on East Midlands Today. https://youtu.be/PZ2ljbf25sM

Robin Reece-Crawford returned to Radio Nottingham on Sunday morning to chat once again to Francis Finn https://youtu.be/SuuhmykKVww

And the Evening Post ran an article about the whole situation. On line on Thursday https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/charity-singing-group-disappointed-latest-5439430 and in the newspaper on Saturday.

So what can you do?

  1. Write to your MP – John wrote to his and she raised it with the Prime Minister at the meeting of the 1922 Committee of Conservative MPs.
  2. Sign this on-line petition – very easy to do and it will make a difference. Let’s see if we can make Nottingham and the surrounding areas bright red on the petition map. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/586559
  3. Make representation to anyone you know in high places.
  4. Hope that the government sees sense!!

We’ll keep you up-dated with any developments.

Keep cheerful!

Angela

PS The subject was raised on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning – perhaps waves are being created.



Have a good week!

Your friends at MfE.

24/05/2021

admin@music-for-everyone.org

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

10 Goose Gate | Hockley | NG1 1FF

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Instagram

*Support us with easyfundraiser*

#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.

KEEPING IN TOUCH – Diary Dates!

Hello Everyone

In Monday’s email I said I would let you know our plans for the coming months just as soon as they were finalised – and here they are!

We’ll be letting you have further details about timings, repertoire etc. closer to the event – but at least you have something to put in your diaries and, we hope, look forward to!

Live music making is coming back – let’s all keep our fingers crossed that the government doesn’t have to change the ‘road map’!

With all best wishes

Angela


MfE Workshops and Concert Dates – 2021/22

Those in red are for youth, those in blue for adult and those in green for everyone!

2021

  • Sunday 23 May, Albert Hall – Family Singing Afternoon
  • Saturday 19 June, Albert Hall –Youth Wind Band Playing Afternoon
  • Sunday 20 June, Albert Hall –Youth String Orchestra Playing Afternoon
  • Sunday 27 June,  Albert Hall –Festival Chorus Workshop day
  • Saturday 10 July, Albert Hall –Blow the Dust off your Instrument Workshop Day
  • Saturday 17 July, Albert Hall – Festival of Youth Workshop Day
  • Mon – Wed 9, 10 & 11 August, Trent College (venue to be confirmed) –MfE Summer School

  • Sat/Sun 9 & 10 October, venue to be decided –Festival Chorus Singing Weekend
  • Saturday 16 Oct, Albert Hall –Festival Chorus Concert
  • Sat/Sun 6 & 7 November, venue to be decided –Youth Instrumental Playing Weekend
  • Sunday 14 November, Albert Hall –Youth Instrumental Concert
  • Saturday 11 Dec, venue to be decided –Youth Christmas Singing Afternoon
  • Sunday 12 Dec,  Albert Hall –Christmas is Coming Concert

2022

  • Saturday 8 January,  Albert Hall –Blow the Dust off your Instrument Workshop Day
  • Sat/Sun 29 & 30 January, venue to be decided – Festival Chorus Singing Weekend
  • Saturday 5 February, Albert Hall – Festival Chorus Concert
  • Sat/Sun 26 & 27 February, venue to be decided –Youth Instrumental Playing Weekend
  • Sunday 6 March, Albert Hall –Youth Instrumental Concert
  • Saturday 23 April, venue to be decided –Musicals Singing Workshop
  • Sunday 24 April, Albert Hall –Musicals Concert
  • Sat/Sun 14 & 15 May, venue to be decided –Youth Singing Weekend
  • Sunday 22 May, Albert Hall –Youth Singing Concert
  • Saturday 11 June, Albert Hall –Blow the Dust off your Instrument Workshop Day
  • Saturday 25 June, venue to be decided –Festival Chorus Workshop Day
  • Mon – Wed 8, 9 & 10 August, venue to be decided –MfE Summer School

MfE’s online singing project for January – February 2021!

Brought to you by MfE’s Assistant Artistic Director, Rachel Parkes and Director of Music of St Barnabas Cathedral, Greg Treloar – these online sessions are designed to help refresh your singing voice and get it back into shape with helpful warm up tips as well as rehearsing a piece of music, chosen by our conductors.

Rachel Parkes

Greg Treloar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sessions in this 4-week course are uploaded to our YouTube channel every Wednesday, but you can watch them in your own time when it suits you.

MfE’s online singing sessions are free of charge to access, but if you feel able to make a donation to support MfE through these hard times, you can do so with a card or through PayPal here: https://www.music-for-everyone.org/donations-page/

Or if you already have an account with us, through our website here (at the bottom of the page): Make a donation

To be added to the online choir mailing list, please email admin@music-for-everyone.org and further details will be sent to you.

This morning Music for Everyone’s three-day Summer School got underway once more, but at a new venue – Nottingham High School. About 150 instrumentalists and singers arrived looking cheery, pleased to have overcome the absence of trams and the road closures. Or perhaps at the prospect of fresh coffee and pastries…

The day was filled with a rich variety of rehearsals and workshops in preparation for Wednesday’s concert performance. The repertoire for all groups has been themed to complement the 50th anniversaries of both the moon landing and Sir Robin Knox-Johnson’s circumnavigation of the globe.

Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars!

More about the wind band and strings tomorrow – today’s focus is on the choir. Angela Kay, Music for Everyone’s founder and artistic director, led the singers through warm ups and into Ola Gjeilo’s Across the Vast Eternal Sky (one of her favourites, apparently). Then she had everyone swinging Fly me to the Moon before ending the morning with a first go at Handel’s Let their celestial concerts, superbly accompanied by Richard Cox. 

Lunch was followed by a recital and workshop with mens’ vocal quartet Scaramella. They entertained us with snatches and glees from 18th century gentlemen’s clubs – as you might imagine, the lyrics featured much wine and were at times on the naughty side! The workshop stretched the singers physically and vocally, and everyone enjoyed exploring Pearsall’s poignant Lay a Garland.

After a cuppa, Jane McDouall, fresh from the south, returned to a warm welcome and led a singing technique session followed by a Q+A. Everyone will be breathing (inhaling, Jane prefers) with shoulders down and the right muscles in play tomorrow. ‘Basically,’ Jane said, ‘there’s no point trying to hold your tummy in and look good if you want to have breath for singing!’ The choir is looking forward to Tuesday’s arrival of visiting conductor and choral director, Hilary Campbell.

“Let those tummy muscles go!”