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National Youth Strings Academy

Proms Family Orchestra and Chorus

We are seeking to recruit family members from Cornwall to take part in a major Proms Family Orchestra and Chorus project, performing at the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday 30 August 2010!

What is the Proms Family Orchestra and Chorus?

BBC Proms Family Orchestra was launched in 2006, when five people turned up at a primary school in Reading for the first rehearsal. More recent Proms Family Orchestras have become bigger than your average symphony orchestra, featuring a wide range of music, and an even wider range of ages!

The idea is to give family members - whether mums, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, neighbours or grandparents - the chance to play and sing music together. Everyone is welcome, from keen amateurs to those who've never played in an orchestra before - and its ideal for those who haven't picked up their instrument in years! The minimum age is 7, and all children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian throughout the project.

This year the Proms Learning team, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Cornwall Music service and the Cornish composer Graham Fitkin have teamed up to build the biggest Family Orchestra and Chorus yet who will perform a world premier at the BBC Proms.

What will happen in this project?

Over the next few months the BBC will be creating and rehearsing two brand new family orchestras and choruses in Cornwall and London.  Each orchestra will work with musicians from the BBC Concert Orchestra on a piece written especially for the project by Cornish composer Graham Fitkin which will be performed alongside the whole BBC Concert Orchestra at the BBC Proms in London at the Royal Albert Hall on 30 August and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. 

What will we be playing?

The BBC Proms have commissioned a new piece from Cornish composer Graham Fitkin, the piece will included families from Cornwall and London in the Family Orchestra and Chorus and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Graham’s piece PK has strong Cornish connections, focusing on Cornwall’s historical importance as part of the world’s tele-communication systems.

Who can take part?

Proms Family Orchestra and chorus welcome families of all shapes and sizes. Anyone aged seven upwards is welcome, from keen amateurs to those who have never played in an orchestra or sang in a choir before. If you play an acoustic instrument, or would like to join the chorus or percussion section, at whatever level, you can come and join the fun.

P.T.O

Project schedule

Sunday 23 May: Taster session in Truro

11.00 – 6.30         Family Orchestra and Chorus taster session, come and meet the team and find out what it’s all about! If you want to take part in the project we’ll need all family members involved to commit to the following dates:

Saturday 21 Aug: rehearsal in Truro

11.00 – 16.30

Sunday 22 Aug: rehearsal in Truro

11.00 – 16.00

Monday 23 Aug: rehearsal in Truro

11.00 – 16.00

Tuesday 24 Aug: rehearsal in Truro

11.00 – 16.00

Saturday 28 Aug: Travel day

AM: Cornwall PFO travel to London with evening rehearsal

Sunday 29 Aug: London rehearsals

AM: London and Cornwall Family Orchestra and Chorus rehearsal

PM: Family Orchestra and Chorus rehearsals with the BBC Concert Orchestra

Monday 30 Aug: London rehearsals and Prom

AM: Children’s concert at the Proms

PM: General rehearsal

19:00: PROM

Tuesday 31 Aug: Travel day

AM: Cornish Family Orchestra travel home

How much does it cost?

Becoming a member of the Proms Family Orchestra and Chorus is fee. All accommodation in London and travel to and from Cornwall will be provided.

How do I sign up?

Please go to www.bbc.co.uk/proms to sign-up.  Click on ‘Take Part’ and then ‘Play at the Proms’ in the left hand menu. 

Alternatively, email promslearning@bbc.co.uk or phone us on 020 7765 0643.

Please note, numbers will be limited so register your interest early! We hope to be able to include everyone interested in taking part, however, selection may be needed to make sure we have a balanced group of instruments. We won’t be selecting according to level or experience.

A bit about the BBC Proms

The BBC Proms is the world’s biggest classical music festival, with fantastic concerts by world famous artists taking place daily over two months every summer in London’s Royal Albert Hall. As well as concerts, there are loads of free events especially for families. Tickets for under 16s are half price for all Proms and every prom has over 1000 promming tickets available on the door. For more information about this year’s BBC Proms season please visit bbc.co.uk/proms.

We look forward to hearing from you,

The BBC Proms Team

‘May I say on behalf of myself and my family a huge thank you for the chance to perform what an honour it was we all enjoyed it very much and would jump at the chance to do it again the team where fantastic all of you so helpful kind and understanding we would not have missed this for the world.’

Family Orchestra Participant 2009.

If you have any queries you can also speak to the local contact for Cornwall Learning Music (The Music Service) Tim Boulton on 01736 350887

CALL FOR MENTORS

South West Music School (SWMS) is calling for 'Expressions of Interest' from Music and Arts Professionals for our Mentoring Scheme. SWMS Mentors form the core of our student programme and have had a profound effect on our young musicians’ personal and creative growth.

Deadline is Friday 18th June @ 5pm

Sound and Music Summer School

SOUND AND MUSIC SUMMER SCHOOL:

Internship Opportunity with SWMS

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Dartington Summer Youth Program

A summer festival of creative courses in music and the arts, especially for young people.

5-day courses will provide opportunities to work closely with a range of inspirational artists and ensembles, make new friends and create and perform new work.

Accommodation is also available!

BOOKINGS ARE NOW OPEN!

Visit www.dsyp.org for more information

South West Youth Orchestra 2010

15—20 August 2010

To download an application form click here

Future Talent Funding

Ross Needs Funds to Realise His American Dream

18 year old South West Music School student Ross Pike is due to graduate from South West Music School this summer and is jet setting across the waters to Berklee College of Music, Boston. Originally from Falmouth, Ross has chosen Berklee because there is no comparable music course in the UK. Students can learn classical, jazz and modern music all together and have the chance to explore other possibilities and find their own paths. 

Kaleidoscope CD now available to buy!

Students from South West Music School and Wells Cathedral School joined together to record their own songs onto CD and IT IS NOW AVAILABLE TO BUY!

'Kaleidoscope' is available to buy for £10.50 inc P+P and can be ordered using the order form which can be downloaded here.

Any questions please call the office on: 01803 847011

New Programme Co-ordinator Appointed

South West Music School would like to welcome Sophie Swainger as the new Programme Co-ordinator. 

www.foundations-for-excellence.org is NOW LIVE

We are pleased to announce the launch of a brand new website which is the first ever first-stop shop for information on health and wellbeing in young musicians and dancers.

Feeder Scheme: Session 1

Sunday 20^th September saw the official start of the new South West Music School: Feeder Scheme. 22 students from across the South West joined together to work with Andy Baker on Music creativity and composition.

South West Music School: Feeder Scheme

The South West Music School: Feeder Scheme will comprise of 6 days with international quality artists developing talented young musicians’ skills through the exploration of different musical workshops and themed days.

Josie Newton on 'Take it Away'

As mentioned in June 2007, the Arts Council set up an initiative called 'Take it Away' in 2006.  Since then it has grown and expanded and now includes our very own South West Music School student, Josie Newton.

You can see her at: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/takeitaway/index.php?video=4

Take it away is an Arts Council initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing music. The scheme allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly instalments, completely interest free.

Take it away is open to everyone (over the age of 18), but primarily designed to help those who might otherwise be unable to afford an instrument appropriate for their needs.

Our priorities are:

• to encourage children and young people to develop their interests and skills in music making
• to inspire new players of all ages to begin learning an instrument
• to enable those on lower incomes to acquire an instrument appropriate to their needs (or the needs of their children)

Take it away is only available through registered outlets. For details please see participating stores.

Arts Council England - Take It Away

Take it away is a new Arts Council initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing music. The scheme allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly instalments, completely interest free. Following the success of a six month pilot in the South East region during 2006, the scheme is now being rolled out nationally through a network of 100 outlets across England. Take it away is open to everyone (over the age of 18), but primarily designed to help those who might otherwise be unable to afford an instrument appropriate for their needs. Our priorities are: to encourage children and young people to develop their interests and skills in music making to inspire new players of all ages to begin learning an instrument to enable those on lower incomes to acquire an instrument appropriate to their needs (or the needs of their children) Customers using the scheme to buy a new instrument may include peripheral items such as amplifiers, music stands, sheet music and sometime tuition as part of their loan to help manage these costs too. Take it away is only available through registered outlets. Please go to www.takeitaway.org.uk for a list of participating stores. For further information please contact takeitaway@artscouncil.org.uk or telephone Lucy Jamieson on 020 7973 6452

We're in The Independent

Published: The Independent - 22 March 2007 Music in Schools:

Making sure talent doesn't slip Regional music centres are making sure talent is spotted nationwide. Michael Church reports on the South West. Music tuition in the state system is mostly discussed in terms of paucity or plenty: while teachers with long memories hark back to the good old days when peripatetic instrumental tutors were available on tap from every local authority, optimists like Howard Goodall make films to prove that things have never been better. But this argument relates to the generality of children: less attention is paid to what happens to children at the top end of the ability-range, despite the regular excitement over who becomes BBC Young Musician of the Year.

A scheme which has been steadily growing since its inception in 1973 has recently taken a great leap forward: news of its latest manifestation comes from a bright-eyed young woman named Lisa Tregale. But first some history. Before 1973, local authorities gave talented young musicians means-tested help; a sympathetic Gulbenkian report proposed that specialist music schools such as Chetham's, Purcell, Wells Cathedral School and the Yehudi Menuhin should form part of a state supported Music and Ballet Schools Scheme.

In 2003, Charles Clarke - then Education Secretary - announced a Music and Dance Scheme to support national organisations including the National Youth Orchestra plus its jazz counterpart, as well as the National Children's Orchestra, the National Youth Choir, and the South Asian Music Youth Orchestra. Enter arts consultant John Myerscough, with a report proposing a radical intervention on behalf of those talented children who were still falling through the net. Observing that large parts of the country were not covered by the requisite institutions, that there was a glaring imbalance between public and private provision, and that not all parents understood how to get their talented offspring launched, he suggested that a new infrastructure be created to remedy all this. The result is the creation of Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) in those parts of the country in greatest need: in the North-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East, the West Midlands, London (yes, deprivation there too), and the South-west, which is where Tregale hails from. And as director of the newly-created South West Music School, she's inviting applications for student places from this week onwards. "At last we are branded, we have an identity," she beams. And a building? "We will never have one - we are a virtual organisation." This is the big difference from the other three existing CATs, one attached to Yorkshire's youth college of music, one to Sheffield University, and one to the Sage, Gateshead - all of which take place at weekends, with the young musicians visiting then going back home. "But we in the South-west cover such a large area that it would defeat the object of the exercise to base it in one building," says Tregale. "If we set up in Exeter one day a week, it might as well be in London for people who live in Penzance or north Gloucester. We are going to offer flying support to musicians in their own area, on a one-to-one basis. Then two or three times a year we will bring them all together, to break down their isolation, and let them work as a cohort." Each student will get a mentor - but she won't choose those till she has chosen the students. "It's got to be a bit like a dating agency - matching teachers to pupils."

When I suggest this sounds impressively elitist, she bridles: "Not at all!" But surely it fits the definition of the word. "People have different interpretations of that word, some positive and some negative, so I hate to use it." What word would she use instead? "I don't use one. I'd say we're looking for exceptional talent. As our programme is individually tailored, I wouldn't put any labels on it." OK, let's say you're fostering an aristocracy of talent, as in sport. "Right. That is a positive thing. We are completely multi-genre, open to anybody from any background, of any age between eight and 16." And when she starts talking about the kind of students she's looking for, it does sound open. "They don't necessarily have to have had loads of formal teaching - or indeed any teaching. If they have outstanding talent, that will be enough. It could be somebody who's only been playing for six months. We're certainly not saying you must have grade eight violin to apply. It's all down to whether you've got that spark, that gleam of potential." And the nature of the region does underline the need for this virtual institution. The nearest conservatoire is in Birmingham, whereas students in the North have one in Manchester. "We have huge geographical and transport problems," adds Tregale. "Not enough trains and buses, and there's a general difficulty for young people to find out what's going on." Then there's the economic angle, in a region where salaries are low. Specialist music tuition can cost up to £100 an hour, but at £10-£20 the average lesson still represents a challenge for low-income families.

Tregale stresses that they are not going to barge in and support things which are already working. "We will simply give additional support - maybe topping up the hours, sending the student to master-classes, giving them performance opportunities, or getting them professional exposure. Talented players might want to start composing, or conducting. We could get them shadowing players in a symphony orchestra. With our help, a young musician who is already doing well could soon be flying." The local bodies which will feed in mentors and performance opportunities include Dartington Plus, The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Wells Cathedral School and Wiltshire Music Centre. Tregale, who grew up in Exeter, started out as a classical saxophone player, and believes that if she had had the benefit of her scheme she would have got much further as a performer. "By the time I was 16, my local teachers said they couldn't teach me any more. For a student like I was then, we would bring a teacher down, maybe from London, once every few weeks. And they would sit down with the student and talk about the profession, and how the student wanted to develop. I would love to have had that sort of help." Not that she's now dissatisfied with her lot. So - stand up the new Chloë Hanslip, the new Alison Farr, the new Alicia Keyes, and the new Jamie Cullum: the support is there. For more information, visit: www.swms.org.uk