PORTSMOUTH MUSIC HUB Summer Term Newsletter 2015 In just three weeks, collaborating with Hub Partners across the city, we have brought four sensational events to Portsmouth. In March 600 children from local schools experienced a beautiful concert performed by the famous Southbank Gamelan Players to mark the launch of the World Music Series. This was followed by Soundsational! with more than 120 young musicians bringing an unbeatable sound to the city. The world premiere of Timescape, a musical journey through our planets history brought together young musicians, dinosaurs, the Roman Army and Queen Victoria! Finally, at the start of April Infant Voices, a showcase at the Kings Theatre was a spectacular evening of singing and entertainment from 500 children and, direct from the arctic, Eddie the Penguin! With an exciting array of city-wide musical opportunities this term, you are in for a real musical treat! I look forward to seeing you at many musical events this term. Best wishes,
KEY DIARY DATES 20 April Portsmouth Rocks starts rehearsing 24 April Portsmouth Music Service INSET Day No teaching in schools 25 April Portsmouth Wind Band starts rehearsing Week commencing 27 April All other Hub ensembles start rehearsing 14 May Hub Partners Meeting Portsmouth Cathedral 4.30pm
Sue Beckett Director of Portsmouth Music Hub
5 June 11am BBC Music Day School Performance Guildhall Square 26 June 7pm Sing Out Pompey Portsmouth Guildhall 2 July 6.30pm Rock the Room Wedgewood Rooms 8 July Arts and Culture Passport Day
YOUTH BAND LAUNCH
REHEARSALS 20 April 5.15pm - 6.15pm St Edmund's School Junior Rock Band
PORTSMOUTH FESTIVITIES CALL OUT FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS In the lead up to this year’s Portsmouth Festivities, young singers and performers can get involved in various ways. Join Colin Billing for a FREE special singing workshop in conjunction with the Portsmouth Music Festival on Sunday 28 June. The workshop is for young people aged 12-18 who are interested in learning new skills from a theatre professional and have questions about life as a musical theatre performer. There are opportunities for 14-19 year old singers to be part of the Festivities Youth Choir. The choir will perform at the concert at Portsmouth Cathedral on Friday 19 June. The evening will be led by the London Mozart Players and features the ‘cellist Laura van der Heijden, who was the 2012 BBC Young Musician of the Year. For more information about these opportunities contact ryan@portsmouthfestivities.co.uk Deadline for applications
BBC MUSIC DAY BBC Music Day will connect communities and generations with an inspirational celebration of music across the UK. This inaugural, nationwide initiative takes place on Friday 5 June There will be a massed schools performance in Guildhall Square at 11am. Young people will be performing Anna Meredith’s composition “Hands Free” as well as raps, chants and body percussion improvisation, led by Portsmouth Music Hub. There are free workshops in schools to support staff to learn the piece ready for the performance. To get involved, contact sue.beckett@portsmouthcc.gov.uk
20 April 6.30pm - 7.30pm St Edmund's School Senior Rock Band 25 April 5.30pm - 6.45pm Springfield School Portsmouth Wind Band 25 April and 16 May 10.15am - 11.30am St Mary’s Church Gospel Choir meet on a monthly basis, this choir has a membership fee of £3.50 per rehearsal 27 April 5.30pm - 6.45pm Springfield School Portsmouth Plays 28 April 3.30pm - 4.00pm Wimborne Junior School Brasstastic 29 April 4.15pm - 5.15pm St John's Cathedral Catholic Primary School Beginner Orchestra 29 April 4.15pm - 5.10pm College Park Infant School Young Voices 5.15pm—6.00pm College Park Infant School Little Voices
FREE MUSIC DAY FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS WITH BOURNEMOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Monday 11 May 9.30am – 2.30pm Portsmouth Guildhall Are you working on the BBC’s “10 Pieces” project in school? This is a fantastic opportunity to work with professional musicians to develop that work and give your pupils a wonderful, creative experience. The Portsmouth Music Hub is working with Jump Start to offer this great day of music free to schools. Each pupil will participate in 3 workshops – a “vocal orchestra” using Britten’s “Storm” from Peter Grimes as the starting point; a composition session based on Holst’s “Mars” (perhaps inventing your own planet!) and a rhythm workshop using John Adams’ “Short Ride on Fast Machine”. There will be a shared performance at the end of the day. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. To get involved, contact sue.beckett@portsmouthcc.gov.uk and you will be sent a booking form. Jump Start is a partnership formed by The New Theatre Royal, Aspex and The Portsmouth Cultural Trust to support learning through the arts.
IT RESOURCES FOR KS1 AND KS2 Here is your termly selection of IT resources available on the web: Classics for Kids http://www.classicsforkids.com/music/ This site gives you free access to sound files from a range of classical compositions. It’s free of charge and gives you music to inspire, excite or calm your class. Superlooper (KS2) http://superlooper.universlabs.co.uk/ Superlooper is a fun sequencing program. You highlight each circle at the top of the screen and then input music using your keyboard or by tapping on the blank screen. As you build your layers to create rich textures you also get a brilliant light show. It works best on Google Chrome. Virtual Keyboard (KS1/2) http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/ music/piano/pan_pipes.htm This is an online keyboard where children can add beats, make up tunes and explore making their own music
CONCERTS AND EVENTS
22 April National Youth Jazz Orchestra Portsmouth Guildhall School Group Offer: tickets £1 23 April, 1.10pm Lunch Time Live Summer Series starts Portsmouth Cathedral 25 April, 7.30pm Portsmouth Music Club: Portsmouth and District Composers Association with Karen Kingsley The Rotunda, Portsmouth Grammar School. Book tickets
27 April, 7.30pm Music in the Round: Melvyn Tan Harlequin Room, Portsmouth Guildhall 1 May, 7.30pm Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Sunwook’s Rach Three Portsmouth Guildhall For full details about the Hub ensembles check out the website. www.portsmouthmusichub/ensem bles
SING OUT POMPEY! A unique opportunity for children and young people to perform alongside adult choirs in a performance in Portsmouth Guildhall on 26 June at 7pm The show consists of 11 original songs about different aspects of the city including Charles Dickens, Southsea Castle, the Mary Rose, Fratton Park and of course, Portsmouth by the Sea, performed by thousands of children and young people across the city since the Hub’s launch in November 2011. The songs were aprt of the Hub’s series of songbooks which received the award for Best Print Resource in the 2014 Teacher Awards for Excellence. If you would like to sing in this exciting performance as part of Portsmouth Festivities, contact sue.beckett@portsmouthcc.gov.uk Individuals, choirs and schools are invited to join the 250 singers who have already signed up!
NATIONAL YOUTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA
9 May, 7.30pm Portsmouth Music Club: South Downs College Music Student Winners The Rotunda, Portsmouth Grammar School. Book tickets
10 May, 2pm - 5pm Take Part - Dido and Aeneas: Portsmouth Festival Choir St Paul’s Church, Churchside, Chichester 11 May, 9.30am-2.30pm Music Workshops with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Portsmouth Guildhall
16 May, 7.30pm Portsmouth Light Orchestra: Spring Concert The Church of the Resurrection, Drayton. Fundraiser for Drayton Centre Development Fund. The National Youth Jazz Orchestra will be performing big-band jazz at The Portsmouth Guildhall on Wednesday 22 April. NYJO will run a pre-show event 5pm to 6.30pm in which the Artistic and Music Director, Mark Armstrong will introduce the entire orchestra and demonstrate the anatomy of a big band. . They will use the full band of 23 musicians to demonstrate different sections, and there will also be some interactive bits. Anyone who brings instruments with them and wants to join in may be able to try a few things with the band. To book £1 tickets for your school or college (and that price is extended to accompanying staff) please contact Hayley Reay at Portsmouth Guildhall on hayley.reay@portsmouthguildhall.org.uk and quote “Jump Start Jazz”. Jump Start can also help with travel costs to come to see the show. Contact Liz Weston for
23 May, 7.30pm Portsmouth Music Club: Oliver Nelson (Violin) Vasilis Rakitzis (Piano) The Rotunda, Portsmouth Grammar School. Book tickets
31 May, 10am- 5pm Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Rusty and Not So Rusty Musicians Portsmouth Guildhall
ARTS-WHAT DEMYSTIFIED! We thought it would be useful to clarify the names and functions of some of the organisations/programmes/awards that the Hub works with: Arts Council England (ACE): The organisation managing the funding for Music Hubs. ACE funds arts activities that engage people in England, or help artists and arts organisations carry out their work. From April 1st, ACE delivers the Artsmark Programme. http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/
Artsmark: A programme that schools and organisations can register for and submit an application to achieve an award in recognition of the arts provision in their organisation http://www.artsmark.org.uk/
1 June, 7.30pm Music in the Round: Emma Johnston and John Lenehan Harlequin Room at Portsmouth Guildhall 5 June BBC Music Day
6 June, 7.30pm Faust Swansea City Opera 10th Anniversary tour! Kings Theatre 16 June, 6.30pm Performance Evening Langstone Junior School
Arts Award: A programme for individual students recognising their individual participation and achievement in the arts. This programme is managed by Trinity College London in association with ACE http://www.artsaward.org.uk/
19 June Portsmouth Festivities 2015 start 19 June
Arts Award Supporter: An organisation providing support for Young people engaging in Arts Award https://www.artsawardsupporter.com/ Portsmouth Music Hub is an Arts Award Supporter as are many of the Hub's Partners, including Aspex Visual Arts Trust, Folk Active, Kings Theatre, Music Room, New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth Cultural Trust, Portsmouth Festivities, Portsmouth Music Service, Portsmouth Philharmonia and Urban Vocal Group, Artswork: The regional 'Bridge' Organisation which delivers work through a range of programmes, some of which are run in partnership with Music Hubs http://www.artswork.org.uk/
Portsmouth Festivities: London Mozart Players Laura van der Heijden (cello) Portsmouth Cathedral 20 June, 7.30pm Portsmouth Music Club: Katharine Carter (Flute) Ian Richardson (Piano) The Rotunda, Portsmouth Grammar School. Book tickets 22 & 23 June, 10am– 7pm Our Island: Portsmouth Festivities and New Theatre Royal
NEW THEATRE ROYAL AND PORTSMOUTH FESTIVITIES Our Island 22 & 23 June Audiences are invited to come and explore 'Our Island', an installation created by pupils from five local schools collaboration with Filskit Theatre Company. Experience the sights, sounds and stories of Portsmouth through a blend of interactive projection, sound and poetry. This is a free event and there are opportunities for schools to meet the creators; Filskit Theatre.
24 June 9.30—11.30 Beginner Recorder Festival Northern Parade Junior School 25 June, 7.30pm in
Uluzuzulalia 25 - 27 June Windstorms, wolves and baby crocs. Tap and click and clack your tongue. Invent and play with magic words. Romp around your unique voice and all the things it can do: starring you… U-lu-zu-zu-la-lia! Jump Start are offering a limited number of tickets to schools for only £1 each! For more information email: takepart@newtheatreroyal.com
Portsmouth Festival Choir Spring Concert Dido and Aeneas Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral 25 to 27 June, 10:30am and 1:30pm Uluzuzulalia: Portsmouth Festivities and New Theatre Royal 26 June, 7pm Sing Out Pompey: Portsmouth Festivities Portsmouth Guildhall
PASSPORT DAY
27 June, 7:30pm
Many schools across the city are engaged in the Hub’s Arts & Culture Passport scheme which recognises participation and achievement in arts and cultural activities. There is a unique event taking place throughout the day in Guildhall Square on 8 July.
Warren Mailley-Smith Quintessential Rhapsody in Blue
There will be live recitals and interactive vocal and instrumental workshops taking places throughout the day. The event is aimed at schools, however, if you are in Guildhall Square that day, you can join in the fun! There will be a very exciting march through the Square by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines School of Music during the morning. This promises to be an event that everyone will love! Details will be posted on the website and sent to schools just after half term, so put the date in your diary to make sure you do not miss out!
RULES & REGULATIONS FOR GCSE MUSIC (9 TO 1) ANNOUNCED Ofqual have produced subject-level conditions and requirements for music, as well as a subject-level guidance.Subject-level conditions and requirements for music Subject-level guidance for music
St James’ Church, Piccadilly, London 28 June, 10am Portsmouth Festivities: Musical Theatre Workshop David Russell Theatre, Portsmouth Grammar School 6 July 6.30pm Instrumental Ensemble Concert Langstone Junior School
8 July Arts and Culture Passport Day Guildhall Square
TAKE PART IN DIDO AND AENEAS
31July, 7.30pm
Portsmouth Festival Choir are inviting singers to attend a workshop on Dido and Aeneas in the lead up to their Summer Performance as part of Portsmouth Festivities. It will be held on the 10 May, 2pm - 5pm St Paul’s Church, Churchside, Chichester.
Portsmouth Guildhall
Vocal scores will be provided and tea/coffee will be served free of charge during registration. Participants are invited to attend subsequent Monday evening choir rehearsals and sing in the performance on Thursday 25 June if they wish.
ST JOHN’S COLLEGE INTRODUCES MUSICAL MARCH
Students from the College hosted a total of 12 events throughout March, opening up with ‘Angelic Voices’. Events included Choral Evensong by the Girls’ Choir at St Thomas’ Cathedral, an Organ recital, Brass Group and Piano recital, String Ensemble and Popular Music Concert in the College Chapel. The Chapel Choir also performed for the National Society of Cathedral Choirs at St John’s Cathedral.
BEGINNER RECORDER FESTIVALS These festivals, especially for children who have been learning the recorder for less than a year are taking place 24 June, 9.30—11.30am. ,
During the workshop the children will rehearse together, listen to performances on 6 members of the recorder family, from the tiny garklein flautlein to the large bass. The children will come together in a massed ensemble and perform for a audience of friends and family at the end of the session. An application pack will be sent to schools at the start of term.
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Classical Extravaganza
8 August, 2pm The Royal Marines School of Music: The Guildhall Concert & Beating Retreat The Guildhall, Portsmouth TEN PIECES SECONDARY Building on the success of Ten Pieces which has already engaged nearly half of UK primary schools, the BBC is extending the initiative to secondary schools. The aim is to open up the world of classical music to children aged 11 and above, inspiring them to respond creativity to the repertoire. A new cinematic film will feature footage for the BBC Philharmonic performing a new selection of orchestral music. TIMELINE April 2015: Cinema booking open to secondary schools October 2015: Screening of the new Ten Pieces film in cinemas around the UK. Supporting curriculum-linked resources available on website and DVD’s will be available upon request November 2015 to March 2016: Young people develop their creative responses and are invited to upload their work onto the BBC website April 2016 to July 2016: Celebratory events nationwide, showcasing creative responses including the national finale.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
GALLERY
Why singing in a choir is so good for you http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/why-singing-choir-sogood-you New report explores relationship between arts engagement and health - http://www.musicmark.org.uk/ news/new-report-explores-relationship-between-artsengagement-and-health How learning music is instrumental in children's brain development - http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/howlearning-music-instrumental-childrens-brain-development Why music training in earlier life is great news for employers.. - http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/whymusic-training-earlier-life-great-news-employers Music makes you a better reader, says Neuroscience http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/benefits-musiceducation/music-makes-you-better-reader-saysneuroscience Why music lessons were the best thing your parents ever did for you - http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/benefitsmusic-education/why-music-lessons-were-best-thing-yourparents-ever-did-you New Arts Council research study shows positive effects on happiness & relaxation whilst taking part in the arts http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/benefits-musiceducation/new-arts-council-research-study-showspositive-effects-happiness Five ways music makes you healthier! - http:// www.musicmark.org.uk/news/benefits-music-education/ five-ways-music-makes-you-healthier Music education benefits brain development http://www.musicmark.org.uk/news/benefits-musiceducation/music-education-benefits-brain-development 10 things schools should know about learning music ’10 Things Schools Should Know About Learning Music’
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