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.
Find full details and how to book for each event through the link to the listing on our events page.
Monday 25 November: Elgar, Twango and Los Twangolitos live at Cantell! — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
Thursday 28 November: Airplay & Boom! live at Cantell School! — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
Saturday 30 November: BSO On Your Doorstep: Curious Creatures Family Concert — Southampton Music Hub [Isle of Wight]
Come and join 14 BSO musicians, a young Isle of Wight string group, and someone to guide you through the music – this relaxed performance is perfect for young audiences going to a concert for the first time. The afternoon will involve some listening, some participatory elements, and you’ll be sure to experience a mixture of styles – from Bjork to Moana, as well as relaxing classics. Designed with families in mind, let the music take you from forests to oceans and explore the curious creatures of the natural world.
Saturday 30 November: Gig Night — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
Southampton and IOW Music are proud to partner with the Gig Night Charity, providing young artists with a regular platform to perform and develop their music and confidence. Gig night runs monthly at the Old Chemist engaging young musicians from all over Southampton. SIOW Groove Bands, Groove Merchant and Groove Syndicate, feature in the lineup.
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!
Thursday 5 December: Schools Christmas Concert at O2 Guildhall Southampton: featuring SYWB — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
Join us at Southampton Guildhall to continue the Southampton Schools Music Association of schools Christmas events at Southampton Guildhall this Christmas! Featuring music from Jo Downs new Christmas Songbook and narrative script, loosely based on the Nativity story. Southampton Youth Wind Band will also be performing in our Christmas Schools’ Celebration Concert.
Friday 6 December: The University of Southampton Voices: The Bells of Paradise at Turner Sims — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
The University of Southampton Voices present a sparkling Christmas concert. The Bells of Paradise is a collection of carols and Christmas songs from around the world and through the ages. For this performance, USV are joined by children’s choirs from local schools, organised and supported by Southampton & Isle of Wight Music.
Saturday 7 December: Southampton Youth Brass Band live at Exbury Gardens! — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
Southampton Youth Brass Band will be performing at Exbury Gardens.
Monday 9 December: Pulse8 Open Rehearsal for Family & Friends! — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
Pulse8 will be having an ‘Open Rehearsal’ at Richard Taunton Sixth Form College. This is an opportunity for Family & Friends to watch our young members practise together. Parents & friends are welcome to attend the whole rehearsal.
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!
Thursday 12 December: Southampton Youth Brass Band perform at Ocean Terminal! — Southampton Music Hub [Southampton]
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!
Are you interested in taking part in music lessons or music groups?
Find out more about the opportunities we offer, via the buttons below!
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)
Next up in our series of An Audience With… is FolkActive Youth Ensemble’s interview with Mercury Prize nominated singer, performer and writer Sam Lee.
An Audience With… is an interactive youth led experience for schools, allowing children and young people to take the lead on planning and creating content and an opportunity to interact and interview music industry professionals and performers. This project has been made in partnership with Turner Sims.
It is a fantastic vehicle for bringing the music industry into the classroom, inspiring pupils to work within our industry and developing aspirations for the future. This project has been specifically created to support teachers and young people to understand more about the many roles and pathways into the music industry.
Sam Lee is a Mercury Prize nominated Singer, Performer and Writer. As a song collector and conservationist, his music has its roots in traditional folk song but his inventive and original sound breaks the boundaries between folk and contemporary music. He is a founding member of Music Declares Emergency, a group that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency.
Southampton Music Hub’s senior wind band, Southampton Youth Wind Band (SYWB) have been invited to perform at the prestigious Symphony Hall, Birmingham on Friday 5 July 2024.
SYWB have been selected following their performance for the regional Music for Youth Festivals. The band submitted a digital entry performing; Fanfare for The 3rd Planet & Wall of Sound.
Music for Youth mentor Andy Grappy commented on the band’s performance that SYWB play with, “Excitement in your performing” and that, “You play with enthusiasm!”, adding, “You perform with great confidence”. The band’s performance can be viewed below.
Following the regional festivals around the country, a few high caliber performers have been selected to participate in the National Festival, SYWB are thrilled to have been one of those. SYWB percussionist, Reuben, 17, said about this opportunity:
“I’m really excited to perform at such an amazing venue, I know we’ll sound amazing in Symphony Hall. I’m also really looking forward to hearing other groups from around the country.”
The band will now be rehearsing hard to give their very best performance possible. SYWB Musical Director, John Hanchett, spoke about representing Southampton:
“We are so pleased to be celebrating the fantastic work of Southampton Music Service on this national occasion. The band would simply not be able to perform to the standard we do if it wasn’t for the incredible team of teachers and support staff that deliver brilliant music education to schools and colleges across the city. Southampton should be really proud and celebrate the achievement of SYWB!”.
Zoe Hunting, Ensemble Manager, Southampton Music Services:
“The Southampton Music Services are incredibly proud of what SYWB have achieved. The result is very well deserved after all the hard work of every player and director John Hanchett and assistant director Kevin Withell. We wish them all the very best for 5 July which is going to be such an amazing experience for all.”
We wish SYWB all the best, we know you’ll be brilliant!
You can watch SYWB in concert locally when they present their Summer Celebration Concert at Chandler’s Ford Methodist Church on Saturday 6th July.
Across 2024 we are releasing An Audience With… a series of youth-led video interviews with music industry professionals. The first two interviews with musicians and performers Camilla George and Carducci Quartet are both live on our YouTube channel. More will be released throughout the year.
An Audience With… is an interactive youth led experience for schools, allowing children and young people to take the lead on planning and creating content and an opportunity to interact and interview music industry professionals and performers. This project has been made in partnership with Turner Sims.
It is a fantastic vehicle for bringing the music industry into the classroom, inspiring pupils to work within our industry and developing aspirations for the future. This project has been specifically created to support teachers and young people to understand more about the many roles and pathways into the music industry.
Camilla George is a visionary saxophonist, composer, bandleader and innovator. She answers questions about working in the music industry from Southampton Music Hub's next generation of jazz musicians. Camilla's strong cultural roots and love of fusing African and Western Music has informed her own unique style. Her music is a hypnotising blend of Afrofuturism, hip hop and jazz.
Carducci Quartet is an award-winning string quartet, internationally acclaimed as one of the most accomplished and versatile ensembles of today. Young musicians from Elgar Strings get their questions answered by professional musicians from the world renowned Carducci String Quartet.
As we approach the festive season it is always a very busy time for the Southampton Music Services ensembles. Almost all of the ensembles have performed over the last few weeks — some more than once. With many young musicians in more than one ensemble the players have been incredibly busy, as have their parents and carers ensuring they get to the right venue at the right time.
"The standard of playing from our ensembles over the last couple of weeks has been simply incredible. Many of our youngest players have bravely fought off immense levels of nervousness to give their very first performance outside of their school whilst our more advanced players have given performances professionals would have been proud of. Each and everyone should be congratulated on their achievements. What has come through the most is the enjoyment and enthusiasm for their music making" — Zoe Hunting, Ensemble Manager
Girls Make Music is back again this month with another session to explore music production, recording, songwriting and live events!
Starting on Saturday 4 November 2023, FLOW sessions are back at MAST Music Studio.
Young rappers (or aspiring rappers) ages 11-16 can get support to tighten up their rhymes and improve their flow!
Southampton Music Hub has four exciting — free — music opportunities to share with you as part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) Programme!
Girls Make Music: Production Collective — a new, ten week, opportunity for girls aged 11–16 to explore music production, songwriting and live events
Music Production Collective — monthly music production group sessions providing space for collaboration between beatmakers, producers and songwriters aged 11-16
FLOW — Saturday rap group sessions for 11-16 year olds
Share and Shout About New Music — a chance for 13-25 year olds interested in music, social media, music journalism, blogging and live events to be part of a new team who will share new music and music opportunities with other young people
From jazz to Led Zeppelin, Holst to the stage and screen, and everything in-between this concert had it all! Saturday 11th March saw the SYCS Spring Spectacular take place at Thornden Hall.
Clarinetist Katherine said 'We all relaxed into it and I really think we sound better when we work as a team like that. Mars was the most challenging, having to hit very high notes over a sustained period.
These sentiments were echoed by their conductor Kevin Withell. He said “Mars was absolutely fantastic to conduct but needed significant stamina from the orchestra to sustain all of the dramatic moments.”
This concert was Kevin's last as conductor of SYCS and the evening was a fitting send off with all involved in the orchestra eager to show their appreciation for all his hard work over the past eight and a half years. As Kevin himself said 'it's been a privilege to work with such a great team, and by that I mean a team of 80 young people and staff'.
As 2022 comes to an end, we’re highlighting some of the most memorable moments from the year:
Southampton Music Hub ensembles and choirs have been busy performing over the last few weeks. Performances have taken place across a wide range of venues in Southampton, Hedge End and Chandlers Ford and have been attended friends and family as well as an increasing number of members of the general public.
"The end of the autumn term is always an exciting time for our groups as they give their first performances of the academic year and get everyone in the mood for the upcoming Festive season. My huge congratulations goes out to all our young performers and their directors and assistant directors on all of their achievements this term" Zoe Hunting, Southampton Music Hub Ensemble Manager
The standard of playing has been incredibly high as always, with great commitment, enjoyment and enthusiasm being shown throughout. This energy and commitment to music making comes through clearly in the thoughts of some of our players:
"The concert was an incredible experience, the repertoire was very fun to play and being on stage with such a talented orchestra was a delight! I am proud of being part of SYCS and really looking forward to future concerts." SYCS member - Violin
'I was really excited and full of adrenalin for my first sycs concert. It lived up to my expectations and more! The concert had a mix of great humour and fantastic music. I'm really looking forward to my tour experience in Feb 2023 to the Midlands.' — SYCS member - clarinet
Staff are equally proud of the achievements of all the young performers:
'I am extremely proud of the orchestra's achievements this term. They have worked incredibly hard which showed in a programme which truly reflected the SYCS-MAS spirit! This makes me extremely excited for the rest of the season and what the orchestra will deliver next!' Anna Robinson- Director of SYCS
"On 21st November Acorn musicians did themselves proud in what was, for most of them, their first ever live concert. The ensemble performed a selection of easy pieces highlighting their new skills in playing together and following a conductor. The concert also provided the opportunity for nine of the ensemble to perform a solo piece to their parents and peers. " Chris Nichols - Director, Acorn Strings
Eliza Carthy sat down with FolkActive Youth Ensemble (FAYE) members last night to chat about her musical journey, advice for young musicians and her life as a touring artist.
Eliza is mid way though her sell out ‘Queen of the Whirl’ tour, celebrating 30 years as a professional musician; daughter of Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy she truly is folk music royalty, she is also the president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society.
FAYE is run in partnership by Southamton Music Hub and FolkActive CIC.
FolkActive director Tom Gregory:
“It’s wonderful do be able to use our connections in the folk world to provide opportunities like this for these young musicians. It’s so exciting to see these young people developing not just as instrumentalists, but as artists within the local folk community. We’d like to thank Eliza for her time and passion for the next generation of folk musicians and also Turner Sims for their continuing support for FAYE.”
Find out about Hub partners FolkActive including FAYE and the Southamton Folk Orchestra:
Check out ‘This is Me"‘, the first track from J Digwa, who has been taking part in FLOW rap sessions with Southampton Music Hub.
FLOW sessions are part of the Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, are free to join, and support young rappers to tighten up their rhythms, sharpen their rhymes, and improve their flow.
On Saturday 16 July Southampton Music Hub brought performances and workshops to Southampton Mela as part of Art Asia’s vibrant celebration of the city’s cultures and creativity.
With performances from Southampton Youth Wind Band, Harmony Junction, and FLOW rap workshops from the DNA Team, the Mela was a celebration of many of the themes of the year at Southampton Music Hub.
Southampton Youth Wind Band played a phenomenal set at the Mela, and they are just one of the hub’s many groups, bands and orchestras who have enjoyed performing live music this year. Since last September, the city and it’s young people have seen an exciting return of live music. We’ve seen performances for schools, at MAST and the community. We’ve seen performances from young people often alongside and supported by incredible established artists and groups, including rappers, orchestras and more.
Harmony Junction was a co-created by Southampton Music Hub and Art Asia and is a great example of the way Southampton Music Hub works in partnership with others to help support diverse and authentic expressions of music and music education. From our Paul Hamlyn Foundation funded Rap and Literacy project, to the Proud to Be events, to young people at the heart of the city’s cultural celebrations, this year has been all about partnership, and that will only continue to grow in the future,
Our freestyle workshop, with freestyle rapper Tenchoo, at the Mela, is a great example of how this year young people have increasingly been taking the lead in shaping the music offer that is available to them. Our DNA programme includes support for young people to find their voice with songwriting and production, and then use that voice to help pick the programme of masterclasses, groups and workshops to help them flourish. Young people are having an increasing voice in shaping the future of music-making and learning in the city.
As Southampton Music Hub closes one year, and looks ahead to the next, its clear to see that music education in the city is about to take another huge step forward following the announcement of the new National Plan for Music Education. Part Southampton' Music Hub’s response will be to grow and develop our support of the vibrant local ecosystem of music education which we saw on display at the Mela festival on Saturday. There is real excitement across the city — from schools, education settings, hub partners and beyond — to see music education in the city become more diverse, more inclusive and more accessible to all.
