BSO: Special performance & workshop for Dover Park Primary School in Ryde!

Our partners Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra recently provided a special performance and workshop for pupils at Dover Park Primary School in Ryde.

The children loved the workshops and they were a perfect link to the tuition the children will be having from January. They left inspired and excited for their lessons!

Read the full article below.

Read the full article

Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra Captivates Pupils At Dover Park Primary School

Community Exhibition Takeover with MAST Mayflower Theatre 

Children from across Southampton have taken part in the workshops for the MAST christmas show this year! 

Students at Thornhill Primary School, Redbridge Primary School and Hightown Primary School have worked alongside Southampton & IoW Music and workshop leader Miko Lisiak to learn and record songs from The Wind in The Willows: Toad's BIG Musical Adventure. 

We are amazed that the students were able to learn, sing and record these songs all in less than an hour!

You can listen to the recordings below:

Celebrating Christmas: The Bells of Paradise Christmas Concert at Turner Sims 

Our Christmas celebrations have continued in style over December.

On Friday 6 December, we joined University of Southampton Voices and their director Harvey Brough for The Bells of Paradise, a sparkling Christmas concert at Turner Sims concert hall. 

Children from Bassett Green Primary School and young singers from St Michael's Choir came together to perform a collection of carols and Christmas songs from around the world. 

We are so proud of our incredible young singers who performed brilliantly with a full adult choir in front of a packed audience. What a way to continue the festive period!

A lyric video made in our Mix'Zine Session: Galaxies by Carla!

Carla, aged 14, has been attending our monthly Mix’Zine sessions as part of our Digital Native Artists group. Mix’Zine is a connected community for music, events and support - created by young people, for young people.

Carla is a talented singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, and has been working on creating her own music. In our November and December Mix’Zine sessions, we took the opportunity to create a short lyric video for the first verse of her new song ‘Galaxies’. We created this video in CapCut, a free editing software.

You can now listen to and watch the lyric video on our Digital Native Artists youtube channel and Mix’Zine instagram!

Are you interested in doing something similar? Then join Mix’Zine!

You can sign up and find out more about the group here, or send us your music so that we can share it for you!

jOIN mIX’ZINE!

Do you want to learn how to create a lyric video, how to promote your own or others music, or do you have an idea you would like try out?

We can help at Mix’Zine sessions!

Submit your music!

Are you a young singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, rapper, beat-maker, music producer?

Mix’Zine can share & promote your music for you!

ROCK SCHOOL ON THE ROAD: with Platform One College of Music

Join students and teachers from Platform One - College of Music to hear performances from bands, young people and learn lots about events, sound, music technology and jobs in the music industry.  This will be happening in April - July 2025.

Details of spaces available will come directly from Platform One to your settings so this is one to look out for!

BandStorm 2025: SoundStorm’s Battle of the Bands Competition

Are you ready to take the stage and showcase your talent?  Don’t miss your chance to be part of BandStorm 2025, the ultimate event for rising stars!

The stage is set for BandStorm 2025 – SoundStorm’s battle of the bands competition in partnership with Absolute Music and the The Old Fire Station, Bournemouth (Bournemouth Uni). A highlight of the SoundStorm calendar, our annual battle of the bands has brought to the stage a wonderful array of talented performers, bands and vocalists and we are excited to be announcing the details for this year’s BandStorm competition!

For the first time we open this competition to young people from across BCP , Dorset , Southampton, Portsmouth , Isle Of Wight and the surrounding area!

Deadline to apply: 13/12/24

Bring your sound, your energy, and your passion. This is YOUR moment!

Tag your bandmates and share the news! Let’s make some noise!

You must be Y9 – 13, at school, college or home educated.

Apply now (via the button below) and let the world hear what you’ve got!

Christmas at Osborne House 2024!

Our annual event Christmas at Osborne took place last week and featured 80 children from three primary schools: Broadlea, Carisbrooke & Newport CE.

The schools came together to take part in singing workshops, a tour of the house and some Victorian Christmas Crafts topped off by a fantastic performance in the Durbar Room where Queen Victoria would have enjoyed listening to her own children singing.  A beautifully decorated Osborne House was a stunning backdrop for the day along with the amazing staff and volunteers from English Heritage who helped the day to run smoothly.

In addition to this students from Carisbrooke College were invited to sing for guests on a tour of the house in the week prior.

“Just wanted to say a big thank you for today. The children had a wonderful time and they just beam after these experiences!”

- Emma Millard Music Lead at Broadlea Primary

An Audience With… Pathways to Music Industry Workshops

Thursday 5th & Friday 6th February KS2 & KS3 in partnership with IWCEP and Creative Island

"An Audience With..." is Southampton & IOW Music's flagship vehicle to help schools connect the areas of the National Plan for Music Education focused on Music Industry roles with children and young people. 

In partnership with IWCEP and Creative Island, we will be delivering workshops on Thursday 5th & Friday 6th February for young people on the Isle of Wight in KS2 & KS3.

These will be hands-on sessions outlining some of the job roles available in the music industry (both technical and performance based) through practical activities and digital video content which will inspire young people to work in the music industry and develop aspirations for the future

Find out more via our hub menu.

Pathways to music industry workshops

In partnership with Isle of Wight Cultural Education Partnership & Creative Island

Recorder Extravaganza! In Partnership with Fairest Isle Festival

January - April 2025 KS1 & KS2 in partnership with Fairest Isle Festival

After the success of our recorder extravaganza at St Catherine’s Church in Ventnor last year as part of Fairest Isle Festival we will be continuing the tradition this year! 

Although the festival is not taking place again until 2026 the festival organisers were keen to continue the legacy of this year’s project via the commissioning of a new recorder songbook written by island-native Miriam Monaghan from recorder super-group Palisander. 

The music hub will host these digital resources, provide CPD for schools and workshops to introduce the materials and during next term select a venue and date for performance in the spring term. 

If your school would like to host this event please do get in touch. 

Recorder Extravaganza!

In partnership with Fairest Isle Festival

Southampton University Chamber Choir: Vocal Workshops

January & February 2025 - KS2 & KS3 Vocal Workshops

In January and February, the student members of Southampton University Chamber Choir are offering the opportunity for schools to hear them perform in a short assembly and then work with a class or a choir group for a workshop leading to a small performance on the day. 

The workshop: 60 minutes, suitable for a class of up to 30 or your choir.

Assembly: 15-20 minutes, including performances from SUCC and children’s performance of material from the workshop.

Vocal Workshops

Southampton Univeristy Chamber Choir

Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia: Christmas at the Movies!

Join Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia, Southampton's largest youth orchestra, for an evening of festive favourites from our most loved Christmas films, on Wednesday 11 December.

Programmes to include everything from Aladdin to White Christmas, along with wonderful festive lighting.  Fun for all the family - not to be missed!

Find full details and how to book tickets via the listing on our events page.

Join Southampton Cultural Education Partnership’s (SCEP) Steering Group!

Are you passionate about ensuring young people across Southampton can access the arts?

Do you want to work on projects that promote cultural education in the city?

If so, we want to hear from you!


The SCEP is seeking to appoint two new members of the Steering Group. Members will be appointed for a two year term and will commit to offering in kind support, which we estimate will be between half a day and one day a month.

Apply to join Southampton Cultural Education Partnership’s (SCEP) Steering Group and help deliver our priorities.

For more information, please read the application pack.

Applications close on Thursday 5th December 2024.

Apply Now

Southampton Cultural Education Partnership

Steering Group

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.