Latest News

Future Talent Funding

LIMITED PLACES LEFT FOR JAZZ COLLECTIVE!

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

Awards for Young Musicians

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.

Student EPs available soon!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

South West Music School singer/songwriters Josie Newton and James Aldridge will be releasing their very own EPs (Extended Plays) in time for Christmas.

Watch this space for more information or contact the the office on: 01803 847011 to pre-order your copy.

National Youth Jazz Collective - Cornwall

New and exciting chance for young musicians to work with the best jazz musicians in the business.

Young Artists Performance Series

Since the start of this learning year we have had two highly successful performances at Dartington Hall by our Devon & Cornwall students as part of the new Young Artist Performance Series.

Indigo Hicks (cello from Cornwall), Ben Comeau (piano from Cornwall) and Henry Tozer (piano from Devon) kicked off this term's series in style in October.  This was followed by a percussion spectacular by Devon students: Kizzy Brooks, Molly Lopresti-Richards and Harriet Riley and the KEVICC percussion group.

The next concert in this series is at The Pound Arts Centre in Corsham on 17th February.

For more information about the students please contact the office on: 01803 847011

Jazz Professional Development course

The National Youth Jazz Collective is delighted to launch a unique professional development opportunity, led by the legendary Pete Churchill, designed for a total of up to 20 music educators, music leaders and Jazz musicians from the South West region wishing to develop their teaching of jazz skills. Pending completion of the programme and successful graduation, participants may then be invited to become regionally endorsed member of the National Youth Jazz Collective’s teaching team.

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