What's happening from Penwith Music Centre

Key Notes 8

July 2008

Hello, and welcome to the July edition of KeyNotes, the newsletter of Penwith Music Centre. We now have over 350 musicians using the Centre facilities each week, and as we get busier, these news bulletins will be more frequent, with daily updates as well as the monthly email reminder. Please pass the link on to anyone you know who might be interested, and invite them to contact me direct to join the e-mailing list. And please let me know of any events, performances, workshops, gigs, instruments for sale - all can be added to the website and circulated through the newsletter.

Amanda Pickering
Music Development Worker

apickering@humphry-davy.cornwall.sch.uk

Penwith Music Centre consultation

When the Centre was first set up in 2005, we compiled a database of local musicians, venues, training opportunities, rehearsal spaces, studios - and it's now time to do that again. We're planning to produce a musician's guide to Penwith for launch at our AGM in October, and need your help to make it useful!

Please let us know of any facilities, activities, AND gaps in provision locally - so that we can  map what's going on, and make plans for the next stage of servicing musicians in Penwith with what they want and need.

Contact Amanda on 01736 352151, or 07751 786315 - or email her at apickering@humphry-davy.cornwall.sch.uk.

Thank you!

 Choirs are becoming ‘cool’

Writing in The Times on Sunday (22 June 2008), Sally Kinnes suggests that choirs have never been more popular:

‘There are many things about which the UK claims to be the envy of the world, but when it comes to choirs, the boast is justified. “It’s one of the things the UK truly excels at,” says the choral conductor Suzi Digby. “More than any other country, we have an amazing amateur tradition. We are the only country with a 1,000-year unbroken tradition of cathedral choir schools. It is one of the things we really do well.”

‘After years of decline, choirs are becoming cool, spurred by the success of the choirmaster Gareth Malone’s award-winning BBC2 series on choirs. There are now more than 25,000 registered in Britain. They make people feel good. “Choirs are the only place where people come together and express a common emotion,” says Digby, who is also passionate about music education. “That’s why football crowds sing and why choirs are incredibly valuable to society in general.”’

Read the rest of the article at http://tinyurl.com/4kajw7.

MLSW musicians' information and networking day

Are you a musician living in Cornwall? Could you use your musical talents working with children and young people? Do you want to know where job opportunitiies for musicians are? Do you want to know how to get involved, or to develop your skills as a music leader?

Then come to the Music Leader South West Information and Networking day, on 9th July at Truro County Hall from 10am - 3pm. The MLSW team and local music organisations including CYMAZ, KEAP, Cornwall Music Service and Creative Partnerships will be there to advise, support and network - this is a not-to-be-missed chance to meet and hear from organisations that work with musicians in Cornwall.

10.00-10.30    Registration and coffee

10.30-11.00    Meet the Music Leader South West team and find out about its work

11.00-12.00    Hear from organisations working with musicians in Cornwall including Cornwall Youth Music Action                                 Zone, Cornwall Music Service, Kernow Education Arts Partnership, Creative Partnerships and others

12.00-1.00      Lunch

1.00-3.00        Networking - your chance to share information and exchange details

To book your place, please email naomibrunt@musicleader.net, or jacquihaigh@musicleader.net. We look forward to seeing you there!

Kazzong.com website relaunch

Digital distributors Kazzong empower music artists to sell directly to fans anywhere on the web, including official artist websites and MySpace profiles. The German Start-Up provides an innovative digital music player with a built-in shopping cart for effortless music downloads. Original song material is ready for digital distribution within few steps after the free registration.

1.)   Download shop: This often requested feature brings a download shop including a music search to Kazzong.com.

New music is added daily by independent artists and labels, as well as major labels.

2.)    Charts: With the launch of download and airplay charts, Kazzong.com is offering further promotion options for artists.

The Kazzong charts are updated daily.

3.)   Playlist feature:Kazzong users can now add their favourite tracks to their own playlist and have them available on MySpace etc. The idea behind this is to provide music enthusiasts with a personal MP3 player for the web.

 Further information: www.kazzong.com

Soundskills – The Music Leader course

Are you a working musician?  Would you like to:
Develop skills to lead community music workshops?
Learn from professional community music leaders?
Develop further skills to enhance your existing experience in music education?
Do your training at Plymouth Music Zone, one of the region’s leading community music education centres?

Then Soundskills – The Music Leader is the course for you.

Soundskills – The Music Leader is a training course in community music accredited by the Open College Network, offered as a Level 3 National Certificate which could lead to a National Diploma.

The course is ideally suited to practising musicians who aim to work in music education, together with those who already work in the field and want to improve their existing skills.

Now in its fourth year, Soundskills – the Music Leader boasts a post-course employment rate of nearly 100%. In fact, it is gaining an increasing reputation for being as much about quality and innovation as skills and inspiration.

The total course fee is £280 which includes a comprehensive resource pack. Learners may need to do a CRB check for an additional £60.00.

The course runs from September to July and takes place at Plymouth Music Zone for one Saturday per month plus two Thursday evenings during term time.

To register your interest and receive an application pack, please contact:
Plymouth Music Zone (T) 01752 213690 (F) 01752 509888
www.plymouthmusiczone.org.uk

Dartington College consultation event, Truro 17th July

As you may know, Dartington College of Arts and University College Falmouth merged on 6 April 2008 and the Dartington based academic activity is now intended to physically relocate to Falmouth in September 2010.

This is an important and exciting opportunity for Cornwall. Hall for Cornwall, Creative Skills, CYMAZ and the Cornish Music Industry Forum are already working with colleagues at the new institution to identify ways in which we might work together for the benefit of emerging and established professional musicians, composers and music businesses in Cornwall.

As part of this process, Hall for Cornwall is hosting a half day meeting (including lunch) for you to find out how you could benefit.

It’s an opportunity for Dartington and Falmouth based staff to introduce themselves, so that you can find out about their specialist services for individual artists and talk about your support and skills based needs and how they might be met.

The session will cover three broad areas:

• A discussion about the new physical space and facilities provided as part of the merger and how Cornish practitioners and businesses might be able to engage with the design process and utilise the space

• An overview of the distinctive teaching offer in music and composition and a chance to look at how practitioners can benefit from creative collaborations

• A discussion about ways that the new institution can offer business support to the music sector and complement existing advice providers; this section will include a discussion about what kind of support musicians, composers and music based businesses need and/or want

The session will take place in the Assembly Room at Hall for Cornwall on Thursday, 17th July 2008. The event will start at 12.30pm and will end at around 4.45pm. There is no charge to take part.

If you would like to reserve a place at the session please contact Frances Macadam, Projects Administrator at Hall for Cornwall on 01872 321970 or by email at francesm@hallforcornwall.org.uk as soon as possible.

Kidz R US summer programme

Youth theatre Kidz R Us in St Ives goes from strength to strength this summer, with the following programme of music events:

Every Thursday until 4th September Kidz R Us presents: Disney's Aladdin at 8 pm

 Saturday 28th June Duchy Opera presents Semele by Handel at 7.30 pm

 22nd & 23rd July; 25th- 27th July; & 28th-31st July Kidz R Us presents Anything Goes at 8 pm

 Every Wednesday 13th August to 10th September Anything Goes at 8 pm

 Friday 1st August Blues Brothers Banned  8pm.

 Sunday 3rd August Richard Thomas presents Stranger than Angels 7.30 pm

 Sunday 7th September:  Cornwall Fiddle Orchestra   8 pm.

 Tuesday 9th September: A Celebration of Flanders & Swann performed by Gordon Peters with David Carter   8 pm.

Contact their box office on 01736 797007 or check their website at http://www.kidzrus.net/.

BBC Blast coming to Truro - creative opportunities for 13-19 year olds

You may or may not be aware that BBC Blast is coming to Truro (Lemon Quay) this summer 7th - 9th August. BBC Blast is an opportunity for young people (13 - 19) to make their creative ideas a reality through a whole range of workshops including dance, music, design, animation, fashion and writing.

Claire Drakeley is in charge of recruiting people to act as facilitators for this event. If you think you may like to be involved  contact her direct for more details at claire.drakeley@bbc.co.uk.

There will also be work experience (WEX)opportunities for the Blast visit - up to six 3-week placements (or shorter) working on BBC Blast with the local and national teams, enabling participants to develop skills in event management, project planning, production and working with young people. Applications for WEX placements are open until 16 June so if you are interested, go to www.bbc.co.uk/blast/joinblast/  for more information and the application details.
 

Arts & Health Training - What's going on in the SW?

Arts & Health South West are about to undertake an audit to find out what arts and health training there is going on in the region.If you provide training or know of anyone who does then please get in contact or pass on the following contact details: Emma - info@ahsw.org.uk

An exciting and impressive new website venture has been launched that should go a long way to servicing the needs of bands and musicians in the SouthWest. The Press Play team offer a one stop shop for bands, venues and gig-goers. Packed full of features and innovative ideas, dontpressstop.com is the first truly community-based local music site, well worth a visit if you want to promote a gig, upload your music for people to hear, find a venue for your performance, or check out what's going on in the local music scene.

Awards for Young Musicians

Awards for Young Musicians (AYM) is pleased to announce that applications are now invited for its 2008 Awards Scheme. AYM supports young instrumentalists, who make music in any genre, who can clearly show that they are really talented and committed and that they need financial help with their music expenses.

Open to 5 to 18 year olds, awards range from £200 to £2000. For further information visit www.a-y-m.org.uk or call 0117 9049906.

Creative Opportunities for Young People in Music, Visual Arts and Technical

Booking Now Open

Bandit Rock and Pop, Film-making, photography, Folkworld, Classical String Ensembles, Music Theatre, Sound Engineering, Stage Management, Theatre Design, Laptop Music, Radio Production

Dartington Summer Youth Programme is a summer festival of creative courses in music and the arts especially for young people. Week long courses in music, visual arts and creative technical subjects are led by experienced professional artists alongside young emerging arts leaders from the South West.

Courses run from August 3-23, are at a range of levels and offer participants the opportunity to work closely with inspiring artists, make new friends, create and perform exciting new work and have oodles of fun!

Performances and exhibitions will take place at the Ariel Centre and at Dartington as part of the Summer School. Dartington Summer Youth Programme takes place at KEVICC in Totnes from 3rd to 23rd August.

Find out more about the full programme and how to book at www.dsyp.org or call the DSYP Office on 01803 847066.

Looking for more singers!!!

We need LOTS OF SINGERS for a production of a touring outdoor play "PITCH-SIDE - the tale of a girls' football team". This is being toured by a new professional Cornish company called True West, and is written by Nick Whitby (whose previous work has been done at the Donmar in London and internationally, and directed by Nathan Curry, award-winning founder of physical theatre company Tangled Feet who has recently been working at the Old Vic and the National).

We are looking for singers of all ages (children are welcome if accompanied by a parent), who can take part in the show when we move eastwards on dates (tbc) between 18th July and 3rd August. These will include Heligan, Tregrehan, Roskilly's, Polzeath etc. The singing is relatively simple and a LOT of fun - the choir essentially backs and comments on the action of the play and the songs themselves are almost all very well-known, (sometimes with less-well known words!). These can be sung from sheets, and it will need only one rehearsal near the time to get everyone up fully to speed. We would very much value anyone who can help us out.

Would anyone interested please contact our singing co-ordinator Deborah Smith at deborah@pcdt.org.uk

audiovoice

audiovoice is a programme of seven intensive workshop experiences based around song and creativity, for 10 – 12 year olds to be held in seven different National Trust locations in Cornwall and West Devon, in school holidays and weekends from February 08 - March 2009.

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Future audiovoice workshops – full details tbc

At each audiovoice workshop, participants work and sing with celebrated national and international musicians and composers in a whole range of ways over a period of two days. Within the sessions children work together as a group to learn and create new pieces whilst engaging with the different musical traditions and having fun with the voice.  The aim of the project is to offer children, at primary/secondary transition age, an immersive introduction to different singing traditions and to encourage new creative composition. All workshops are also supported by input from two Assistant Artists; local professional musicians whose own development is being nurtured by observing and working alongside the Lead Artists, plus two trainee Youth Leaders.

Participants don’t need to be able to read music or play an instrument – they just need to be willing and enthusiastic about singing, or composing and using their voice. ‘Mini Concerts’ take place at the end of each workshop experience to share new singing traditions and styles as well as any new compositional work for an invited audience of parents and friends.

audiovoice musicians and composers come from across a wide variety of musical genre ranging from those grounded in the black church, (led by the all female group, Black Voices) harmonic traditional singing with Georgian Choir, Mtiebi, contemporary vocal looping techniques with Askew and Avis, traditional folk singing and song writing with Cornwall Songwriters and song workshops led by English Touring Opera, to name but a few!

The audiovoice project has got off to a cracking start and the singing, song writing and music making that have taken place so far have included Black Voices back in February on the Lizard and Cornwall Songwriters at Botallack in March. The most recent workshops at Trelissick were led by members of Mtiebi, the Georgian Choir from Eastern Europe whose tour also took the whole South West by storm. Each set of workshops have been wonderfully unique and contrasting – yet unified by their combined success and in how much they have been enjoyed by all participants.

Workshops are free – participants just need to get the workshops and bring along a packed lunch.

Do get in touch if you would like any further info regarding any of the above – contact admin@actcornwall.org.uk / 01209 313200

Call for music mentors

South West Music School is calling for ‘Expressions of Interest’ from Music and Arts Professionals for our Mentoring Scheme.

If you would like to become one of our Mentors and support talented young musicians in your area then please contact Lisa Tregale at l.tregale@swms.org.uk for full details.

Want to get involved in musical theatre?

If any musicians want to get involved with St Ives' fantastic youth theatre company, Kidz R US, they should visit our website www.kidzrus,net or ring us on 01736797007. We have a live band for Anything Goes, and are also starting a youth choir in September which will be led by a music leader and assisted by a trainee. We have not yet appointed the trainee so anyone interested should get in touch with us.

Nick Simpson

General Manager

Kidz R Us

St Ives Theatre, The Stennack, St Ives TR26 1QG

01736 797007, www.kidzrus.net

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