Showcase
Summer 07 residential had ‘Infinite Possibilities'
6th Aug 2008
The last residential for the learning 2007/08 was held from 25 – 28 July at Truro School. The aim of this residential was to explore what makes music what it is. This took the group on a journey through what is involved in composing and explored the elements of melody, harmony, dynamics, structure, texture and timbre. Through this process the students created their own music to explore and stretch each of these areas to their limits and rebuild music. These processes culminated in the creation of the ‘Ensemble of Infinite Possibilities’ and a 40 minutes original composition that stunned the attending audience. The composition contained elements of African, Jazz, Classical, Cuba and Fusion music as well as experimentation with acoustic and effects packages.
What the students said……..
What did you enjoy most during the course?
The process of creating our piece of music (especially in the Chapel). We had the freedom to discover and play with other people ways of playing, and at the same time develop our own and broaden our musical horizons.
This course has inspired me to….
Look at music in more detail
Listen to other types of music more
Look more into free music
Are there any things that you have been particularly valuable?
Experimenting with alternative instrumentation and acoustics.
How could the residential been improved?
I think all the residentials should be like this because it was the best one yet!
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Tragically, 24 hours after attending this performance Gilly Rudling, Youth Music Senior Regional representative, suddenly died. South West Music School have dedicated this piece to her memory.
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SWMS hit the high notes at Excellent!
22nd Jul 2008
5 young musicians from South West Music School and 5 dancers from Youth Dance Academy, Swindon, performed in
Fish-Tale a piece for 4 drum kits, solo voice and dance on the main stage at Sadler’s Wells, London as part of Excellent! This piece was specially created by choreographer Henri Oguike & Nuno Campos to the music by composer Keith Tippett and libretto by Julie Tippetts.
Excellent! was a unique celebration of the achievements of this country’s most talented young dancers and musicians supported by the Department of Children, Schools and Families’ Music and Dance Scheme. A public performance by 350 students at Sadler’s Wells, London on 15 July is followed by a symposium at the venue for an invited audience on 16 July.
This event saw the first collaboration between SWMS and YDA, which was a great success. The piece was prepared together at Dartington on 7&8 June and the creative sparks flew immediately producing inspirational movement and musical improvisations.
Lisa Tregale, SWMS Director said ‘This was an amazing opportunity for our students, not only performing at an international venue with other amazing musical talents but also working with dancers in making their music develop in a completely different way. We were the youngest organisation performing at the event and the students were totally astounding and I cannot explain how proud I am of them. A real credit to SWMS and the West Country!’
For more information about
Excellent! please visit
www.excellent.uk.com
SWMS ‘Taster Day’@ BSO
22nd Jul 2008
Four SWMS students had a fantastic day with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra on 10 July 2008 at there home in the Lighthouse Centre, Poole. Ruth Knight (flute), Jamie Tweed (trombone), Harry Smith & Tobie Tripp (violins) had the unique opportunity to be given masterclasses with the orchestras section leaders Anna Pyne, Kevin Morgan and orchestra leader Duncan Riddell.
Our students were warmly welcomed by the orchestra’s members and conductor Matthew Wood, who integrated the students into the full orchestra’s concert rehearsal which included a collaboration performance of Sibelius’ Finlandia with the ensemble.
The whole day was an exceptional experience for our students and we thank all at the BSO for their support.
SWMS Students make St. George's Debut
19th Mar 2008
On the 28 February 2008 two of the SWMS students gave a lunchtime concert at St George's Hall, Bristol. This performance was the culmination of a series of education workshops that had been run by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which has included providing one on one coaching from their players to the SWMS students involved.
The performance was extremely well attended and was seamlessly hosted by Margaret Faultless from the Orchestra. This is what the students said about the experience.
The St. George’s experience was infinitely valuable to me in terms of performance etiquette and working with an accompanist to a ‘polished’ level as well as developing specific instrumental technique. Working with Margaret Faultless of the OAE was amazing; a pro like herself knows all the tricks of the trade as to how to improve immeasurably and it was also very interesting to get a alternative viewpoint on my playing other than my teacher’s. St. George’s is a truly awesome acoustic. I would strongly recommend going to see some stuff there!
Harry Smith
The concert at St. George's has to be the best performance experience I have had yet. In the run up to the concert, Lisa Beznosiuk (the principle flautist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment) worked with me to produce the performance that I wanted. It was fantastic - she was so helpful and I learnt so much from her.
On the day of the concert, I was quite nervous. Margaret Faultless (also from the OAE) coached me and Harry as we played through our pieces with David Price, our accompanist. As I was getting ready for the concert, I ran through all the tips that I learnt from our first residential, and when it was time to enter onstage I didn't feel too anxious.
The performance went well on the whole. The audience was great - I was convinced that it was only going to be our parents sat at the back! It was a lot of fun, and I would love do something like this again!
Ruth Knight
Dartington Great Hall full of Sound
19th Mar 2008
On the 22-24 February the 15 talented young musicians from South West Music School, from a region spanning Cornwall to Gloucestershire, spent a weekend at Dartington Hall Trust - where they learnt and performed specially commissioned pieces of music by three of the most exciting contemporary composers in the UK.
During the course of the weekend the students worked in three quintets with Stephen McNeff (In House Composer - Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra), Keith Tippett (creative pianist-composer) and Issie Barratt (internationally acclaimed composer, conductor and baritone sax player). The Quintets were as follows:
Barratt - Freedom to Explore for 2 Voices, 2 Guitars and Violin
The students also had workshops with the Schubert Ensemble and a group from the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute of Indian Culture to explore different areas of ensemble practice.
The weekend culminated on Sunday the 24 with a performance of all three pieces to a packed Great Hall together with the Schubert Ensemble.
Following the success of this weekend Fish-Tale (composed by Keith Tippett) has been selected to represent SWMS at a national event at Sadler’s Wells London on the 15 July. This piece will be choreographed by Henri Oguike for five young dancers from Swindon Dance. This will be developed with the musicians over a weekend at Dartington in June.
What the students said:
"I really enjoyed working with the Schubert Ensemble - they were really helpful and they helped me to understand how much teamwork is needed in ensemble playing"
"I loved input from my professional composer on how to play their music and also experiencing contemporary music and playing and practicing it as an ensemble"
"This residential has inspired me to get involved in smaller ensembles to develop my musicianship further"
"As always, all the tutors I meet were extremely nice and certainly 'know their stuff'. I took much away from them all. I'm a much more musically knowledgeable person for it."
"This course has inspired me to make my ideas heard and think more about a piece of music rather than just playing it."
Lisa Tregale - SWMS Director
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