South Coast Music Partnership Conference 2025

Innovation: Driving Music Forward

Join us on 23 January 2025, at the iconic Portsmouth Guildhall for an inspiring day of exploration and collaboration at South Coast Music Partnership’s Music Education Conference. This year's theme, Innovation: Driving Music Forward, invites educators and music practitioners to engage in meaningful discussion and, explore new innovative ideas and transformative practices that are shaping the future of music education.

Strands of sessions across the day will be suitable for EYFS, KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 along with specialist sessions on vocal, curriculum and SEND. You can explore the sessions and full schedule on the South Coast Music Partnership website.

The dynamic line-up of presenters and workshop leaders, drawn from across the music education sector, will provide invaluable insights and hands-on experiences designed to ignite creativity and enhance your teaching practice. Whether you're a seasoned music educator or just starting out, this conference is an opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals, share innovative strategies, and explore new approaches to fostering musical talent in the classroom.

Don't miss this chance to be part of a vibrant community dedicated to advancing music education. Together, we can drive music forward!

Tickets are £90 with lunch included or £50 for students - schools will be invoiced for your attendance after booking so please have the details of your finance contacts when completing the booking form.

Thursday 23 January 2025

Portsmouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, UK

Concerts in November & December!

A round up of the concerts and performances taking place through the end of November and into December!

Find full details and how to book for each event through the link to the listing on our events page.

November

December

  • Sunday 1 December: Southampton Youth Orchestra live at Turner Sims — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]

    • Southampton Youth Orchestra’s first concert of the season is an all-French programme with a Spanish twist, featuring Delibes’ Coppelia Suite, Chabrier’s Espana and an exciting performance of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnol, featuring the debut concerto performance of one of our own young violinists.

  • Wednesday 4 December: Southampton University Symphony Orchestra at Turner Sims: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]

    • Southampton University Symphony Orchestra and Turner Sims would like to invite you to a free performance featuring Leonard Bernstein's thrilling ‘Symphonic Dances from West Side Story’! This performance is perfect for local families with children up to 15 and is an ideal opportunity for young people learning an instrument, who are interested in learning an instrument, or anyone looking for a fun evening out!

  • Wednesday 11 December: Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia live at Thornden Hall — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]

    • Join Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia, Southampton's largest youth orchestra, for an evening of festive favourites from our most loved Christmas films.  Programmes to include everything from Aladdin to White Christmas, along with wonderful festive lighting.  Fun for all the family - not to be missed!

Southampton Youth Orchestra at Turner Sims!

On Sunday 1st December, Southampton Youth Orchestra will perform the first concert of their 60th Anniversary season.

On the programme is Èdouard Lalo’s violin concerto ‘Symphonie Espagnole’ performed by one of Southampton’s own young musicians. 15-year-old Teresa is a phenomenal young talent and this concert marks her very first full concerto performance with an orchestra. An excellent pianist as well as a violinist, Teresa attends the Royal College of Music Junior Department, came third in the 2023 North London Music Festival and won the 2024 Bournemouth Music Competitions Festival.

As a music service and as a city, we should be very proud not just of Teresa’s blistering talent, but of her 50 peers who make up the rest of Southampton Youth Orchestra. We are only a small city, but the passion for and dedication to music is huge, and Southampton Music Service’s figurehead orchestra deserves to be recognised by a far wider audience.

The concert will take place at Turner Sims Concert Hall at 5pm.

Tickets are priced at £12, £8 concessions, and £1 under 18s, and are available to book at turnersims.co.uk or by phoning the box office at 023 8059 5151.

Full details can be found on our events page here.

Southampton & IOW Music’s String Extravaganza

Do you play the violin, viola, cello or double bass? Would you like to make music with other young people? Then the Southampton & IOW Music’s String Extravaganza is the place for you.

The event will be at Cantell School from 1.30-3.30pm on Sunday 24 November.

This is a FREE event run with support from the Friends of Southampton Youth Orchestras (FSYO) and is open to string players who have been learning for a year up to approximately Grade 1 standard.

Please contact music@southampton.gov.uk to sign up.

An Audience With... Assembly Resources

As part of our ‘An Audience With…’ series, in which young people have interviewed music professionals including Sam Lee, Carducci Quartet and Camilla George, we have developed a series of Assembly resources to accompany these interviews.

These powerpoint resources include prompts, questions, suggested activities and further listening linked to the artists featured, to bring the video interviews to life for your weekly whole school assembly.

You can now download the powerpoint assembly resources to accompany the first three interviews.

An Audience With… Assembly Resources

A Big Night in Bethlehem! Christmas Songbook 2024

Our yearly Christmas Songbook, composed by Jo Downs, and its accompanying resources are now available for you to use!

This year after listening to feedback from teachers we have focused our songs around the nativity story. Each song will tell the Christmas story sequentially and features varying styles and genres of music. Sign and sing video resources for each song have been be added to our YouTube channel to support this.

The songbook consists of 3 Original Songs for KS1 and 3 Original Songs for KS2. For each song resource there is a guide track including vocals, a backing track and a pdf of the vocal score along with a lyrics document for printing and a powerpoint for easy display and learning along with the signing videos.

You can find the songbook and the full resources on our website here.

Illustrations by Mabel Thompsett

DNA: Free Music Groups in Southampton!

As part of our Digital Native Artists programme, we have 4 free music groups which you can join!

Whether you’re well on your way with your musical journey or just starting out, these sessions are open.

You can come along regularly, try out a session or drop in when you need the support.

  1. Girls Make Music: Production Collective Girls Make Music is a music production club providing young women and girls access to making music in an exciting, creative space in the MAST Studios!

    Fortnightly Wednesdays 4.30pm - 6.00pm (all ages) additional hour ‘til 7.00pm (16 - 21 years)

    at MAST Music Studio.

    All young women & girls ages 11 - 21, inclusive of cis, trans and non-binary, women & girls.

  2. Music Production Collective — MPC is a monthly music production group session, providing space for collaboration between beatmakers, producers and songwriters, an opportunity to learn new skills and get support with music making.

    Monthly Mondays 4.30pm - 6.00pm at MAST Music Studio.

    Ages 11-18

  3. FLOW — Flow is a monthly rap group session for young rappers, whether you’re just starting out on your musical journey or are well on your way!

    Saturdays 10.30am - 12.00pm at MAST Music Studio.

    Ages 11 - 16 years old.

  4. MIX’Zine— Mix’Zine is a connected community for young people interested in music, social media, music journalism, blogging and live events to be part of a team who will share new music and music opportunities with other young people.

    First Monday of the Month 4.30pm - 6.00pm at MAST Music Studio.

    Ages 13 - 25 years old.

Find out more about our Digital Native Artists Programme and the resources we have to offer, along with the music groups and opportunities available to young people on the Isle of Wight.

Retelling Our Stories - Black History Month 2024

We are so excited to have collaborated with local artists Shannon B and producer Sera Bless for 2024’s Black History Month song!

2024’s Black History Month song is based on a theme of Reclaiming Narratives; showcasing untold stories, correcting historical inaccuracies, challenging the narratives that have often overlooked the contributions and achievements of Black individuals.

The song ‘Retelling our Stories’ is now live in our Songbank. To accompany the song, we have made a KS2/KS3 music curriculum resource.

This resource includes outlining the topic, researching the themes and writing your own verse to fit with the existing chorus and example verse.

Find the song and curriculum resource in our songbank via the button below.

Music In The City 2024

Southampton and Isle of Wight Music were delighted to be part of the Music in the City celebrations over the weekend of 28th and 29th September running a stage from King John's Palace at the Tudor House Museum on the afternoon of Saturday 28th September. 

Over four hours we were able to showcase the incredible talents of the city's young people including the hub rock bands and bands from Upper Shirley High School and Redbridge College and some of the brilliant artists from our Stage Door Rising Stars series. 

Along with the performances in Southampton's old town, hub bands and local young musicians were also taking part in the hugely popular open mic sessions run at The Old Chemist in Bitterne which was another excellent and busy night of performances by young people!

Nia Collins, Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Strategic Programme Manager:

"It has been so exciting for us to be able to give young people the opportunity to be part of this city-wide event and reach new audiences who have been blown away by the level of musical talent these students have shown this weekend!"

A huge thanks to all the music hub staff and parents, friends and families who supported this event, the Tudor House for hosting us in such an amazing venue and Music in the City.

Below is a 360 video and photographs from the event!

Rising Stars take the stage at Music in the City

Rising Stars take the stage at Music in the City at King John's Palace, from 1-5pm, on Saturday 28 September.

We are excited to be taking part in Southampton's annual Music in the City this year! Young musicians from our open mic night sessions, Rising Stars, will be taking over the stage at King John's Palace, 1-5pm on Saturday 28 September. 

Come show your support, and enjoy performances from Southampton's up and coming artists!

If you're a musician and would like to take part in future, join us for our monthly open mic nights: Stage Door Rising Stars.

Open for musicians aged 11-18, we are an inclusive, safe space for all performers (including first time performers!) from solo singers to full rock bands.

Sign up via the button below.

Hannah Buckingham
We’re a proud partner of the Department for Education’s Music Opportunities Pilot!

Southampton and Isle of Wight Music are proud to be a partner of the Department for Education’s Music Opportunities Pilot.

Led by Young Sounds UK via their Connect programme, up to 1,000 young people from low-income families will receive targeted support to progress their musical talent and interests. 

We are excited for the opportunity to work with Young Sounds UK on their brilliant Connect Programme. Over the next four years we will be supporting young people from Southampton and Isle of Wight to continue their musical journey through fully funded lessons, music making opportunities, and so much more. 

Find out more at: youngsounds.org.uk/music-opportunities-pilot

Hannah Buckinghamsouthampton, IOW
New independent chair for Board of South Coast Music Partnership

South Coast Music Partnership is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Bryant as the new independent chair.

South Coast Music Partnership is a Consortium appointed by Arts Council England to lead the Music Hub covering Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, and Southampton, as part of a national programme to provide high-quality music education for all children and young people. The consortium comprises SoundStorm (on behalf of the current BCP Music Hub), Portsmouth Music Service (on behalf of Portsmouth City Council) and Southampton & Isle of Wight Music (on behalf of Southampton City Council and Isle of Wight Council).

The Music Hub, and their networks of partners including music and arts organisations and schools, are all working together under a joint framework to bring more musical opportunities to more children and young people across the south coast area both in schools and in the wider community. Representing the Consortium with Arts Council England as Hub Lead Organisation (HLO) is Southampton & Isle of Wight Music (on behalf of Southampton City Council and Isle of Wight Council).

Executive Manager, Kath Page, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Jane to the South Coast Music Partnership Board and look forward to drawing from her experience of working in the arts and the creative education and music sectors.”

Jane brings a wealth of experience from a number of different roles including, most recently, as former Chief Executive of Artswork, a post which she held from 2010 to 2020. Jane’s previous roles also include work with Coda Music Trust, with Arts Council England, with Southern Arts, and with the Scottish Arts Council. She started her career as a teacher of music in the Orkney Islands, subsequently taking up a post as Head of Music in an international school. She is currently a trustee of Nordoff and Robbins Music Therapy and is also Chair of Winchester Poetry Festival. With a degree in music from the University of Leeds and a postgraduate teaching certificate from Edinburgh, Jane currently conducts two choirs in Hampshire and is also studying part time for an MA in Music Education from University College London.

Jane commented:

“I am delighted to be appointed as the new Chair of the South Coast Music Partnership, working alongside the Music Hub Consortium to ensure the effective delivery of the new National Plan for Music Education (NPME) both in and out of school settings. I have always been committed to the value of music and the arts as an integral and vital part of the education of children and young people and in reaching those with least current opportunities, and have a profound belief in their power to transform lives. It will be a privilege to work with the South Coast Music Partnership and their partners to ensure that all children and young people can access high quality music education opportunities that meet their needs.”

The appointment of the independent chair will ensure strong governance for the Partnership and strategic oversight for the delivery of the National Plan for Music Education. South Coast Music Partnership will receive £1.6m investment from the Department for Education. This includes £1.2m to coordinate music education activities, as well as £400,000 to invest in new musical instruments, equipment and technology to meet the needs and ambitions of children and young people in the region, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Hannah Buckingham
YES Creative Beats: Have Fun with Samba Drumming - Free Course!

Are you looking to improve your confidence and communication skills? Join YES! Creative Beats on a Skills4Work programme and join our free 6 session beginners’ samba course!

 This is a very simple samba taster course with an emphasis on team building and communication for anyone 16+ living on the Isle of Wight, looking for work or to improve their employability skills.

In this course we aim to improve:

  • concentration

  • confidence

  • communication and listening skills

  • teamwork and leadership skills

In a fun, friendly and supportive environment!

Dates: Wednesday 18th September 2pm - 4pm for 6 weeks

Location: St Johns church hall, High Park Road, Ryde PO33 1BX (accessible venue with parking available)

For more information and to book your place, please email us: info@yes-creativebeats.co.uk or visit our facebook page via the button below.

BSO: Young Associates Programme - Apply Now!

Are you an aspiring community music leader, who is keen to make a difference to people’s lives through the power of music? The BSO Young Associates scheme may offer just the experience you’re looking for…

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s Young Associates Programme is a 7-month paid opportunity for 18-26 year old musicians to gain practical training as a creative music leader in the South West.

Open to: Ages 18 – 26

Deadline: Monday 16 September, 5pm

Interview/Audition Dates: Tuesday 24 / Wednesday 25 September

Location: Poole, Dorset

More Details

We’re keen to hear from people who are aged 18-26 and from a background currently underrepresented in the UK’s arts work force including: musicians from lower income backgrounds; of global majority heritage; or, who identify as disabled, D/deaf, or neurodivergent.

The placement will give you paid experience, training and mentoring from some of the sector’s leading practitioners, and you’ll build a great network along the way.

No previous music leading experience is necessary, we’re looking for potential!

How to get involved

Applications are now open, with a deadline of Monday 16 September, 5pm.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview/audition on Tuesday 24 or Wednesday 25 September in Poole, Dorset.

This will involve an informal interview, a whole group music workshop, and a chance to meet other musicians. Travel expenses will be reimbursed if invited to attend.

RCM Sparks: GALSI Brass and Percussion Course (opportunity for young female & non-binary musicians)

RCM Sparks are delighted to be working in partnership with GALSI (Gender and the Large Shiny Instruments) to deliver a brass and percussion course for young female and non-binary musicians this October half term.

During the course participants will be split into junior and senior ensembles for workshops, masterclasses, and performances led by the incredible GALSI team.

 

Open to: Ages 8 – 25

Standard: Grade 1 – Conservatoire level (Participants will be grouped according to grade)

Dates: 29 & 30 October 2024

Location: Royal College of Music, Prince Consort Road, SW7 2BS

Cost: £80.00 with free tickets available for those who are eligible*.

How to book: Book via the RCM website or register for a free pace here.

 

*Please visit the RCM Sparks page to check whether you are eligible for a free place.

 

If you have any questions about the course or learning and participation opportunities, please don’t hesitate to contact sparks@rcm.ac.uk for more information.

Ensemble Review 2024

Looking back at our Ensembles’ achievements this year!

It has been an incredible year for our 13 ensembles with so many highlights. To name a few:

Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia starting their community project – Make Some Noise.

Southampton Youth Brass band getting out and about performing at fairs and bandstands across the local area.

Southampton Youth Wind Band and their incredible achievement being invited to perform at the Music for Youth National Festival.

Southampton Youth Orchestra about to take part in the Fulltone festival.

Studio Band giving such an incredible performance at the Concorde Club back in June.

However, our top tier groups couldn’t give such amazing performances without the foundation work that is done in our initial and mid tier groups.

Huge congratulations to all our ensemble players on all their achievements this year. We are looking forward to what next year will bring.

“There is so much musical talent in the young people of Southampton. Their performances

have been of such an incredible standard this year. We are so proud of all their

achievements”

- Zoe Hunting (Manager, Designated Safeguarding Lead at Southampton Music Services)

Schools Hip Hop Workshop & Performance day!

Students from Redbridge Community College, Redbridge Primary and St Patrick's Catholic Primary all took part in a fantastic hip hop workshop and performance day.

Each school group participated in a rap lyric writing workshop with MC Larry Kazingizi, and vocal workshop with Shannon B & J Fashole-Luke and a freestyle session with rapper TenChoo and music producer Karan Master.

The music hub commissioned a song from local producer Sara and Shannon B for the Black History Month theme this year - Saluting Our Sister which all the students learned in their workshop and write lyrics for.

Year 5 & 6 students really enjoyed the opportunity to explore their feeder secondary school and student helpers from Redbridge College were a huge support during the workshops and helping everyone around the school too.

All the elements were brought together for a performance featuring the workshop leaders learning about a history of hip hop from the female perspective and bringing all the parts of the song together live on stage with all of the audience joining in too.  This included an unplanned freestyle rap battle between schools, an amazing year 5 beatboxer and everyone joining in for the final song including two part harmony, live keyboards and percussion!

'Thanks so much to you both for organising such a great day. The children were buzzing and many said it was the 'best school trip ever!!'

- Teacher St Patrick's Primary

Opera Up Close: Schools Recording Day

Here you can find some footage from our incredible schools recording day with Opera Up Close and composer Michael Betteridge. 

Three schools from across Southampton; St Patricks Catholic Primary, Weston Park Primary and St Monica's Primary School took part in this amazing session and their voices will be heard in the new prelude to Vaughan-William's opera Riders to the Sea staged by Opera Up Close next year.

New name, same great music: SIOW Music!

We’re really excited to share our new name: Southampton and IOW Music! 

There is now one easy place to access all the inspiring and vibrant music that you know and love.

Find it all at www.siowmusic.org 

It’s still coming from the same team at Southampton Music Hub, Southampton Music Services and IOW Music Hub, we just hope that now it’s a little easier to find!

There’s so much to see at our new website: www.siowmusic.org 

  • For young people and their families — find music tuition, music groups and more

  • For schools and education settings — find performances, workshops, training and more

  • For music leaders — find support, resources and more

The new programme, starting in September, is huge and exciting, with so many more opportunities to make, learn and enjoy music wherever you are! We can’t wait for you to join us!

Matt Brombley