Highnotes

HighnotesIssue 16 • June 2011

Wednesday 30 March 2011is a date that will remainlong in the memory – itwas the day I heard that wewere offered theopportunity to join the newNational Portfolio fundingscheme of Arts CouncilEngland (ACE). This meansthat Making Music isguaranteed public fundingfor three years startingfrom April 2012, alongsidea range of the best arts

organisations in England, and can now continue towork to enhance its position as the leading ally andadvocate for voluntary music throughout the UK.

Faced with a substantial cut in its own income, ACEwas forced to make some very tough choices. 206 of

Making Music joinsACE's National Portfolio

its previous clients were dropped entirely; a few luckyones received increased grants, and many, like us,received a reduction in funding compared to ourprevious levels. But nobody owes us a living, and weare pleased to have received the recognition andkudos – not to mention the money – associated withbeing in the new scheme.

The lower grant from ACE is obviously disappointing,but Making Music is in a very healthy position toweather such a reduction. We are in the fortunateposition of receiving a substantial proportion of ourannual income from subscriptions, and it is clear fromour growing membership that we are still offeringvoluntary music groups excellent value for money forthe wide range of services they receive. We will ofcourse try to keep any increase in subscription levelsas low as possible when we look at how to adjust ourbudgets from 2012 onwards, but ensuring that ourservices are sustainable as well as good value formoney is a key priority.

And there are many other opportunities to close thegap. We will be trying especially hard to ensure thatfundraising from sources other than the public purseis given as much focus as possible, and two recentfunding successes, from the Paul HamlynFoundation and the Headley Trust, give us greatcause for optimism. And of course we will becarefully looking at how to reduce costs throughoutthe Making Music operation in order to ensure webalance the books.

In short, Making Music will remain a vibrant anddynamic organisation. We are grateful to ACE forsecuring our future in the medium term, and we lookforward to that future with excitement. Our newstrategic plan, Making Music for Everyone, is wellunder way, and we are confident in our ability todeliver its forward-looking and inspiring objectives.Onwards and upwards!

www.makingmusic.org.uk/mmfe

Orlando Gough

Page 4

Composer Orlando Goughreveals details of the anthemhe is writing for membersfor 2012

Professor Robert Winston

Page 7

Find out who will be joiningProfessor Winston at ourconference on Music andWellbeing in September

Peter Stokes

Page 9

Our Head of VolunteerManagement explains how weare changing our volunteerprogramme

Highlights

Our Voices Now festival at London’s Roundhouse inMarch and recent funding wins give us every reasonto feel positive

By Robin OsterleyChief ExecutiveMaking Music

Alex Rum

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88784 MM__ 23/05/2011 17:20 Page 1

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Welcome to ourspring Highnotes. Inthis issue wecelebrate the manyvolunteers thatdrive voluntarymusic making inthe UK. MakingMusic knows a lotabout volunteers –it has a Board ofDirectors made up

of volunteers like myself, and a network of over150 dedicated people all over the UK whoserole it is to support your music group locally –and in June we will launch a new volunteerprogramme to value our volunteers more, andto reach out to a wider range of supporters toensure voluntary music making continues toflourish. If you know of an outstanding MakingMusic volunteer, you can nominate them foran award (see pages 8 & 9).

There are many new opportunities here forMaking Music member groups: twinning withlocal Sing Up primary schools (page 5), Adopt aComposer with Sound and Music (page 4),and new music for the 11/12 season. We invitemembers to take part in our London 2012project, featuring a new piece by OrlandoGough (page 4) or, programme KerryAndrew’s new choral piece (see back page), orbook one of the six talented Philip and DorothyGreen Young Concert Artists at a highlysubsidised rate. We also announce two events –123sing! with The Classic FM Foundation andPractice-a-thon with CLIC Sargent – which raisemoney for great causes and help to raise yourprofile. Finally, if you are the Making Music Repfor your group, please keep your group bangup-to-date by passing on Making Musicebulletins and this copy of Highnotes!

Karen CardyEditor and Marketing [email protected]

If you have any suggestions for articles oryou would like to contribute to Highnotes,please contact the Commissioning Editor,Sarah Hayward on 020 7422 8291 [email protected]

Copy deadline for the next issue of Highnotes,September 2011 is 1 July 2011

Any views or opinions expressed by externalcontributors may not necessarily representthose of Making Music

In brief

By Karen CardyMarketing Director

Welcome

Highnotes • June 2011 • 3

In March, over 7,000 people came to London's Roundhouse for Voices Now, a four-dayfestival of choirs and singing, with singers from all backgrounds joining groups such as theBBC Singers and the Latvian Radio Choir.

A major part of Voices Now was the Making Music Open Stage, with 20 amateur andcommunity choirs, from Afro-Cuban and beat-box to barbershop and classical, performingin the busy foyer spaces.

It was fantastic to see choirs supporting each other. One performer said, 'I liked theinteraction and diversity … and the chance to meet and listen to other choirs.'

New singers were out in force. Over 250 people attending 'Come and Sing with Gareth Malone'had never sung before in choirs, and feedback suggests that up to 55% of all audiences werenew to singing. More than 50% were inspired toeither get involved or further involved in singing.

Among my highlights were the Latvian RadioChoir – who gave some of the most incrediblechoral performances I've ever heard – and hearingmore than 250 people in 'Come and Sing Spem inAlium'. Tallis' monumental 40-part motet is a piecethat many amateur singers want to tackle, butopportunities are rare. One participant said, 'If Itell you that it has been my ambition for 30 yearsto sing Spem in Alium you will understand what awonderful morning I had!'

www.voicesnow.org.ukwww.facebook.com/voicesnow

Light Fantastic, 24-27 June In the last issue of Highnotes (February 2011) we invited members to celebrate light music bytaking part in Light Fantastic, a festival of British light music created by BBC Radio 3 inpartnership with Making Music. Light music thrives in the vibrant voluntary music scene, sowe were delighted when BBC Radio 3 asked us to be involved. We received a flood ofapplications for a series of BBC recording events around the UK, created for voluntary musicgroups as part of the festival. 27 member groups were selected for the recording sessions withBBC sound engineers and these are well underway. Your existing light music recordings arestill arriving and we hope more of you will be submitting CDs over the next few days. LightFantastic culminates in a weekend of concerts at London’s Southbank Centre, performancesby the BBC's six performing groups across the UK, and ahost of on air activity between 24 and 27 June.

www.makingmusic.org.uk/lightfantasticwww.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/lightfantastic

Making Music told you recently that our guidance to performing members on claiming GiftAid on member subscriptions was changing. The new guidance is now available on ourwebsite and it is vital that all voluntary music organisations making use of the Gift Aidscheme understand how things are changing from 1 September. We're delighted that aftersignificant negotiations with HMRC, Making Music has secured an agreement for groups toclaim under the existing guidance so long as any such claim is made before 1September 2011. From that point, groups will need to separate the tuition element frommembership subscriptions and ensure that this is not included in the Gift Aid claim.

Visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/giftaid to read the new guidance

Gift Aid update – key developments

By Matthew Swann, Voices Now Producer

Voices Now inspiresnew singers

Gareth Malone inspired new singersat Voices Now

Katu

ra Je

nsen

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4 • Highnotes • June 2011

Celebrate 2012 with new music

Celebrate 2012 and what itmeans to be British!The Making Music Overture commission for London 2012

Adopt a Composer partnerships are now well under way with first performances planned inthe summer. This project is a partnership between Making Music and Sound and Music,funded by the PRS for Music Foundation and supported by BBC Radio 3.

Each year six voluntary music groups are paired with an emerging composer and they worktogether over several months to produce a new work. It's an exciting challenge for the groupand a chance to explore new music.

A member of Essex Symphony Orchestra, which is paired with composer Andrew Hall, says:'There's a feeling among the players of trusting where Andrew wants to take us, and awillingness to give anything a try. That's what's making the journey such an interesting one.'

We hope to open the 2011/12 scheme to new applicants over the next few months.

To read the 2010/2011 scheme blog visit www.adoptacomposer.orgwww.makingmusic.com/aac

Adopt a Composer

When Making Music first approached meto write a piece that could be performed byall of its very diverse membership, I was atfirst daunted, then excited, then dauntedagain. I think I remain in both states, andprobably will until the thing is written,which is due to be by the end of July. Thepiece will be scored for both choral andinstrumental forces, in a flexible and 'mixand match' way, so that whether you are asmall community choir singing a cappella,or a highly-skilled chamber choir, or anorchestra, or a jazz band, or a gospel choir,or indeed anything at all, you'll be able to

perform this piece some time between its launch on 2 March 2012 andthe start of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

I'm lucky enough to live near, and be great friends with, the British Caribbeanpoet John Agard. John was born in Guyana and has lived in this country sincethe early 80s, and has a great sense of what it is like to be British in ourmulticultural and diverse society. When I asked him to write the words (forthose versions that need words!) he jumped at the chance, and between uswe are going to create an anthemic piece, provisionally entitled One of Us,that will express the joys, the contradictions and the tribulations of living inthis wonderful but problematic country of ours at such a unique moment asthe London 2012 Games will provide.

It's an incredibly exciting idea to have different versions of this piece goingon all over the country in such a short space of time. We're aiming to have aminimum of 150 performances during the period, each of which will involvesome kind of partnership between a voluntary music group and some otherkind of group – be it a musical partnership, or a partnership with anotherartistic group, or a community group such as a care home or school. Tofacilitate the partnerships, and the realisation and personalisation of thepiece for each group, Making Music is running two 'train the trainer'workshops for musical directors in the autumn, in conjunction with the BBCSingers. All participating MDs will be invited to take part in these excitingworkshops and the skills they learn will form a lasting legacy for the project.

Daniel K. L. Oi

2011 pairing: composer Emily Crossland withStrathclyde University Chamber Choir

Don't miss the action! We hope hundreds of groups will perform theMaking Music Overture anthem in the run up to London 2012

www.flickr.com

/photos/gogovisual

More formal details will be given to each Making Music member shortly.In the meantime make sure you are thinking about how your group canparticipate in the Making Music Overture project – it's going to be one ofthe best things about the 2012 Olympics for sure!

Visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/makingmusicoverture toregister your interest

By Orlando Gough, composer

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Sharing the joy of singing

There's nothing in the world that has the power to touch us as deeplyand as profoundly as music.

Bringing this healing and enlivening effect to thousands of UK childrenis the vision of Classic FM's new charity, The Classic FM Foundation.Funding a range of music education and therapy projects, the charityhas already touched thousands of lives.

This year The Foundation is funding over 4,000 Nordoff Robbins musictherapy sessions for vulnerable children across the UK, helping childrenlike Joshua and their families:

Joshua's story:'When Joshua was born we were told that he had a genetic syndrome. Heisn't developing mentally or physically as he should. At 16 months old, he'sstill the size of a three-month old baby. We are all amazed and yet inspiredat how well Joshua responds to music. Before he started music therapy hemade little noise other than a bit of gurgling and cooing. Now, we're sopleased, because Joshua has started to talk. He can say 'Mama' and 'Dada'.Music therapy has given Joshua his voice.'

The charity's Music Quest programme gave the gift of music to 15,000primary school children in some of the UK's most deprived areas. Hundredsof teachers received training in music – giving them the confidence to makemusic part of the everyday curriculum rather than a rare treat.

Making Music members can support The Classic FM Foundation by takingpart in 123sing! 2011. All musical genres and abilities are welcome. So please,help to share the joy of singing whilst supporting this great musical cause.

For more information about how your group can get involvedin 123sing! visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/123sing andwww.classicfm.co.uk/charity/123-sing-2011

123sing! is on 30 September – 2 October 2011. However events can be heldat anytime throughout September and October.

Take part in 123sing! andsupport a great musical cause

This news means that English primary schools can continue accessing theextensive resources and training opportunities on offer.

Sing Up has recently partnered with Making Music to create a scheme to twinprimary schools that have achieved Sing Up Awards with local Making Musicmember organisations. Almost 100 schools have expressed their interest intaking part in this pilot, which will help schools to develop links with theirlocal music-making community and voluntary music groups to build strongconnections with young people. www.singup.org

Sing Up builds for the futureSing Up receives a further £4m in funding for the next year and announces a new pilot twinning scheme with Making Music.

By Sophie Randles, Head of Fundraising, Classic FM

By Kate Gibson, Awards Executive Officer, Sing Up

Scores of new music for choirsSurrey Performing Arts Library is to receive a substantial number of newvocal scores and their accompanying orchestral sets over the next threeyears thanks to a £175,000 legacy left to Making Music by Alan Kirby, oneof the founders of Making Music, to encourage choral singing in Surrey.

The Making Music Kirby Collection will give choirs access to a widerrange of contemporary music, and more copies of standard repertoire inbetter condition. It will also enable the library to grow quickly andprovide a better service.

Surrey-based choirs can book scores up to six months in advance of their firstrehearsal, and if the scores are not required locally they will become availableto choirs throughout the UK through their own local library service.

The collection is expected to launch in June and among the first pieces toarrive will be Aesop’s Fables by Bob Chilcott, and many copies of favouritechoral works by John Rutter.

www.surreycc.gov.uk/performingartslibrary

In 2007, Sing Up launched with the aim of providing high-quality singingopportunities to all primary-aged children in England. Almost four years onover 20,000 primary schools have signed up to the programme. Through amix of training opportunities, resources, advocacy and support, Sing Uphas helped to change the face of music education in England.

Over the next year, Sing Up will be undergoing some changes to ensure itssustainability for the future. The priority is to ensure that Sing Up develops asan essential asset for schools and extends our reach to the wider music andeducation sectors. We are delighted that the Government recently decidedto support Sing Up for another year with a further £4 million investment.

Making Music presented the Sir Charles Groves Prize 2011 to Sing Upearly this year for its outstanding contribution to British music

Take part in 123sing! and help The Classic FM Foundation do more tohelp disadvantaged children through music

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 15:59 Page 5


Big Society in action

At any one time, an estimated 2,000 singers and players will be enjoyingwhat one member of the Nottingham-based Music for Everyone (MfE)community describes as 'joyful, uninhibited, quality music making'.

Music for Everyone is part of the big society – and has been since its formationin 1983 by Angela Kay, a committed, energetic and innovative artisticdirector. 'We aim to provide opportunities for everyone, from the adult whowasn't allowed to join a choir to the highly-trained musician', she says.

Open access workshops, performing groups, and high-quality concertsare all part of the mix. The 14 performing groups range from regulardaytime choirs to twice yearly orchestral workshops, a choir for boys andweekend playing workshops for advanced string players. MfE isparticularly proud of its current project to encourage children to singthrough the transition from junior to secondary school – building on thework of the national singing programme Sing Up – and future plansinclude a Nottingham City Centre singing project linked to London 2012.

The organisation, grown from a large amateur choir, is run by an army ofvolunteers, supported by a general manager and an administrator.

Much effort has goneinto developing itswebsite, with regularpersonalised emailbulletins, good use ofsocial media tools suchas Facebook, MySpaceand Twitter to keepeveryone involved.

Music for Everyone has been a member of Making Music for 27 years.'It's proved invaluable as a resource in so many areas, from sourcingvocal scores to acting as an agent for CRB checks', says Angela . Musicfor Everyone enriches the lives of thousands of local musicians, andone concluded, 'It encourages singers and players to regard musicalperformance as a natural and essential part of life.'

www.music-for-everyone.org

Music for Everyone’s Blow The Dust Off Your Instrument course starts on 18 June

Music for Everyone

Choir at heart of once 'failing' communitySouth Oxhey, Hertfordshire was described as 'failing' in the government's'Standards of Deprivation' report in 2004 – with specific references toincome, employment and the living environment. The situation isparticularly bad for the arts, with low incomes and a lack of facilitiescrippling local peoples' access to cultural activities.

The South Oxhey Choirs were formed as part of the BBC 2 programmeThe Choir – Unsung Town in 2009 under the inspirational baton of Gareth

Malone with the sole aimof bringing together thedisparate parts of this'failing' community.

When the productioncompany left and thelocal people took on themanagement of thechoir, we decided to lookfor experts to give advicein the areas we werelacking – so we joinedMaking Music.

We are an unauditioned,inclusive communitychoir with around 150members from all walksof life, races and ages.A shared love of musichas brought someunlikely friendships andprovided support to ourmembers throughdifficult times. Thecommunity has taken thechoir to its heart, invitingus to perform at all themajor events.

We perform a very broadrepertoire, from CherylCole to Toploader andAnnie Lennox, as well asworks by Barber, Vivaldiand Mozart. Almost ourentire repertoire is uniqueto the choir, as ourdedicated choral mastersproduce arrangements tomeet our specific needs.

Although we have performed in some world-class venues like St AlbansAbbey and the Roundhouse, Camden, and even recorded a track at AbbeyRoad studios, some of our favourite performances are those we give to ourfamilies, friends and neighbours. The choir is run by volunteers, and thecommitment from the people and businesses in the area always amazes us.

www.southoxheychoirs.org

South Oxhey Choirs’ next performance is on 16 June at Palace Theatre, Watford

By Terry Pettitt, Chair, South Oxhey Choirs

Join our online community!Looking for a musical director or a voice coach for your group? Running acomposition competition or need help with finding repertoire for aworkshop? Whatever advice you need on music making, marketing or anyother aspect of running your group, you can post those burning questionson our discussion forums and get help from your peers and the experts.Whatever you want help with, our growing community of music makers,promoters and professional musicians will be sure to reach out. Do browsethrough our latest postings to see whether you can lend your expertise.

www.makingmusic.org.uk/community

By Pat Ashworth, Volunteer Press Officer, Music for Everyone

Nottingham Boys Voices, one of Music forEveryone' s 14 performing groups

The choir encourages young members totake centre stage

A member of the South Oxhey Choirprepares for her solo

Sue Lacey

Sue Lacey

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:12 Page 6


Music and wellbeing

Inspiring people to consider ways they can use music as a tool to improvewellbeing is one very important aspect of our conference in September.Another is helping delegates to understand the importance of showingthe impact and benefits of such projects in a tangible way, if others are tolearn from the example, and particularly if funding is to be sought fromthird parties. Making Music is really fortunate that Professor NormaDaykin will be sharing her expertise with us in this area.

Norma is a social scientist working at the University of the West of England,and its first Professor of Arts in Health. In 2008, she was awarded the RoyalSociety of Public Health Award for her contribution to music and healthresearch. She is actively involved in developing music and health projects –for example she is currently working on a three-year Big Lottery project on

music in young offenders institutions – and she is also currently conductingan evidence review for Youth Music on the impact of music with youngoffenders. From these projects there is a good deal of best practiceguidance emerging, particularly in relation to evaluating music projects,which is a particular current interest; Norma is also involved in a project todevelop evaluation and training tools for arts and health initiatives.

Aside from her scientific and academic credentials, Norma is a saxophoneplayer and composer, and is currently musical director of the BristolReggae Orchestra. Her musical interests are in contemporary jazz as wellas latin and afrocuban rhythms, and she has written for a wide range ofensembles from amateur groups to professional big bands. A perfectmatch for the Making Music conference at the Royal Scottish Academy ofMusic and Drama in September!

Over the two days there will be a mixture ofspeaker presentations, including a keynotespeech from Professor Robert Winston (picturedright), plenary discussions, practicaldemonstrations and musical workshops.Amongst other things we will be exploringsinging for wellbeing, music and mentalwellbeing, how music therapy works, music inhealthcare settings, the research aspect of musicand wellbeing, music and public health,economic and political environment and the changing landscape. There willbe opportunities to sing, to talk, to play instruments, to learn, and above all toshare and be inspired with wonderful practical ideas and examples of what ispossible to achieve when music is used as a tool to enhance wellbeing.

Book your place now using the enclosed booking leaflet oronline at www.makingmusic.org.uk/conference

Music and Wellbeing – join us atour conference and be inspired!10-11 September, Glasgow

Practice makes perfect – and helps children with cancer

CLIC Sargent is the UK's leading cancer charity for children and youngpeople up to the age of 24. It provides clinical, practical, and emotionalsupport to help the whole family cope with the impact of cancer and itstreatment, life after treatment and, in some cases, bereavement.

CLIC Sargent has specialist care teams including nurses, social workers,youth workers and play specialists, based at the regional children's andyoung people's cancer centres across the UK. The charity also providesfinancial help to meet extra costs, free accommodation close to specialistcancer centres and holidays in the UK.

Lack of funds meansthat CLIC Sargent canonly help two out ofthree children andyoung people withcancer – that's why your support, by taking part in fundraising campaignslike Practice-a-thon, makes such a difference.

Practice-a-thon is a national fundraiser for singers, dancers and musiciansof all abilities. Groups and clubs are encouraged to hold sponsored eventsand raise money to help children and young people with cancer, andtheir families. From a simple group or section practice to a specialsummer concert – every event counts.

CLIC Sargent provides a free downloadable event pack with everythingMaking Music members need, including event ideas, fundraising tips,advice on getting publicity for the event, and template certificates.Members that take part in Practice-a-thon will be able to claim back 10%of the money they raise.

CLIC Sargent is Making Music's charity partner for 2011-12. Making Music isaiming to help raise £50,000 to support its work through Practice-a-thon. Tofind out more about Practice-a-thon or to sign up, visitwww.makingmusic.org.uk/clicsargent

By Emily Felix-Davies, National Events Manager, CLIC Sargent

Hold a Practice-a-thon event to polish up for your next concert orinvolve kids from local schools

A young offenders’ project led by Norma Daykin and Live Music Now

Mark A

dkin

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 15:59 Page 7


Valuing volunteers

Valuing VolunteersMaking Music is in the process ofdeveloping a new volunteer programmethrough our Inspiring Volunteers ActionGroup (iVol). The group, made up ofMaking Music staff, board directors andvolunteers, meets every two months todiscuss how best to attract, inspire andretain volunteers so we can grow ourvolunteer force from 150 to 1,000 by 2015.

Our five-year plan,Making Music forEveryone, is ambitious and the newvolunteer programme will need to beequally so for the plan to be fulfilled. With

over 3,000 member groups, Making Music has an incredible potentialresource in terms of volunteers. It's vital that we inspire our members tovolunteer for Making Music and demonstrate that helping us will alsobenefit their own group and others like them.

As well as volunteers from our member groups, it is also important interms of growing the organisation that we are able to attract volunteersfrom outside our own core membership. There are thousands of otherlocal and national voluntary organisations who use volunteers, so we aregiving a lot of consideration to how to make both Making Music, and ourvolunteer vacancies as appealing and rewarding as possible.

Although attracting new volunteers is vital for our future success, retainingthe skills, experience and enthusiasm already present in our network ofregional committee volunteers is arguably even more important. We canput as much work as we like into developing exciting, attractive new rolesbut if we are losing volunteers it will ultimately be off-putting to potentialnew ones. It's important for us to make the change to our new volunteerprogramme at a manageable pace and with consideration for our existingvolunteers. So the new programme isn't about replacing existingvolunteers with new volunteers; it's about enhancing the existingvolunteer team to help them build on their fantastic efforts so far.

The first step in developing the new programme was to consult with staffand volunteers to ensure their views were taken into consideration. Theresults of this consultation have been collated and have helped to form thebasis of the new Volunteers' Policy, which has been approved by iVol.Making Music has also taken the chance to sign up to VolunteeringEngland's '3R Promise'.

The '3R Promise' is a call to action arising from the Volunteer RightsInquiry. We are among 50 third sector organisations already signed up tothe '3R Promise', which asks organisations to pledge to get it right from

the start, achieve reconciliation if things go wrong and to acceptresponsibility. The '3R Promise' came along at a very good time for us,especially in terms of getting it right from the start. To be focusing on thatat a time when we're putting together a new volunteer programme helpsus to ensure the new programme is volunteer-friendly and ultimatelygood for the organisation.

Full details of the new volunteer programme will be revealed by MakingMusic internally during Volunteers Week (1– 7 June), before being officiallylaunched at the Making Music conference in Glasgow in September. Wefelt it was important that our existing volunteers were told first about thechanges being made through the new programme. As well as the newVolunteers' Policy, an induction handbook for new volunteers is indevelopment along with role descriptions for new roles being developedwith staff and volunteers in the regions and nations.

Volunteers' Week will also give Making Music the chance to celebrate theachievements of our volunteers and to thank them for their support. As anorganisation that was run by volunteers for many years we want to makesure we recognise and celebrate their contribution, while also looking tothe future and developing new and innovative volunteering opportunitieswithin Making Music. Several ideas are being developed through iVol,including a volunteers 'wall of fame' on the website, so watch this space.

www.makingmusic.org.uk/volunteers

By Peter Stokes, Head ofVolunteer Management

Bric Photographers

We couldn't have put on the Verdi Requiem Big Sing in the WestMidlands without our volunteers

Making Music volunteers help run events such as the Big Busk in theNorth East

Lindsay Wilson

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:12 Page 8

By Linda Young, Making Music Director

The President's Award was established in 2009 to recognise volunteers whohave made an outstanding contribution to Making Music. The 2010President's Award was recently presented to Donald Sheppard in the presenceof his friends and colleagues at Bournemouth Chamber Music Society. Don'sinvolvement with Making Music began in 1973 with his election to the formerSouthern Region Committee, and he served as Secretary not only there butalso for the new South Region and latterly for the South West, a total of 17years in that particular office and over 35 years involvement in the regions.

Following his election in 1982 to the NFMS Executive Council, Don servedthere for ten years and was involved in many radical changes to theorganisation. Even after standing down, he remained very active with specialprojects, including an analysis by hand of all the responses to the largemembership questionnaire that preceded the first five-year plan, ServingMusic, 1996-2000. Nominations for the 2011 award are now being acceptedwith a closing date of 30 June. For full details visitwww.makingmusic.org.uk/awards


Valuing volunteers

Outstanding volunteer!

The North East’s Big Busk was a three-day outdoor event with street performances in town centres and parks and participatory music anddance workshops

£84,000 in new funding for Making MusicBy Evan Dawson, Head of Programmes and Development

Since the start of the year, we'vebeen busily applying for fundingfrom lots of different sources,sensing the precarious road ahead.

Our plans to renew our volunteer structure have been greeted withenthusiasm from all corners, and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation awardedus a grant of £29,000 to help us put it all into action. We're delighted tobe working with them on this, and grateful for their support.

We have also been granted £50,000 by the Headley Trust towards aproject called Vocality, working with Sound Sense to create newcommunity choirs around the UK. We're really excited about this newinitiative, which will help us strengthen community life in some of theUK's most disadvantaged areas.

Finally, we've been granted £5,000 by the PRS for Music Foundationtowards the Making Music Overture commission (see page 4). Theirongoing support for new music is vital to us, and to composers and musicgroups all around the UK.

As the UK's number one organisation for promoting music making and itsbenefits, Making Music is of increasing importance to people and communities.

We will continue to develop innovative projects and seek out new funding,and would be delighted to hear from any readers who can suggest newavenues to pursue, or might even donate money to us.

[email protected] Photographers

DonaldSheppard

receiving thePresident'sAward 2010

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:12 Page 9

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:13 Page 10


Musical musings

I like all kinds of music and where a genreisn't my favourite I am happy for it to exciteothers. I'm a great admirer of good beat-boxing. I love it when rap turns fromchanting and droning into singing. Some ofthe more confident and skilled rappers cando that. But when push comes to shove, it'sto the opera house that I'll go when in need.

That made me think of access to opera,great opera stars, broadening anddeveloping the repertoire – and theOlympics. What a marvel it would be if we

were spending £8bn on a two-week international opera festival in 2012.

Could we build a new opera house in every region – each with a permanentendowment? Could we quadruple the meagre support given to the NationalOpera Studio? Could we have outreach and young people's programmes notrun on a shoestring? Could we have performances in unusual places likeWookey Hole and Hadrian's Wall?

And another thing ... opera singers working in communities where operararely penetrates. A national programme of singing, building on Sing Up and

My cultural daydream

Young artists – highest quality, widest choiceThe standard throughout our80 young artist awardauditions in April seemedhigher than ever, but therewere some clearly outstandingperformers who were selectedby our adjudicators (JoyMammen, Mark Forkgen andJeff Cohen) for theirexceptional qualities:

Daniel Broncano, clarinetCaroline MacPhie, sopranoRobyn Allegra Parton, sopranoJames Sherlock, pianoHuw Wiggin, saxophoneY2 – Yelian He (cello)&Yasmin Rowe (piano)

Making Music members can now engage these artists for recital or soloperformance opportunities, at a fixed fee of £250, claiming back £120through the Philip & Dorothy Green Award for Young Concert Artists scheme.See the enclosed leaflet or visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/aycato find out more about the artists and booking.

encouraging singing universally in pubs, arts centres, community halls – evensports stadiums.

The National Singing Programme – Sing Up – has cost £40m over four years.What a snip it has been. That's 0.5% of the £8bn being spent on London 2012.

However, the Cultural Olympiad – on the periphery of the Games – is startingto make an impact with a rich diet of national and international artists andover 1,000 events around the UK. Last year Ruth Mackenzie, Director of theCultural Olympiad, said: 'From 21 June to 9 September 2012, across thewhole of the UK, new work from the best artists, musicians, writers,comedians, film makers and other creative talent will be presented in thelargest festival in the country.

Making Music is doing its bit with the commission of a new overture forLondon 2012. There are other strong ideas in the mix like Youth Music Voicesand River of Music produced by Serious, so I shall be looking out for thetastiest cultural morsels in 2012. Even so, I shall still be hankering after thattwo-week opera festival with a new opera house in every region. Ah well …back to the real world.

The Musicians Benevolent Fund celebrates its 90th birthday this year with 90years: 90 big ideas, a festival of 90 events around the UK.www.helpmusicians.org.uk

David Sulkin

Chairman

2011 winners Yasmin Rowe & YelianHe & Recommended Artist TanyaSweiry

Alex Rum

ford

2011 winners Huw Wiggins, Caroline MacPhie and James Sherlock

Alex Rumford

This year we are also continuing our partnerships with the St MartinsChamber Music Competition and the Musicians Benevolent Fund toextend our range of outstanding young artists – visitwww.makingmusic.org.uk/artistschemes for further details.

By David Sulkin, Chief Executive, Musicians Benevolent Fund

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:13 Page 11

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The British Association of Barbershop SingersDruids Lea, Upper Stanton Drew, Bristol BS39 4EG

Registered Charity No: 1080930

www.singbarbershop.com

Affiliated to Making Music and the Barbershop Harmony Society

C O L L E G EHARMONY

Learn more about Barbershop Harmony

Residential Summer College26 to 28 August 2011

Jubilee CampusNottingham University

View & Book OnlineVisit the BABS web site to view the full College Prospectus which gives

details of all the courses.

The British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) hasbeen running its own Harmony College for 33 successfulyears. It is open to both men and women who wish toincrease their knowledge of barbershop harmony.

The college is a two and a half day residential event thattakes place at the Jubilee Campus of Nottingham University.The cost of attending includes course fees, learningmaterials, all meals and single en-suite accommodation.

It has become a highly respected event and you canchoose from a wide selection of courses that will giveyou a greater insight of barbershop harmony.

Whilst it is primarily an educational event, the weekendis also full of fun and laughter with plenty of opportunitiesto sing. Over 300 normally attend and we look forward towelcoming you to a great barbershop learning experience!

BABS is a registered music education charity, so applicationswill be considered for help with course fees.

For details and to view the online prospectus visit theHarmony College link from our web site. Alternatively,email [email protected] withyour name and address for a printed copy in the post.

Try some barbershop harmony for yourself!

Start barbershopArranging

Learn about Theoryof HarmonySing in a barbershop Chorus

UnderstandingPerformance

What would you like to do?

Try barbershopDirectingDiscoverYour Voice

Sherborne 31 July - 21 August

2011

Summer School of Music

Piano & Vocal Masterclasses

Five Choirs

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Composition

Wind Ensemble

Three Orchestras

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Formerly Canford Summer School of Music Sherborne Summer School of Music

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Little Benslow Hills, Benslow Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9RBA Company limited by guarantee Registered in England No 408404 Charity No 313663

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The gleeful reinvention of Choral musiccontinues apace…

��

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Tel: 01279 828960 | Fax: 01279 828961 | Email: [email protected] | www.alfredUK.comAlfred Publishing is distributed to the Music Trade throughout th e United Kingdom and Ireland by FM Distribution Ltd

…and traditional choral warm up material

…with new POP classics

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:14 Page 14


Classified section

• Meeting your choral needsmotets, carols and anthems for upper voice and SATB choirs

• New music for stringsincluding music for beginner to intermediate level ensembles &

three string quartets

contact: Chris Wiggins, Tilsdown Lodge, Dursley GL11 5QQPhone: 0796-266 8098 e: [email protected]

Web: www.cdwigginsmusic.com

NEW MUSIC FOR A NEW CENTURY

Would you like to see your advert in a future issue of Highnotes?Making Music members benefit from a discount on displayand classified advertising. Please contact Sharon Maslen atSpace Marketing directly on 01892 677740 or email:[email protected] for reasonable rates and bookings

‘The Creation’ and ‘The Seasons’ by Joseph Haydn

Scored for reduced orchestra. Both are available for hire.

‘The Creation’ using nine fewer wind players has been successfully

performed by choral societies throughout the country.

Now Haydn’s ‘The Seasons’ using twelve

fewer wind players is also available for hire.

Also ‘Mozart Requiem’ 2 trumpets and 3 trombones

reduced to 1 trumpet and 1 trombone is available for hire.

More details from Ian Bauers

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: 01502 714061 Website: www.musickle.com

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www.thetilletttrust.org.uk

Pure Brass (brass quintet) Yuka Ishizuka (violin)Tim Lowe (cello)

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88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:14 Page 15


To subscribe please contact us directly.

Highnotes is the official journal of Making Music,

The National Federation of Music Societies2-4 Great Eastern Street, London EC2A 3NWTel: 020 7422 [email protected] www.makingmusic.org.uk

A company limited by guarantee,registered in England no. 308632Registered Charity in England no. 249219and in Scotland no. SC038849

Advertising by Space Marketing01892 677740

We'd like your help in reaching our target of 4,000 member o

rganisations by 2015! We are growing all the

time, with over 3,000 members – but want to bring our serv

ices and support network to as many voluntary

music organisations as we can. Our current members are our

best ambassadors and our biggest source of new

members, so we'd like to give you an extra incentive by offer

ing you a membership renewal discount for each

new group you introduce. If you refer one new member, you

receive 10% off next year's subscription fee; for

two new members, it's 20%, and for three it's 30% -- simple!

Visit www.makingmusic.org.uk/member-referral to

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www.flickr.com

/photos/kennysarmy

Dear Making Music

I was interested to read in Highnotes,Issue 15 (February 2011) that KerryAndrew won the Making Music categoryin 2010 British Composer Awards.

We ran an International CommissionCompetition last year in order tocommission a new choral piece for theCity Chorus' 90th anniversary. We hadover 105 entries from around the worldand the winner of the competition wasKerry Andrew! Her new piece will bepremièred at St Sepulchre-withoutNewgate, London on Friday 8 July 2011.

Kind regards

Caroline Weiner

Publicity ManagerCity Chorus

Send your letters [email protected]

LettersNominate your commissionsand composers

BASCA (British Association ofSongwriters, Composers andAuthors) has announced thatnominations for this year'sBritish Composer Awardshave opened, including thecall for the Making MusicAward, which recognisescomposers working within

the voluntary music sector. The closing datefor entries is Friday 23 September 2011.

These awards provide a wonderful platformfor nominated and winning composers, aswell as voluntary music groups, withexclusive coverage on BBC Radio 3 leading upto the ceremony, and a special show onSunday 4 December. The ninth annual BritishComposer Awards take place at onWednesday 30 November 2011. They aresponsored by PRS for Music in associationwith BBC Radio 3.

MPA commission for choirs

Last year's Making Music Award was won byKerry Andrew (pictured below) for Fall, herchoral setting of a poem by Robin Robertson,commissioned by the Joyful Company ofSingers. In a new initiative the MusicPublishers Association has commissionedKerry, as the award winner, to write a newwork for Making Music choirs. We would liketo encourage groups to include the piece intheir 2011/12 season programmes.

The work is inspired by British traditional musicand folklore and scored for SATB withkeyboard accompaniment. It is about 15minutes long and split into five separate songs.The piece will be available for members todownload from our website for free from July.

To read Kerry's description of the musicvisit www.makingmusic.org.uk/mpacommission

2010 BCA winner Kerry Andrew has been commissioned by the MPAto write a new choral piece for Making Music members

88784 MM__ 19/05/2011 14:14 Page 16

Documents

Highnotes