On Monday 28 March, Studio Two in MAST Mayflower Studios was treated to a fabulous diverse concert, featuring performances from Bella and Soton Voce, Twango, Los Twangolitos, and Jazz Workshop. The performance included a special arrangement of a Ukrainian Folk Song as performers stood united with Ukraine.

For many of the performers, this was their first concert experience and they played to a sold out audience of supportive friends and family.

Nia Collins, Director for Soton Voce, says:

“What a delight the evening was with such a fantastically eclectic programme which both participants and audience enjoyed!

Alex, a young musician on the night, says:

“It made me really proud to perform on stage. It was really good fun performing in front of people and the crowd went wild. I really enjoy it and love playing with other people. I love having friends outside school.”

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On Tuesday 8 March 2022, Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia had the pleasure of performing to children of primary school ages, from across the city. The theme being Heroes and Villains, the programme consisted of film music from many well-known films such as Star Wars, Ghost Busters and Pirates of The Caribbean.

The children in the audience were encouraged to participate in unlocking sections of the orchestra and their instruments, to gain as much understanding and knowledge of musical features as possible. They worked with Kath and Mia to identify the evil characters and the good in every piece. In addition, the actions and clapping that were introduced to the children, allowed them to engage with the orchestra on another level. 

“I had a wonderful day and it was such a lovely experience which I am so glad to have been a part of. I hope to be able to do it again, next year.” - Laila Tabayashi, viola

The children were ecstatic which just made the orchestra members play with more enthusiasm. It was written on their faces that they had just as much fun as we did and we hope to have inspired them to take on a new instrument. 

“Loved the energy of the performance. Members of the orchestra were enjoying it as much as the children were. It was so good that they can learn about music in such a fun way. The funniest moment for me was when Anna walked on to conduct, and lots of the children shouted ‘Stop! Thief!’ as they were instructed to for the game” - Annabel CD

Report from a Young SYCS Player:

On the day of the Children’s Concert, it was a blustery and cold morning when the orchestra met in front of the Rose Garden fountain at Southampton Art Gallery. Thus assembled, we set off for MAST Mayflower Studios, only a short walk away, and to our dressing rooms before our initial rehearsal and soundcheck. Despite the threat of someone falling off the stage, which was quickly resolved, the rehearsal went smoothly. We were shuffled back into our dressing rooms for a break before the show, and then our audience was arriving.

Led by Nia Collins and Kath Page, it was clear that the children had an awesome time from their enthusiasm to join in the musical activities in pursuit of finding the heroes of each piece and banishing the villains. Particularly delightful were the cries of “Thief!” throughout the show as new musical clues were discovered in the chest by musicians alongside conductor Kevin Withell, though conductor Anna Robinson was mistakenly accused of thievery when in fact she was preparing to conduct the next piece. By the end of the concert, the children had assembled a “hero team” from each of the pieces, and learnt about ostinatos, dynamics, and the different sections of the orchestra, to name but a few.

After the first concert, it was lunchtime, and soon enough we were back onstage for our second concert of the day. This time, various new schools had come to assemble their “hero team,” and their energy brought a bout of enthusiasm to the lag of another concert (the fifth concert of six that SYCS planned for the Spring Term!), starting off, as before, with Bach’s Toccata before the musical learning began! The children had arrived ready to learn, and were an eager and passionate audience that joined in with brio as the concert went on, culminating in an epic finale with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.’ This piece features several solos from members of the orchestra, including the leader, and the children joined in through thrilling pirate-related actions. A swashbuckling time was had by all during the piece, and at the end the orchestra stood to rip-roaring applause.

Special thanks must be given to Nia Collins and Kath Page, for their leadership during the concert and masterful methods of musical learning, making it genuinely enjoyable and educational at the same time; Anna Robinson and Kevin Withell, for their conduction of the orchestra (despite Kevin’s assurance that conducting is “just standing here and waving my arms around”) and lively spirit which buoyed us through the day; the adult players who joined the orchestra; and Zoe Hunting, alongside other members of the Southampton Music Hub, for organising the event. They, alongside the orchestra, were the true heroes of the day.

This month, young musicians from across Southampton have been taking centre stage at MAST Mayflower Studios as part of a month long programme celebrating the creativity of the city’s young people.

On Tuesday 8 March 2022, Pulse8 concert band and FolkActive Youth Ensemble gave their first live performance in over two years. The Folk Active Youth Ensemble is run by Hub partners Folk Active and led by Folk musician Chris Nichols of Threepenny Bit. This ensemble, comprised mainly of string players, has been running since 2019 and continued to thrive online during lockdown.

The audience were captivated by the ensemble, who played tunes taught in the traditional way by ear with plenty of interesting harmonies and variations added in for good measure! The dancing, led by Tom Gregory was a popular, if unplanned addition to the concert, but this music is, after all designed to be danced to.

Joining them on the bill was Pulse8, Southampton Music Hub's intermediate concert band which features percussion, brass and woodwind players of around grade 3-5 standard from across the city and beyond. Led by their Musical Director Kevin Withall, this talented group of young musicians played a wide range of repertoire from western classical musical and concert band classics to film soundtrack and popular music.

Chris Nichols, director of FAYE says:

“The MAST concert was FAYE’s first opportunity to perform together since before the pandemic. They have come such a long way in the last few years and delivered an infectiously joyous performance. They memorized not only all the music, but some complex arrangements which they themselves had put together. I am immensely proud of everything they have achieved so far and am excited to continue developing the ensemble further, with an expended selection of instruments and more participant led creativity.”

The programme continue this month, with the following upcoming shows:

Monday 28 March 2022 at 7pm: Los Twangolitos, Twango, Bella Voce, Soton Voce and Jazz Workshop

Southampton Music Hub is delighted to present a wonderfully eclectic programme which features our initial and senior classical guitar groups Los Twangolitos and Twango alongside our youth and community choirs Soton and Bella Voce and recently re-reformed Jazz Workshop.

Wednesday 30 March 2022 at 7pm: Brassroots and Fusion Brass

Southampton Music Hub is delighted to present our initial brass band Brass Roots and their mid tier contemporaries Fusion Brass showcasing Southampton’s young brass players and a mixture of traditional and popular repertoire. This performance includes the world premier of a piece written by the players from Fusion Brass and their assistant Andy Wareham.

Thursday 31 March 2022, at 7pm: Airplay and Boom

Southampton Music Hub is delighted to present Boom and Airplay Concert. This will be a fantastically wide ranging concert featuring our initial windband ensemble Airplay, alongside our newly formed percussion group Boom! Expect some wide ranging repertoire from world music rhythms to traditional and popular pieces.

Friday 1 April 2022, 7pm: Music Hub Award Holders Concert

Southampton Music Hub is delighted to present an inspiring evening with young gifted and talented musicians from across the city who are in receipt of a music hub award for their outstanding talents. The evening with showcase a variety of instruments and genres from Rock to Rachmaninoff!

On Saturday 12 February 2022, 37 young musicians from Southampton Youth Strings (SYS) and Southampton Youth Wind Band (SYWB) took part in a workshop day led by London Sinfonietta. Participants worked on a creative piece and another contemporary piece and it was a fantastic opportunity to work with some of the country's leading performers on a repertoire written by living composers.

John Hanchett, director of SYWB, says:

“its been a great day allowing the participants to explore a new style of music that gives them freedom away from the constraints of the written music.”

Patrick from London Sinfonietta says:

“All the performers made huge progress on two pieces, one about rhythm and one about sustaining a beautiful sound. They got used to extreme ideas quickly and embraced the challenge. They gave a musical performance to an enthusiastic audience.”

Sophie, a member of SYWB, says:

“Who knew you could play music without music!'

Ellen, a young musician from the day, added:

“It is different from anything I've ever done before. It was really nice to play something in a different genre, and it wasn't possible to get it wrong!”

On Saturday 12 February Southampton Music Hub will welcome composer, conductor and presenter Patrick Bailey and players from the London Sinfonietta to work with players from Southampton Youth Strings and Southampton Youth Wind Band.

During the day Southampton's young musicians will work on on two contemporary pieces: developing modern technical skills, being involved in the creative process of developing a new piece of music, as well as taking part in sectionals with players from London Sinfonietta.

The day will end with a free public performance, 3.30 - 4.00 at Woodlands Community College, Minstead Avenue, Southampton, SO18 5FW.

The 10 Minute Sign & Sing and Rhythm & Rhyme team are delighted to be supporting Children’s Mental health Awareness week with our content this week.  The theme for this year is ‘growing together’.  We have chosen some songs specifically as part of our weekly digital resource offer to schools which fit around this theme.

The Sign & Sing team have chosen the song Surface Pressure by Lin Manuel-Miranda from the recent Disney film Encanto focusing on the day to day pressure that students in Key Stage 2 and 3 experience regularly.  Our Rhythm and Rhyme song is What I Am by Will.i.am (and The Sesame Street Crew!) which has an excellent positive growth mindset message.

Both songs feature Makaton signs and body percussion which you can learn along with the video, just follow the links below to find these resources in our Everybody Sing Songbank.

Nia Collins, Music Hub Relationship Manager, says:

“The music hub is dedicated to supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing and this is very much at the core of everything that we do now, from planning our online content to offering support to individual pupils through musical activities, this is of vital importance.”

If you want more information about Children’s Mental Health Awareness week or find some more classroom or assembly resources to download then you can take a look by clicking the button below.

During Black History month in October 2021 the Music Hub launched our Proud To Be project which saw us working with local rapper Larry Kazingizi and children and young people in schools across the city of all ages.  During those workshops we were able to support and guide pupils to write and perform their own lyrics for a song (written by Jo Downs) covering a wide variety of themes such as; school, heritage, family, city, friends or achievements.

After working with 1000+ young people and collecting some incredible lyrics from them Larry put together a definitive version of the song using a portion of lyrics from all the schools we worked with to make a final version which is fun, inspiring and moving.

Excitingly, Unity 101 radio were so impressed by this they invited a group of pupils to come and perform this inspiring song at their annual awards ceremony on Friday 7th January 2022 which Hollybrook Junior School bravely stepped in to do at short notice.  Although the live in-person event was pulled due to Covid concerns a film crew organised by Unity 101 were able to come to Hollybrook during the week to record them and broadcasted this as part of their awards ceremony live stream on YouTube instead!

You can see their incredible performance (with very little rehearsal time given!) below plus the lyrics from the final version of our song and the resources that go with this in our songbank below.

This project will continue with the hub’s Proud To Be History of Hip Hop in Southampton schools event at MAST Mayflower Studio on Tuesday 29th March.

Nia Collins, Programmes and Events Manager for Southampton Music Hub, says:

“The complexity and depth of the lyrics that our young people have come up with as part of this project has been nothing short of incredible and we are so thrilled to be able to bring them all together into one track performed by young people.  The students at Hollybrook Junior worked so hard to get this recorded in time for the awards ceremony and we are delighted that they were able to be included in Unity 101’s event celebrating the city’s diversity and talent”

Proud To Be Lyrics

CHORUS

Proud to be, proud to be, everything that makes me me

Proud to be, proud to be, all that I aspire to be

Proud of the place I come from, Proud of the people I know

Those who came before me, and those who help me grow

Proud of the things I’m learning, proud of the strength in me

As I claim my story and my identity

Proud to be, proud to be, everything that makes me, me

Proud to be, proud to be, all that I aspire to be

Verse 1 

I’m proud of how I achieved my goals

Surrounded by love and support

Proud of how we play our sports

Cricket, football, give it our all

From a young age I was a brilliant baller,

Superstar sportsman I’m a serious scorer

proud of creating the best drawing ever

Me give up on my art, never!!

Proud of everything I learnt at school

Even though it wasn't always cool

I needed to keep pushing through

For all the things i would soon do

I want to finish school so i can sleep late

That’s what you get when you graduate

I’m proud of doing well in maths

And yes i really like wearing hats

Chorus

Proud to be, proud to be, everything that makes me, me

Proud to be, proud to be, all that I aspire to be

Verse 2

proud of all my diverse friends

different religions, countries, ends.

Mom and Dad we are so proud of ya

You came all the way from Somalia

To a place of better opportunities

people who care, and a good community

All the way from the war they came

Through the oceans and rain, the mud and flames

proud to be a Sikh, helping others

Happiness is key, show bright colours
I’M…Proud to speak Arabic

I’m proud of the colour of my skin

I am glad I have a good place of learning,

A future so bright it’s basically burning

Yes, basically burning

A future so bright it’s basically burning

CHORUS

Proud to be, proud to be, everything that makes me me

Proud to be, proud to be, all that I aspire to be

Proud of the place I come from, Proud of the people I know

Those who came before me, and those who help me grow

Proud of the things I’m learning, proud of the strength in me

As I claim my story and my identity

Proud to be, proud to be, everything that makes me, me

Proud to be, proud to be, all that I aspire to be

With the new Spring Term, Southampton Music Hub is offering all schools in the city the opportunity to be take part in a huge, diverse range of music workshops, performances and experiences.

Alongside exciting new offers from the Everybody Sing and Digital Native Artists (DNA) programmes, this term’s offer includes:

• Taking part in the hub’s MAST Theatre Residency

• A concert for Key Stage 1 with Southampton Youth Concert Sinfonia (SYCS)

• Proud to Be, History of Hip Hop

And loads more!

At the end of 2021, Southampton Music Hub’s Development Manager, Matt Brombley, looks back on the year past, to reflect on some of the most memorable moments and themes of the year.

“Back in July, we wrote about how, above all else, it was the resilience of the city’s young musicians, and the adults who support them, that shone through as the defining theme of the year so far. 

Now, in December, it is even more true than ever. 

Showing creativity and flexibility in the face of incredible challenges has had big rewards for us this year.  

Thanks to Paul Hamlyn Foundation, £65,000 is helping develop literacy in three city schools using rap and hip hop in an exciting new pilot project.

Thanks to funding from Youth Music, Southampton and IOW Music Hubs are working together with Dorset, Portsmouth as well as SoundStorm Music Hubs to help young people shape and lead new music-making opportunities.

The digital resources from Sign & Sing have continued to find new audiences, and support schools to keep singing in an inspiring and inclusive way, with over 4,000 views just in the last month!

Songwriting and music production continues to be a big hit with young people, and is helping them with their mental health, as well as helping to shape the future of music-making in the city.

Innovative programmes, working closely with schools and alternative provision settings, have seen more young musicians taking part in music, including a 28% increase in Looked After Children, a 44% increase in pupil premium children, and an 88% increase in young people with Special Educational Needs.

Finally, after a start to the year which once again saw live music shut down, we have seen live music bouncing back, and since September over 3000 children have taken part in live music-making in schools, and over 400 young people have taken part in 16 ensemble performances.”

Kath Page, Hub Manager, adds

“We’ve been through an incredibly challenging two years, but every part of our music hub has responded to these challenges with resilience, creativity and innovation, helping to make sure we make progress towards our goal: that every young person has access to the life-changing power of music, whatever their background or circumstances.”

On Wednesday 15 December the Southampton Music Services team took part in ‘trauma-informed practice” training with Rock Pool.

The session helped the team to understand what trauma is, how it can impact children and young people, and how they can adapt their music lessons in a trauma-informed way.

Matt Brombley, Development Manager, says:

“Today has been another important step on our journey to becoming a more inclusive music service, leading a more inclusive music hub. We have spent time thinking about how music lessons can be a place where young people develop inner strengths which help them become better musicians, but also, which can spill over into other areas of their lives.”

Dave King and Elaine Bohun stepped down from running Southampton Wind Band (SWB) in the summer of 2020. With a performance at Thornden Hall on Sunday 13 December 2021, and after a staggering 37 years at the helm, the music hub said a final farewell to them.

Current SWB members were joined by alumni making a band of 60 strong. Together they performed pieces that were personal favourites of Dave and Elaine or had a special significance to the couple.

The performance ended with a well deserved standing ovation as a tribute and thank you to all the support and encouragement Dave and Elaine have given to the young players of Southampton over so many years.

On Saturday 4 December 2021 a group of young producers, songwriters and musicians came together at MAST Music Studio to talk about the DNA Programme: where we’ve come from, and where we’re going. They created a new song — Right Track — and an accompanying zine which includes illustrated lyrics and a manifesto for the future.

They day was kindly funded by Music Mark and Arts Council England with additional support from Youth Music.

Two weeks ahead of the University of Southampton Voices’ (USV) Christmas concert, a school children’s choir had to reluctantly pull out due to school Covid restrictions. Harvey Brough (Professor at Southampton) approached the Southampton Music Hub to find some children to sing some key elements of their programme.

Needless to say, 18 young singers from a range of schools across the city rose to the challenge and attended two rehearsals before having the amazing experience of performing at the Turner Simms.

They were rehearsed by Nia Collins and produced a wonderful addition to the programme. They performed alongside professional soloists, Clara Sanabras and Christina Gill singing wonderful jazz arrangements of Christmas music arranged by Harvey Brough. All accompanied by a talented brass quintet.

It was a special occasion for the young singers to perform for the first time for many of them for two years. Also, it was no ordinary concert as it was a professional setting with gifted professionals too.

Finn McGill’s solo in Away in a Manger was memorable as was the two choir voices in the Carol of the Bells. The children opened at least three of the songs with their singing – no mean feat after just three rehearsals. They particularly enjoyed telling the tale “Down in yon forest” (the Renaissance English version of Corpus Christi carol arranged by Harvey). The children came away saying “when can we do this again?” Their confidence and joy infected the whole audience and was an excellent start to the festivities of Advent.

Nia Collins, says:

"I couldn't be more proud of what these children achieved in their performance on Friday night in such a short period of time, what incredible musicians they already are! It was such an amazing opportunity for them to perform at such a high level in a top concert venue with professional musicians and they rose to the occasion admirably"

On Friday 5 November 2021, over 700 Southampton school pupils aged 7-11 were treated to a fantastic, free concert at the Mayflower Theatre by Welsh National Opera (WNO). The concert featured the famed WNO orchestra, opera singers from their company, and was presented by CBeebies presenter and musician Yolanda Brown.

A huge variety of schools from far reaches of the city took up the offer of free tickets and in a socially distanced layout within the auditorium enjoyed listening to; beautifully sung arias, orchestral pieces, a typewriter solo and a duet between warring cats whilst learning about the instruments of the orchestra and types of opera singer!

Nia Collins, Strategic Programme and Events Manager for Southampton Music Hub, say:

“For the many of the children here today this may have been the first time they have set foot in a theatre, experienced live music or heard a professional orchestra or opera singer in person.  Hearing their excitement and cheers when the theatre lights went down before the event even started was magical!  We are delighted to be working in partnership with national organisations such as Welsh National Opera and local venues such as The Mayflower Theatre to bring these kind of opportunities to as many young people in our city as possible”

Over the past few weeks, year four Pupils at Weston Park Primary, along with year five pupils at Bassett Green Primary and St Monica’s Primary, have had an exciting start to the Rap and Literacy Project funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. The start of this project has also been documented by a filmmaker from City Eye.

With a workshop led by Rap and Spoken word artist Rob Bradley, and ongoing weekly class sessions, pupils have begun learning how Rap and Hip-Hop can be used as a creative tool to improve their literacy and music skills. This project will be continuing until July 2022, with opportunities for the pupils to shape the project, in collaboration with Rob Bradley and their lead teacher, through shared reflection and development.

Nia Collins, Project Manager for Southampton Music Hub, says:

"We are so excited to have finally started this project with the children and young people in schools who will form the core of this project! As they begin this journey with us along with their classroom teachers and schools, we can't wait to see what a difference this makes to their outcomes across the whole year."

Matt Brombley, Development Manager, for Southampton Music Hub, says:

“These first few days of the project have been so exciting. We’ve already seen pupil’s sharing raps they have written at home, and bringing music they love into their lessons. Their response to Rob’s freestyle skills was amazing to see too: they couldn’t contain they’re excitement as he created rhymes on the fly. Everyone left these workshops feeling inspired and excited for the year ahead.”

On Saturday 2 October, children and their families got to take part in iPad music-making workshops with Southampton Music Hub as part of the Mayflower Studios’ ‘Festival of Loveliness’.

In the workshops, participants used Garageband to create electronic soundscapes inspired by movies and video games. Listen to some of the recordings below:

At the end of this school year, Southampton Music Hub is celebrating resilience. 

The past 16 months have been disruptive for everyone, and in the face of such challenging times, we have seen the city’s young musicians, and the adults who support them, show an incredible ability to adapt, to grow, to learn, and to reach out.

Music has motivated us to keep going, and it has also helped us to grow the personal qualities that are so valuable, not just because they make great musicians, but because they make us better people.

So at the end of this school year, we’re celebrating resilience.

Looking back on the year

This week, there have been four stories shared to celebrate the resilience of young songwriters, music hub partners, music teachers, and young performers. 

And, we’re closing the year with one final, very special performance. Premiering live, at 7pm!

Join Southampton Youth Brass Band and Kanes Hill School for their performance of ‘Let’s Get Loud’, a performance that is a shining example of resilience.

• The resilience of the young musicians in Southampton Youth Brass Band (SYBB) who made music together virtually, when they could not be together in person.

• The resilience of the young musicians at Kanes Hill School, continuing their lessons online, then in person, and now, playing together again.

• The resilience of the music teachers and leaders who imagined and then made possible a performance that meets the challenges of changing Covid restrictions and social distancing

• The resilience of a music hub and a school who see the huge impact that music can make to children and young people, and who work hard to support them to succeed, whatever their background or circumstances

Looking back on the past year, Kath Page, Manager for Southampton Music Hub, shares:

This year, we have learnt so much more about what resilience really means. 

Resilience requires us to acknowledge and accept our experiences and our emotions, and as we heard on Monday, our young songwriters are doing exactly that.

Resilience means having the grit to keep going, even when things get hard, and 10 Minute Sign & Sing is a shining example of that.

Resilience requires us to learn new skills, to make ourselves ready for the challenges that life throws at us. The whole team has learnt so much this year, and it has made incredible things possible.

Finally, resilience means reaching out to share a connection with others. Whether it has been online, or face-to-face, our young musicians have been incredible at doing this in their music lessons, their virtual performances, and finally, once again, back in front of a live audience.

I’m so proud of the resilience everyone has shown this year in the face of such huge challenges. I hope you enjoy our final performance before the summer!”

At the end of this school year, Southampton Music Hub is celebrating resilience. 

The past 16 months have been disruptive for everyone, and in the face of such challenging times, we have seen the city’s young musicians, and the adults who support them, show an incredible ability to adapt, to grow, to learn, and to reach out.

Music has motivated us to keep going, and it has also helped us to grow the personal qualities that are so valuable, not just because they make great musicians, but because they make us better people.

So at the end of this school year, we’re celebrating resilience.

Groove Foundation

Over the past year, Groove Foundation have been recording regular videos from their living rooms and bedrooms at home, to share on the music hub YouTube channel. 

Elliot, the lead singer, explains:

“It was a bit weird at first, because you don’t know what it will sound like until it all comes together. When I’m recording, it’s just me singing and I have no idea how it will sound. Knowing my performance was being recorded, I would work hard to get everything sounding just right. I would kick mum and dad out to the garden to make sure the sound recording was really clear, and keep retaking until I got it right.”

“Elliot really took the videos on as a personal mission” adds Groove Foundation band leader Aidan, who also edited together the band’s video performances.

The virtual performances had an unexpected benefit too, as Elliot explains:

“My friends often can’t come to our live performances, but they have been able to watch the videos all year. We get excited for the premier, and then it’s really fun to see it all sounding great together.”

Over the past year, Elliot has also been able to have music lessons to help develop her singing, thanks to funding from the Cultural Recovery Fund. Elliot tells us what a difference this has made:

“It’s been so cool to have singing lessons to help me improve. Being in Groove Foundation is what got me into singing properly, and now I’m getting better all the time.”

Last week, Groove Foundation returned to a real life stage, after over a year away, with an eight song set at The Point. Elliot tells us what it was like:

“It was really fun to be back. It’s the best feeling. The whole band is there, you can hear everyone again, and you turn around and can see everyone else enjoying themselves. I had to remember to look after my voice though. You can’t take a break like you can when you’re recording at home!”

And it’s not just on stage that being back with the band makes a huge difference. Elliot again:

“It’s so fun to see everyone, deciding the set list, making choices as a band, and helping each other out again. We’re there to support each other after the show too, to share the excitement, and chat about how things went.”

— Elliot, Singer

Matt Brombley, Development Manager for Southampton Music Hub adds:

“Elliot, and her bandmates in Groove Foundation are inspirational examples of the resilience so many young musicians have shown this year. We know how hard it has been, missing out on so many of the shared experiences that make music-making so enjoyable, but they have done an exceptional job keeping things going online, with their impressive video performances, and then returning to the stage this summer.”

It’s not just Groove Foundation that have been back on stage. This summer, music hub bands, orchestras and other groups have been rehearsing and performing together again. If you’d like to join a music group, then find out more on our ensembles page.

At the end of this school year, Southampton Music Hub is celebrating resilience. 

The past 16 months have been disruptive for everyone, and in the face of such challenging times, we have seen the city’s young musicians, and the adults who support them, show an incredible ability to adapt, to grow, to learn, and to reach out.

Music has motivated us to keep going, and it has also helped us to grow the personal qualities that are so valuable, not just because they make great musicians, but because they make us better people.

So at the end of this school year, we’re celebrating resilience.

John Hanchett conducting an inclusive orchestra at the Mayflower Theatre in 2019.

John Hanchett: one of many resilient music teachers

It has been a challenging year for everyone, but music teachers and leaders across the city have shown incredible resilience. 

Having moved music lessons online in the previous year, they moved them back into schools in September. They moved them back online in January, again, then back into school again in March. Every step along the way, teachers and music leaders have been determined to keep music-making going, wherever, and however they can.

One such teacher has been John HancHett. John teaches brass, cello, piano and leads some school orchestras, and has been at the heart of moving not just music lessons online, but virtual performances too.

In December, when we lived in tired restrictions, John arranged, virtually conducted, and edited together ‘A Million Dreams’ — bringing together over 50 young musicians of all ages and abilities, from across Southampton and the Isle of Wight.

John explains:

“It was important to me that everyone who wanted to take part was able to take part, so I created an arrangement with parts for all instruments and abilities. There was a lot to learn when bringing such a big virtual performance together for the first time, but I was delighted by how it came out. The joy came from featuring the vast array of instruments, played by young musicians who were carrying on playing through such a difficult time. I wanted them to have something to be really proud of at the end of a difficult year.”

In January, and throughout the Spring Lockdown, John, along with all Southampton Music Service Tutors, moved their music lessons online again, as they had done the previous year. 

“It was great to be able to get new learners face-to-face in September. And with so many new learners and those carrying on from last year, when lockdown two happened in January, we hit the ground running: teaching day one of lockdown. This was the pay off from all the groundwork laid last year: we never missed a week. This has been an awful year in so many ways, but it has also been a powerful year for teaching: it has been really motivating to learn new things and face new challenges in such difficult circumstances.”

And, when schools returned to full opening in Spring, lessons returned to face-to-face:

“Returning in the Spring was not always easy. There were restrictions around social distancing and school bubbles which have been huge logistical challenges. It was so wonderful to see those young musicians who could carry on online pick back up right away, and carry on making progress. But there were also challenges for those who hadn't been able to learn online, and had missed out on so much. I’m not alone here, I know many other teachers do this tooL we just give the extra time to make it work sometimes!”

And at the end of the year,  John brought together “Get Loud” a virtual performance which debuts on Friday night, with young musicians from Southampton Youth Brass Band and Kanes Hill School.

“Get Loud is only possible because of everything that we’ve learnt over the past year. It’s a performance that has the best of both worlds — online recordings, plus face-to-face music lessons, workshops and recordings, before coming back together in the virtual world. This is something far bigger and more ambitious than we’ve done before, and it brings together musicians in a way that would not have been possible just a year ago.”

At the end of this school year, Southampton Music Hub is celebrating resilience. 

The past 16 months have been disruptive for everyone, and in the face of such challenging times, we have seen the city’s young musicians, and the adults who support them, show an incredible ability to adapt, to grow, to learn, and to reach out.

Music has motivated us to keep going, and it has also helped us to grow the personal qualities that are so valuable, not just because they make great musicians, but because they make us better people.

So at the end of this school year, we’re celebrating resilience.

10 Minute Sign & Sing

When Covid restrictions in schools meant that singing assemblies were cancelled, and singing in the classroom was much trickier, then Southampton Music Hub responded with a brand new initiative called “10 Minute Sign & Sing”.

It’s ten minutes long, because Covid guidance says to keep singing short; there is sign language with every video, so that when you can’t sing, you can sign along; and it’s in video format so anyone can take part, anywhere (yes, even if your bubble has been sent home!). Also, many of the songs also celebrate and encourage those taking part to show and grow the inner strengths that make us more resilient. 

The project has been a huge hit, clocking up thousands of Youtube views, and reaching across the country.

Nia Collins, Vocal Coordinator, says:

“The health and wellbeing benefits of singing and making music with others are well known, and they are even more important at a time when young people are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. It’s been so inspiring to see them enjoying music, celebrating their achievements, and being part of something the hub has made to help them carry on singing!”

10 Minute Sign & Sing is just one example of the way digital resources have kept music making going in schools this year. Because these resources are digital, a huge range of hub partners and others have been able to share their unique musical perspectives, including Folk Active, Alexander D Great, Welsh National Opera and more. Plus, they’re available for schools to use next year, and far into the future!