Manager of Tees Valley Music Service

Transcription

1 NOTES ISSUE 2 Tees Valley Music Service Newsletter (Lead Partner in the Music Education Hub) November 2015 Hello! It s coming up to that time of year again Snappy Christmas rehearsals are under way. It was great to meet the teachers who will be leading Snappy Christmas in their schools this year as we re expecting a record number of singers at each event. The CPD sessions for teachers went with a swing and the enthusiasm for the songs we ve chosen this year is fantastic. I m so looking forward to our large scale performances of the John Rutter pieces 400 plus voices singing those should be something to behold! Haunting Music Thank you to St Joseph s Middlesbrough, Saltburn Primary at SLC, St Aidan s in Hartlepool and Rosebrook in Stockton for hosting the CPD sessions for us. Your hospitality and the tea and biscuits were most welcome. I was also invited to the TVMS Halloween Spooktacular on Saturday 24 th October and was really impressed to see children having a go at playing stringed instruments for the first time that day and playing a number of pieces at the end of the day in the concert. Thank you to the staff of TVMS for all your hard work preparing resources and organising the event. Your enthusiasm on the day has inspired a number of children to sign up for instrumental lessons. Thank you too Teesside High for hosting the event for us. Information about some of our upcoming events is on page 4 and look on our website and our Facebook page for the latest information. If there is any way we can support you with your musical activities please send an to TVMS@tvms.org.uk or contact your Area Coordinator contact details on the back page. Dozens of young musicians and singers got into the spirit at a Halloween Spooktacular music workshop on Saturday 24th October at Teesside High. Full story inside. In This Issue Susan Robertson Manager of Tees Valley Music Service Meet our most recent ensemble Children In Need Charity Event New project for SEND proposed Student Spotlight Artsmark & Arts Award Exchanging Notes Project Christmas Concert Dates New Hartlepool Wind Band Launch TVYO Programme 15/16 Spooktacular Music Day Tees Valley Youth Chamber Choir The newest ensemble from TVMS start big with a performance for the Consul General of Japan. Full story inside. Who s who Copyright TVMS Music Education Hub Lead Partner, No part of this document may be reproduced, in any form or by any means without the prior permission or TVMS Music Education Hub Lead Partner.

2 Soundbeam Partnership Project TVMS & Musinc (Teesside's Music Inclusion organisation) are in the early stages of planning a pilot project using Soundbeam 5 technology for SEND (Special Educational Needs and Development) pupils. We hope to have Andrew Cleaton, whose work in North Yorkshire and with Sounds of Intent has been much vaunted, working with us on this project to develop a really robust scheme for the technology. Drumming Up Funds For Children in Need TVMS will be running a special DRUMAOKE in aid of Children in Need on Friday November 13th from 6 pm to 8 pm at The Sound Pod, TVMS, Bishopton Road West, Stockton on Tees, TS19 0QH. Led by Mr Drum Phil McFarlane, the session will feature lots of great tracks to drum to as well as world record attempts under the banner of Worlds Fastest Drummer (WFD). Some will be serious based on speed drumming and rudiments against the clock while others will be more fun & game based activities such as most clean hits on a floor tom-tom while spinning on a drum stool and most paradiddles while saying the word paradiddle! Soundbeam 5 unit and switches for new TVMS SEND project The Worlds Fastest Drummer logo and a Drumometer. Soundbeam has been around for quite some time but has been streamlined into a one box solution with internal sound samples, touch trigger switches and recording capability. It works like an invisible keyboard in space and is particularly effective in working with profoundly disabled young people, blind people and also has applications in dance and drama. TVMS holds an official WFD licence and invested in several Drumometers to accurately measure stick impact. The session is open to all TVMS percussion pupils/ students and will be on a first come, first served basis. from Alan Rutter. Instrument care Brass and woodwind players should wash their mouthpieces at least once a week. Washing the mouthpiece in warm (not hot) soapy water and cleaning the inside with a small cleaning brush is not only very hygienic, helping to prevent coughs and colds, but can also make the instrument sound better! Mouthpiece brushes available from TVMS office for 1 each. Call Alan on

3 Tees Valley Youth Chamber Choir Newly formed Tees Valley Youth Chamber Choir, including our featured student Tom Snowden, has already embarked on a busy concert schedule. Recently they have been performing in front of esteemed figures such as the Lord Lieutenant of Durham, Hartlepool, Stockton and Darlington and the Consul General of Japan at Wynyard Hall. The choir then performed at the Soroptomists 70th Annual Charter Lunch at Guisbrough Hall and most recently at a Convention at Crathorne Hall. TVYCC most recent addition to TVMS ensembles. Student Spotlight; Tom Snowden (TVYC, Locomotion, TVYCC) Over the past nine years I have been able to experience the best tuition, the best performing experiences and, most of all, the best music that I could ever have possibly dreamed of! I started my musical journey at the age of eight as a founding member of the only local boys' choir, 'Locomotion. Based in Darlington, Locomotion was set up in order to get young boys singing because of the lack of male singers currently. The choir is brilliantly run by Mrs Lycett-Findlay and Mr Findlay both of whom have inspired me to continue with music. Locomotion provides great concert experiences for young children and allows them to experience and access a variety of music. The concerts can vary, ranging from small intimate events to much larger events such as the renowned Christmas Cracker. Because of these opportunities throughout my childhood, my musical knowledge has broadened and allowed me to make my own decisions and form opinions on the music that I love. After performing with Locomotion, my next stage was to move through the Tees Valley Music Service system to the Tees Valley Youth Choir where I am currently in my third year. Having the opportunity to be involved with both of these choirs is something that I am very grateful for. With the Youth Choir I have had the chance to perform in prestigious venues across the country and also be involved with the Children in Need song in This isn't something that everyone gets the chance to do and to be able to get involved with such brilliant concerts and the additional opportunities that arise from the choir throughout each year is something I value and enjoy. After joining Tees Valley Youth Choir, an opportunity to become part of the Tees Valley Chamber Choir was offered to me. The Chamber Choir has only recently been formed but, even in a short space of time, the amount of concerts and experiences that I have been offered has been excellent, including a performance at Wynyard Hall for the consul General of Japan. My journey through all three choirs has been absolutely brilliant and I believe I have been very well taught. Music is something that is very special, whether it be the sound you produce, or whether you just love listening to it. But all in all, music is an experience and I am thoroughly enjoying mine.. Tom Snowden, Age 16.

4 TVMS ARTSMARK & Arts Award Partnership Already Artsmark Supporters, TVMS managers are now being trained as Arts Award Advisors and, as such, will be able to support individual pupils in gaining the award through many existing TVMS activities. The evidence based qualification ranges from Discover & Explore to the more challenging Bronze, Silver & Gold equivalent to a level 3 UCAS qualification. Exchanging Notes Project TVMS, in partnership with Hartlepool Borough Council, is running a very successful series of projects within what is a national initiative masterminded by Birmingham University. This year s programme involves three Hartlepool Secondary Schools, English Martyrs, Manor College and High Tunstall. Held at TVMS Sound Pod, It is aimed at young people who are at risk of low attainment, disengagement or exclusion from mainstream school. A total of 70 youngsters have taken part in the project in its first year and many have been involved in two performances in the community. Members of the project have also made three recordings and 14 of the young people have achieved a Bronze Arts Award. The TVMS Sound Pod contemporary music studio One of the project s participants said: The music is definitely helping me. It s helped with focusing and listening. I ve been getting better in science and English since I started the music project. And a teacher added: They ve increased confidence and have better listening and concentration skills. Christmas Concerts & Events ( for more details) Dec 1st, Middlesbrough Music Centre Concert, St Joseph s Primary School. Dec 3rd, Snappy Christmas Redcar & Middlesbrough, Eston Sports Centre. Dec 5th, Tees Valley Youth Orchestra Concert, Stockton Parish Church. Dec 7th Hartlepool Music Centre Concert, St Hilda's Church. Dec 7th, Stockton Music Centre Concert, Teesside High. Dec 7th, Redcar & Cleveland Music Centre Concert, St Peter s Church. Dec 8th, Snappy Christmas, Hartlepool, St Hilda s Church. Dec 10th, Snappy Christmas Stockton, Teesside High. Dec 13th, Christmas Gala Concert, Middlesbrough Town Hall. Dec 14th (all week) Christmas Calypso Steel Pans Workshops in schools. Redcar & Cleveland Christmas Concert last year

5 Hartlepool Wind Band Hartlepool Music Centre will be relaunching the Junior Wind Band this month. The band will rehearse every Saturday morning in term time at the new venue of High Tunstall College of Science. String Ensembles will remain at the English Martyrs School & 6th Form College. The band hopes to attract new members from the Peterlee, Billingham & Stillington areas as well as Hartlepool and it will still be free for all TVMS pupils and only 5.28 per month for others. TVYO Programme 2015/16 The TVMS 94 strong Youth Orchestra embark on the first concert of the year at 7 pm on December 5th at Stockton Parish Church. Two weeks later (Dec 13th) they will be joined by the Youth Choir and Teesside schools choirs for the Gala Concert at Middlesbrough Town Hall. A full concert programme through the year culminates in a tour of Hungary. For more information see Calling all Hartlepool brass, woodwind and percussion pupils...come and join us. When tuning a guitar or ukulele, always go a little below the pitch you want and tune upward. This gathers any slack in the string at the machine head and helps keep tuning more stable. Halloween Spooktacular! A full day Halloween themed workshop took place at Teesside High on Saturday 24th October. Following on from the success of the Summer School last July, the spooky special began with an Arts & Crafts session that saw the children making monster masks, corpse cakes, ghoulish garlands and chocolate bats. A big thank you to TVMS teacher Louise Muckian who led the event, and to her mum who helped out with many of the arts materials. Then it was over to the music with Mr Harbisher leading the singing before the instrumental work took over. Strings were predominant but we had a very talented brass section and even a Boomwhacker group. Mr Spereall led the creepy Witches Brew which featured excellent use of dynamics from the pupils and the wonderfully rhythmic Trick Treat or Tango quickly became a favourite of the day. The Drumometer speed drumming tests provided much excitement during the break as the children showed a very competitive streak! Finally, at 2.30 pm, parents returned to see a 30 minute concert, with a rendition of The Addams Family (including vocal contributions from the parents) closing the day. Watch out for more themed events soon.

6 Susan Robertson Manager of TVMS. Susan is the Manager of the Tees Valley Music Service and a qualified teacher with over 25 years of experience in the classroom. She was part of the very successful Curriculum Team at TVMS who introduced Snappy Music CPD training sessions for teachers, the very popular series of half-day courses for teachers, and Snappy Big Sings for schools. Susan has been carrying out Ofsted s Inspirational Conversations with schools and can support you to get Ofsted-Ready. Susan loves to get out and meet people, so if you have anything you d like to discuss about your music provision she d be only too happy to help. Chris Lewis Assistant Manager of TVMS. Chris oversees our provision in Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough, our CPD programme and our events. He is a qualified teacher with over 30 years of experience in the classroom and he previously managed the Curriculum Faculty at TVMS. Chris has overall responsibility for all our orchestras and ensembles at TVMS and is the leader of our very successful Yangchin ensemble which takes its influences from music of different parts of the world. Jeff Sawdon - Assistant Manager of TVMS. Jeff oversees our provision in Stockton and Hartlepool and is our Music Technology specialist. He has over 15 years experience teaching music and delivering workshops. Prior to that he taught at Middlesbrough College and was a professional musician. He was part of the Curriculum Team who set up the very successful Snappy Music workshops for teachers and he can give you advice about your IT provision in school and all matters to do with recording, PA equipment etc. Jeff is also your first-line contact if you d like to become a Partner of TVMS. He also oversees our website and social media accounts. Contact Us Contact us via the new TVMS website: Phone: Fax: TVMS@tvms.org.uk Anthony Ingledew Hartlepool Coordinator TVMS. Anthony is affectionately known as Mr I by the children he works with. He has over 30 years experience as a professional musician and teacher. He specialises in Guitar and Ukulele and has also delivered a number of projects with Hartlepool Youth Service and with Musinc developing strategies to engage children who find conventional learning difficult to cope with. Anthony has worked on a number of projects with Early Years children too. Please contact tvaingledew@tvms.org.uk if you d like some advice or support with your music in Hartlepool. Phil McFarlane Middlesbrough Coordinator for TVMS. Phil is known as the Mr Drum of Tees Valley Music Service due to the fantastic drumming and percussion projects and performances he has organized over the years. Phil is a published author of music teaching resources and our resident expert on all things you tap, scrape and shake! He has worked with colleagues to revamp our Snappy Workshop offer for schools and has linked them to the Cornerstones Curriculum too. Please contact tvpmcfarlane@tvms.org.uk if you d like some advice or support with your music in Middlesbrough. Penny Ferguson Redcar & Cleveland Coordinator for TVMS. Penny has taught cello & double bass for the last 12 years at TVMS and been in charge of Redcar & Cleveland for the past six. She has also led the successful senior string ensemble Sinfonia for all that time and was a pioneer of whole class string tuition, still leading that provision in the area. Over the past few years she has developed, with colleagues, a great tradition of large scale string workshops, enabling literally hundreds of beginner pupils to have their first experience of orchestral playing very early in their musical development. The concept has grown to include special themes, mixed ability groups, mixed instruments and summer schools. Please contact tvpferguson@tvms.org.uk if you d like some advice or support with your music in Redcar & Cleveland. Jud Down Stockton on Tees Coordinator for TVMS. Jud brings a vast experience of leadership having organised and led hard working bands on many top cruise liners across the world. Now he applies that expertise to running the Stockton Area for TVMS and has been instrumental in the development of new working relationships with partners in the area. Still playing trumpet in professional shows orchestras and bands, Jud teaches Brass instruments in both small groups and whole classes and is an avid advocate of music technology in this context. Please contact tvjdown@tvms.org.uk if you d like some advice or support with your music in Stockton on Tees. Alan Rutter Support Services Manager for TVMS. During his time as a Royal Marine bandsman Alan learned to play most instruments known to man. He puts that skill to good use now as he is in charge of the TVMS instrumental stock, issuing and retrieving, logging and storing and even repairing them. After many years of management experience with the Royal Mail, Alan came to TVMS in 2002 and oversees the busy support team. Last but not least he is the logistical force behind the many concerts by our bands and orchestras across the county and the region. Janice Frazer Support Service Coordinator for TVMS Janice has been with TVMS for 14 years and has been Support Service Coordinator for the past 9 years. She organises the team of TVMS Support staff and ensures all day to day operations run as smoothly as possible. Janice also arranges all aspects of our external exam board programme including ABRSM and Trinity. Always cheerful in the face of many challenges, Janice or one of her team will very likely be your first-line contact at TVMS when you get in touch with us.