Benedetti Foundation Newsletter April 2020

APRIL 2020

VOL. 1

BENEDETTI FOUNDATION

MESSAGE FROM NICKY We hope this letter finds you safe and as well as possible. During these incredibly turbulent times, I am deeply saddened not to be

IN THIS ISSUE

carrying out all of our usual educational activities in person. But please know we are committed to providing you all with as much substance, uplift, inspiration and fun in music as humanly

NEWS AND UPDATES

possible.

We aim to keep in touch with you all more regularly, through this newsletter but also through all of our social media platforms. We

LEARN WITH NICKY

have been listening carefully to parents, teachers and young

TUTOR TALK DAILY

people, and are aware there is a huge amount of educational

SESSIONS

material out there online and that it’s pretty difficult to know what to choose and where to look. We are working with all our experienced partners and tutors, and we wish to be a secure and

'WITH NICKY' SERIES

trusted source of inspiration and information for you.

The more we hear from you, the more impactful we can make our

CHAT WITH NICKY

materials. There is a lot of discovery going on during this time, and many things being tested out for the first time. Please communicate with us, so we can better know what you are all

COMING UP SOON

looking for.

To all the young musicians – keeping a good mix of consistency that means some hard work and discipline - and fun and

SUPPORTING THE FONDATION

enjoyment is the key to improvement!

We hope you all enjoy the information below and we will be back in touch soon with some more very exciting news!

With love to you all, Nicky

KEEPING IN TOUCH

APRIL 2020

VOL.1

NEWS AND UPDATES

“The sessions have this incredibly magical atmosphere where fun, joy and love of music sits at its foundation”

Here at the Benedetti Foundation, we are committed to uniting those who believe music is integral to a great education, and inspiring collective action targeted at increasing its reach and quality.

In the first few months of this year, we have delivered our first four Benedetti

Sessions

in

Glasgow,

London,

Birmingham

and

Dundee. Sadly, our Antrim Sessions in May have had to be postponed, but we’re looking forward to a time when we can all be back together in person to meet all our new participants.

P H Odelighted T O B Y M Ato R Thave I N R . worked S M I T H with children and teachers from 31 out of the 32 local authorities in Scotland, 30 We are

out of London’s 32 boroughs and in close partnership with many organisations including Services for Education Music Service in Birmingham, Sistema Scotland, London Music Masters, London Music Fund, Nucleo Project, Music in Secondary Schools Trust, European String Teachers Association, NCO-GB, NYO, NYOS, and with music services, hubs and private music teachers across the country. In just the first 3 months of this year, we have worked with over 1000 young string players, nearly 1800 primary school children, 250 string teachers and 100 primary classroom teachers.

We are very grateful to our orchestral and venue partners who have supported our sessions thus far: Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Southbank Centre, Caird Hall and Town Hall Birmingham, as well as individuals who have donated in order to make these sessions a reality.

As we move into this unprecedented period of time, the Foundation has put in place a number of new activities to support young musicians and teachers across the country, and indeed across the world.

LEARN WITH NICKY Last week, violinists across the country came together to practice and perform Elgar’s Salut d’amour through daily YouTube lessons with Nicky. We were overwhelmed at the support, with the videos being viewed over 40,000 times on YouTube! It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces on the videos submitted for the competition and we enjoyed seeing all your incredible progress since we last met you. To catch up on Nicky’s lessons, click here to go to the YouTube playlist.

APRIL 2020

VOL. 1

TUTOR TALK DAILY SESSIONS Every day on the Benedetti Foundation Facebook page, our incredible team of tutors are delivering daily 30 minute music lessons. These take place from 12-12.30pm Monday to Friday and have so far covered topics including: Ensemble Skills with Alex Laing, Wellbeing with Elena Urioste, Rhythm Games with Elsa Bradley, Samba with Patrick King, Sounds and Styles with Alice Kent, Beginner Basics with Rachel Cooper and many, many more.

These lessons are all uploaded to our website and you can catch up here: https://www.benedettifoundation.org/resources PHOTO BY MARTIN R. SMITH

More ‘With Nicky’ videos will be coming soon so if you can, subscribe to the channel and you’ll be notified

when

new

videos

come

out:

www.youtube.com/thenicolabenedetti

CHAT WITH NICKY Each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from 5pm, Nicky will be live on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube (keep an eye on our social media accounts for which platform she is on) for chats on technique, question and answer sessions and interviews with other musicians. You can catch up on Nicky’s chat with virtuoso violinist Augustin Hadelich here.

COMING UP SOON Next Monday (27th), we’ll be launching a very exciting project and you will all be the first to know about it.

We are busy planning something to keep you all studying, learning, progressing and developing during this tough time when we are all separated from each other, and some of you are not able to see your teachers or your students.

Check your emails next Monday and we hope you will all be signing up to be a part of this inaugural online event.

APRIL 2020

VOL. 1

SUPPORTING THE FOUNDATION The Benedetti Foundation is a registered charity which receives no government funding. All our activity is funded through the generous donations of individuals, corporate sponsorship and trusts and foundations.

We strive to ensure that every area of our activity is accessible to all children and teachers, regardless of their background or circumstance. Therefore, as you all know, no participant currently pays more than ÂŁ10 to attend a Benedetti Session event and all of our online resources are free to access. Â We are very grateful to all those who donated before and after the Sessions. If you would like to join them either in making a one-off donation, or through a regular monthly donation to the Foundation, we would be pleased to hear from you. During these difficult times, we are hugely appreciative of your support.

ONE OFF DONATIONS To make a one-off donation to the Foundation, please click here for all the available options for donating: www.benedettifoundation.org/support

REGULAR DONATIONS If you would like to join our monthly supporters, you can do this via Paypal Donate, JustGiving or to avoid donation platform fees, by arranging a monthly payment direct to our account. Please contact us: fiona@benedettifoundation.org for details.

APRIL 2020

VOL. 1

GIFT AID Where

possible,

we

would

be

incredibly

grateful if donors could complete a Gift Aid form. This is available on the Support page on our website above. During this period of time, our postal address is currently not operational, so we ask you please to return this by email to fiona@benedettifoundation.org

TWO POINT SIX CHALLENGE The Benedetti Foundation features on Just PHOTO BY MARTIN R. SMITH

Giving’s Two Point Six Challenge set up to support small charities during this current period of time. Our direct donation link is found here.

KEEPING IN TOUCH We absolutely love receiving your emails, videos, letters, and your comments online. Please keep in touch with us.

You

can

always

write

info@benedettifoundation.org.uk

to and

us

via:

messages

on

Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

We are so looking forward to working with you all again soon. In the meantime, keep safe and keep practising.

The Benedetti Foundation is a Scottish company limited by guarantee with charitable status. Company number: 636675. Charity number: SC049688