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

On Friday 2 December 2022 two rappers from Bassett Green release their debut tracks, recorded at MAST Music Studio.

The first track, from Nathaniel, is called ‘Life is a Blessing’ and is about “inspiring people to keep trying hard, and to not give up on their dreams, no matter what happens to them.”

The second track, from Mckinley, is called ‘Took Me All These Years’ and is about “the past, and no matter what happens, to keep on trying”.

Nathaniel and Mckinley first took part in rap sessions at their school thanks to the Rap and Literacy Project, funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation. They have come to the MAST Music Studio as part of the DNA Programme which supports young musicians working in digital music genres.

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:

Isle of Wight Music Hub is delighted to have partnered with English Heritage again to provide schools with the opportunity to perform at Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s famed residence in East Cowes.

Eight schools and over 350 children visited the house on Tuesday 29th November to take part in a carousel of activities including Victorian Christmas Cracker making, a tour of the house and a choir performance for the other schools and parents who attended with them.  The performances took place in the incredible Durbar Room and the children were singing in the exact spot where Queen Victoria’s own children would perform for her at Christmas.  

We were treated to some magical performances from sixth form students from Medina and Carisbrooke College right the way down to Key Stage 1 pupils from island primaries and everything in between. 

“The children loved it, it was a lovely thing to do especially with the mix of crafts, a tour and singing. Thanks for arranging these opportunities for our children, they really do make a difference” Graham Andre Assistant Head Lanesend Primary School

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Over the next two years, children and young people on the South West coast will have new opportunities to shape and lead the future of music-making due to an exciting project from the South West Coastal Music Hub Alliance, and all made possible thanks to funding from Youth Music.

The five music hubs in the alliance — Southampton; Isle of Wight; Portsmouth; Dorset; and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole — are working together to reach out to children and young people who are missing out on learning and making music because of their background or life circumstances. 

With the support of “Youth Voice Engagement Workers”, the initiative will help these young people to shape and lead exciting “Action Research” projects: testing out new ideas and approaches which will enable more children and young people to access music in the future. The project will also be co-managed by a young person for the first time.

This initiative is supported by Youth Music, using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

“This is an amazing and exciting project, and we are so grateful to Youth Music for making it possible. We know that young people in our region have incredible ideas and ambitions for making music, and we want to make sure they can access the support they want and need to help make their aspirations and reality.”

— Matt Brombley, Project Manager 

The South West Coastal Music Hub Alliance is recruiting for Youth Engagement Workers as well as a young co-project manager, find out more below:

As part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme, young people taking part in songwriting and production sessions have written some questions to ask members of the team. Next up, introducing Noah Johnson.

Noah Johnson (He/Him) has been working with Southampton Music Hub since March 2020. Noah works both in-person and online from the Isle of Wight, providing music technology provision for young people.

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How did you get started in music and with writing music, and how did that get you here?

I taught myself guitar as a child, and then started learning other instruments throughout my teenage years, including drums, keyboard and vocals. I attended a music making holiday club called Music Matters, and kept attending these clubs every half term and summer holiday. It gave me experience in production, song writing and performance. I then went to university (Platform 1 on the Isle of Wight) to study commercial music. After this I worked with some of the musicians I met at Music Matters and grew my work within community music projects. I moved down to the Isle of Wight in 2018 to study a Masters, and have stayed here since, working with schools and organisations on music technology provision for young people.

What genre(s) of music do you create?

I write electronic, ambient relaxed music, as well as pop and acoustic songwriter music. More recently I have been working on some more electronic styles of music and trying to branch out my understanding of different genres.

What instruments and tools are you using for recording?

My main tool is Logic Pro combined with some small synths and keyboards at home. I like to combine electronic synths with home-made samples and recordings. I also use Pro Tools for mixing music.

Which other artists inspire you?

Production wise, I love Bon iver, Brittany Howard, Ólafur Arnalds and Mitski. I am also creatively inspired by The Staves, Joni Mitchell and Sufjan Stevens.

What inspires you when you create music?

The best way to get my creative juices flowing is to give me a new instrument. Maybe a different style of guitar or synth, or an upright piano. I also find being in different spaces, such as local coffee shops, really helps open my brain up to new creative ideas, as well as going on long walks! 

What's the most important piece of advice you have for aspiring musicians?

Really get to know yourself as a musician, and then work on being unashamedly you! It can feel like time is wasted when you spend time creating things that aren’t connected to who you are. The music industry is a tough cookie, so if you aren’t doing what you love, it becomes much harder!

Check out some of the tools in our ecosystem of music hub to find out more about making music your career.

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.

As part of our Digital Native Artists (DNA) programme,  young people taking part in songwriting and production sessions have been  interviewing members of the team. In the first of the series, Chris interviews Matt Brombley.

Matt Brombley (He/Him/They/Them) has worked with Southampton Music Hub since it was formed in 2012, and before that, he worked at Southampton Music Services. He works online, and in-person: both around the city and at the Music Studio at MAST.

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How did you get started in music and with writing music, and how did that get you here?

I started when I was about seven, and started playing drums. Weirdly, I always thought that as a drummer, songwriting wasn't for me. But when I discovered the world of samplers and making music on computers, I found a way to really get into songwriting. Since then, I've been writing and producing music, including getting a degree in music production from Solent University. And now as well as making my own music, I work here at Southampton and IOW Music Hubs, and at Solent University, helping young people get opportunities to make music and express themselves.

What genre(s) of music do you create?

Mostly electronic and pop music. But within that I like to bring in elements from other genres too, including hip hop and indie. I really enjoy listening to a wide variety of music, and I find I get inspired by all that music, even if the thing I make at the end doesn’t sound anything like it.

What instruments and tools are you using for recording?

I use a Mac laptop to create most of my music, and I either work in Logic or Pro Tools. I also use a phone app called Auxy a lot for sketching out song ideas on the go. I have an SE mic for vocals (they don’t make the one I use anymore, but this one is similar) which I connect with a Universal Audio Arrow Thunderbolt Audio Interface. I use a bunch of instruments, some on my Mac, and some hardware synths like my Juno which I use a lot. 

Which other artists inspire you?

I love artists like Frank Ocean, PinkPantheress, Ryan Beatty, London Grammar, Piri & Tommy, Drake, FKA Twigs, Sampha and James Blake. Those are the kind of artists I feel like my music sits well alongside too. But then I also find inspiration in artists whose work sounds nothing like mine, but there is something about the way they create melodies, or craft lyrics, or express themselves vocally which I find can spark new ideas, including artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar. Plus I have all the music I remember from growing up, music from the late 80s, through to the 90s pop, RnB and dance music, then the indie disco and nu rave music of the early 2000s too.

Your new song, ‘Something in the Water’, what is the song about?

I often write music to help me process and understand what is going on in my life and in my head. This song started earlier this year when I was having a really tough mental health patch. As someone who experiences a lot of anxiety, writing this song helped me get my head around why that is, and how it doesn’t just make me weak, but is also what makes me strong.

You’re releasing and promoting your own music, what are the different steps needed to make that happen?

The basic steps are:

1. Songwriting

2. Production / Recording

3. Mixing

4. Mastering

5. Distribution

6. Promotion

So, the first three steps are all about creating the music: songwriting, production and mixing. Some people think of these as separate steps, but for me, I work on them together. I know other people who write a song, then work with someone else to record and mix it, but because I create most of my music on my own, I work on them all the same time. 

Once I have a track I’m really happy with, then I will master it. This is the process of polishing the track up, and getting it ready to be listened to on streaming, radio, download, or whatever format the song will be released as. This process has a bunch of different elements, and can be pretty complex and require a lot of expertise and experience to do well. Some people send their tracks away to be mastered, although this can be quite expensive. Online tools like LANDR are cheaper and can master a track using AI, but the results aren’t always as reliable as a professional doing it. This time round, I’ve been mastering my own music, which has been a challenging but exciting process.

Distribution is the next stage. Lots of people use SoundCloud and YouTube as they’re both free to use and can help you reach a new audience. But most people listen to their music on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, and if you want to get your music on those, you’ll need to use a digital distribution service. I use Ditto, but there are loads of others. Usually it takes at least a few weeks from uploading your track until it appears on streaming services.

The final stage is promotion, although you can be doing this all along. Social media is great for finding new people who will enjoy what you make, including TikTok and Instagram. To reach new audiences, the BBC and local radio stations have ways to upload your music to be played on shows like BBC Introducing and Voice FM’s South Coast Music Show. If you’re sending your music to radio, blogs and other sites, its always good to have a press release and Electronic Press Kit (EPK) which contains a biography, photos, song artwork, and a copy of the song to listen to (if it’s not already out yet). There is so much more you can do with music videos, jumping on TikTok trends, physical promotion and more. It’s an area I wish I was better at, and wish I had more time for. But at its heart, it’s about seeking out and getting your music in the ears of people who might enjoy it.

Check out some of the tools in our ecosystem of music hub to find out more about making music your career.

This October, in celebration of Black History Month, Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hubs are delivering workshops in over 20 schools in the region: writing rap lyrics on the 2022 UK theme for BHM ‘Time for Change: Action not Words’. Lyrics from these songs will be brought together by local artists to create one performance track shared back with everyone who took part and featured at our schools hip-hop event in January in MAST Mayflower Studios.

The original song this term was composed and brought together by local artist and regular music hub partner deliverer @JT_UK_, and produced by @Lovemade_Muru another local artist.  You can find the resources for our BHM rap project  in the Everybody Sing Song Bank if you would like to have a go at this at home or in school.
The weekly music hub digital resource content has been featuring songs by important black musicians over the past few weeks through a wealth of content in our 10 Minute Sign & Sing (KS2+) and 5 Minute Rhythm & Rhyme (EYFS and KS1) channels. You can head over the 10 Minute Sign & Sing YouTube channel and use the Black History Month playlist or search ‘Black History Month’ in the songbank to enjoy learning to sing, sign or do some body percussion to one of the many tracks there.

Nia Collins, Strategic Planning & Programme Manager and Isle of Wight Hub Lead, says:

"For us BHM is not just about October so all of these resources we are creating will have a lasting legacy as part of other projects and content being made use of throughout the year and onwards"

Photographer: Nosa Malcolm. Turner Sims, Southampton.

Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 September saw the return of the hub’s live music offer to schools in Southampton. A collaboration between Jazz Denmark, Turner Sims and Southampton Music Hub provided schools from across the city the opportunity to watch performances by Sveneborg Kardyebe and RKIDA. Both groups wowed their young audience with an outstanding show of musicianship on both very old and very new musical instruments and technologies.

Sarah Lloyd, Music leader at Kanes Hill said:

It was such an incredible experience and our children left literally buzzing. Being able to bring hear RKDIA was just so fab. The children were absolutely captivated and inspired and had so many brilliant things to say afterwards.”

In a letter they wrote to the performers, the pupils added

‘“It was so good it nearly knocked our socks off. We especially liked the way you improvised. Your passion for music and your instruments was so clear that it has made us want to learn to play the drums and piano (especially the drums). Your talent is out of this world! Those of us that play instruments (just over half of the class) wish we could play as well as you. You also looked like you were really enjoying yourselves, which is cool.”

When it was finished, we were buzzing and most of us clapped so hard that our hands nearly fell off!”

“Overall, this was the best day we have had in year 6 so far and we wish we could watch you perform again. We keep asking our teacher to put the clips we have of you performing on loop!”

“We really are very grateful for the opportunity and are so appreciative that we got to go into such an impressive hall. We hope next year's Year Six will get to go too.”

On Monday 3 October 2022, Southampton Music Hub launches its online resource hub celebrating a vibrant local ecosystem of music, created by young people for young people.

Starting with three key areas — ways to experience the music of others, facilities to practice and record, and music as a career — the resource will continue to grow and develop with the interests, ambitions and needs of the city’s young people at its heart.

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.

Live Music is BACK

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.

Co-creation and Partnership

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,

Young People Take The Lead

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.

A Vibrant Local Ecosystem of Music Education

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.

News highlights of the year:

On the hottest day ever recorded in the UK, Southampton Music Hub rock bands braved the sun and soaring temperatures to entertain the students at Bitterne Park Secondary at their "Big Picnic". With a stage and a very enthusiastic young crowd the event had a real festival feel to it. Both bands rose to the occasion and as always gave fantastic performances.

In rather cooler temperatures three days later the Southampton Youth Orchestra gave their "Uprising" Concert. Performing as always to a very high standard they received a standing ovation after a very moving performance of Shostakovich's 5th Symphony which brought some members of the audience to tears.

For the final event of the year 35 young musicians from Southampton and beyond came together for the Supersonic Summer School in partnership with C. Working over three days the young players put together a wonderful programme of classical and popular favourites. These players had never played together before and for many this was their first experience of playing in an orchestra.

Isle of Wight Music Hub are delighted to have been able to programme 6 hours on the Carnivale Stage at Rhythm Tree again after a three year haitus.  The Hub worked in partnership with the Rhythm Tree Festival organisers, Shademakers (who decorated and dressed the stage and area so spectacularly) and schools to allow them the opportunity to perform at an international festival!

Twelve schools and over 300 pupils took it in turns to perform with everything from ukuleles, glockenspiels, djembes and traditional rock bands represented and pupils from Year 3 up to Year 11.  The festival organisers and production team Widget built a custom ramp onto the stage to ensure that pupils from St George’s School were able to access the event and perform too.  Young people performed to a fantastic audience made up of enthusiastic parents and festival goers who braved hotter than 30 degree temperatures at the new Festival site at Sticelett Farm.

Nia Collins, IOW Music Hub Lead said:

“It really was incredible to watch the depth and breadth of musical excellence happening across the island across all ages and abilities.  For the music Hub to have been able to give them the opportunity and a literal platform to do so along with our partners was an honour.  I hope that the young people that took part today will remember this experience for a very long time to come!”

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On Friday 1 July 2022, school children from across Southampton were delighted by performance musician, as well as music and wellbeing educator, Laura Loft. Invited by Southampton Music Hub, Laura and her team performed a live interactive concert version of her fantastic resource Big Emotions at MAST Mayflower Studios.

Big Emotions is a beautiful story book written by Laura which features songs which support children and young people to process and recognise their emotions. Laura has also created a fantastic scheme of work to go with this which covers the national curriculum for music and is suitable for children in Year R, Year 1 and Year 2. Southampton and Isle of Wight Music Hub were so impressed with this resource that we bought this in for our schools (along with some CPD from Laura) to use at the beginning of the academic year with a particular emphasis on health and wellbeing being such an important part of the recovery curriculum post Covid.  

The hub has followed up schools’ huge take up of this with the opportunity to come and hear some of the songs performed live with wonderful interactive musical activities sprinkled throughout lead by Laura other musicians. Five schools and around 150 attended the theatre to sing, enjoy and take part in a brilliant workshop performance which focused on; Excitement, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Happiness. The children left with a soothing feather in their hands to help them feel the emotion ‘calm’.

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

“Laura is such a brilliant educator and believes so fervently that music and wellbeing are intrinsically linked that she is able to put this across so clearly in the amazing work that she does with children in this area.  We have recently been successful in bidding for some additional money from Music Mark to continue this important work with Laura through partnership.  Next term we will have a new resource for Years 2, 3 & 4 called Big Dreams which will focus on growth mindset through creative musical activities”

Southampton Music Hub's summer concert season started on Friday 24 June with the Lower Tier Concert which included performances from Brassroots, Acorn Strings, Los Twangolitos, Twango, Bella and Soton Voce, and Boom. This performance gave some of the city's younger performers the opportunity to showcase their incredible talents. This was a wonderful varied evening of music making from the beautiful soothing sounds of the guitar groups through to the energy and drama of the percussion group Boom.

"It has been a wonderful concert with such a variety of music. This concert provides a great experience for our younger groups to to perform to a wider audience" — Zoe Hunting

Monday 27 June saw the start of the hub's week long residency at MAST. Elgar Strings started the week off with a varied programme of dance music as well as some familiar repertoire.

"I was so impressed with how the players of Elgar strings coped with playing at such a prestigious venue. Many would have been completely fazed but not Elgar who buckled down and played to the best of their ability with great character and enthusiasm. I am so proud of what they have achieved this year." — Zoe Hunting, Director, Elgar Strings

The second night at MAST brought Airplay and Fusion Brass together - or as they are now known - Fab Band. With lots of numbers from shows and musicals the groups soon had the audience tapping their feet along to the numbers. This was concert saw the first presentation of the Steph Watkins Cup. Steph started Airplay over 15 years ago. Under her leadership the band got the reputation of performing to a level well beyond their years. Unfortunately Steph lost her battle with battle last year and we were delighted her family have presented Airplay with this cup in Steph's memory which will be awarded annually to an outstanding player from the band. We were very touched that Steph's husband and family were able to join us for this performance.

Wednesday evening at MAST brough a complete change of mood with the hubs two rock bands, Groove Foundation and Groove Merchant performing some rock classics. They were also joined by the Guitar ensemble from Upper Shirley High. Many players in this latter group only started learning the guitar in September it was incredible to hear what they have achieved in such a short time. We were also delighted to welcome Carol Cunio to this concert. A former mayor of Southampton Carol presented the Music Services with a cup to be awarded annually to an outstanding young musician. This year's very worthy recipient was the drummer from Groove Foundation, Joseph Orford.

The week-long performance residency at MAST continued on Thursday 30 July with a stunning concert given by Southampton Youth Wind Band conducted by John Hanchett. John only took the band over in January following the retirement of David and Elaine King after 37 years at the helm. It was delightful to the hear the band still performing to an incredibly high level and displaying a range of techniques through a varied programme of traditional wind band music to more popular well known numbers. Part of the programme included a performance of the incredibly complex Jubilee Overture as performed by the Royal Marines Band at the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. With lots of plans for the future - including a tour to Montacatini in July 2023 this is a band going places.

Friday evening was a very different event with Hub partners, FolkActive's Youth Ensemble - FAYE - taking to the stage. Players took the audience through a range of traditional tunes from reels to airs. Some were played by the whole band others by solo instrumentalists. Throughout the group performed from memory. It is quite an undertaking for such young players to perform a whole concert without a single note written down. Audience participation was encouraged by one of the group's leaders Tom Gregory, who literally got everyone dancing in the aisles.

Southampton Youth Brass Band performed at MAST Mayflower theatre in Studio 2 on Saturday 2 July as their final concert of this academic year. Under the direction of new band director Andy Wareham, they played a fantastically wide ranging programme including everything from Shostakovich to classic brass band repertoire with plenty of entertaining pieces and a wonderfully enthusiastic audience of friends and family. Whilst the MAST residency came to an end on 2 July, Southampton Music Hub Concerts continued.

Monday 4 July saw the guitar groups Los Twangolitos and Twango give a "picnic" concert in the courtyard at Cantell School. It had been hoped this would be a relaxing evening of musical entertainment on a warm and sunny evening, The music certainly did it's job with beautiful performances from the groups and individuals throughout. Alas the weather didn't oblige with audience members huddled in cardigans and jackets to keep warm against a strong breeze. Not for one note though did this effect the quality of playing.

Tuesday 5 July saw Fusion Brass give a joint concert with Ocean Brass. With both groups affected by absences due to Covid the show went on. Fusion Brass players were clearly excited and inspired by hearing local amateur band Ocean Brass in concert. Most importantly they were able to hold their own in a joint concert of this quality receiving rapturous applause from the audience and fellow brass players alike.

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On Sunday 26 June Southampton Music Hub was, once again, joined by members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a fantastic afternoon of music making.

An inclusive ensemble was put together specially for this workshop consisting of children that are currently members of an ensemble as well as children that are learning an instrument or sing but have never played in an ensemble before. All were welcome, from beginners to the more experienced players. 

One of the performers said:

“I was so nervous when I got here. I didn't know anyone and it was so noisy when I walked in. I made lots of new friends this afternoon and it was so great to play with other people.' Another added 'I really didn't think I could play as I didn't understand the music. but by the end of the afternoon I was totally joining in. It makes me very proud.”

The group of 60 children were taught the new Southampton anthem for the Women's Euros — it's first ever playing!  You can listen to the final performance of it below. 

This isn't the final time that it will be played though. The Royal Philharmonic will be returning to Southampton on Friday 15 July for the fan party in Palmerston Park. Once again we will be welcoming schools and players to work with the RPO to deliver some inspiring performances of the Southampton Euro Anthem! Do join us if you can.

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On Friday 20 May one of the biggest ever Isle of Wight Music Hub events was staged, in partnership with Shademakers, the Isle of Wight Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, English Heritage and Brown’s Golf Course.

Over 900 pupils from nine schools came together for the final Biosphere Big Sing event following weeks of workshops and rehearsals which involved thousands of children of all ages. The event itself took place on Brown’s Golf Course in Sandown and beautiful flags and set dressing were provided by IOW international carnival company Shademakers.

Over 250 members of an impromptu audience made up of parents, locals and councillors were treated to songs about the island’s unique Unesco Biosphere Reserve status. Songs were especially written for the project by Hub composer Jo Downs. The catchy Cheer for the Biosphere featured lyrics listing the island’s incredible biodiversity and heritage and Protect Our Island used the 15 UN sustainability goals as it’s inspiration.

The project celebrated the Isle of Wight AONB team’s incredible success in garnering Unesco Biosphere Reserve Status and as part of this project they went into schools to do assemblies to make the young people aware of what that means with a call to action to ensure we look after it in the future!

One young performer says:

“this event just shows how important it is to solve problems together.”

Richard Grogan from the AONB adds:

“The island is in your hands, you are the future.”

Nia Collins, IOW Hub Lead says:

“What has been so incredible about this project is the level of collaboration between IOW organisations from English Heritage running free workshops on an environmental theme at Osborne House, the AONB getting out of their comfort zone and into the classroom(!) to spread the word of Biosphere to Shademakers and Brown’s providing us with the perfect setting. Alongside that the schools, teachers and pupils that have engaged with the project and taken on board the themes and resources and will continue to make use of them in the future. This enriched offer to our schools has really helped to make this project something larger, with a lasting legacy and certainly a day we won’t all forget in a hurry!”

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Southampton Music Hub had the privilege of working with local charity African Adventures Foundation this term on a very unique and special project.  

Via African Adventures the music hub connected children from schools in Southampton with The Walk Centre in Nakuru, Kenya which is supported and maintained by African Adventures Foundation. Over Zoom the children and young people got together to plan out a choral exchange concert, choosing songs that they would like to perform for each other and songs they would love the other group to perform. The young people involved also asked lots of questions about what life was like in the other country and a variety of brilliant questions which we set about answering as part of this too.

On Tuesday 14 June all the Southampton based schools came together to celebrate the project at Turner Sims Concert Hall and took part in a filmed concert performance which also featured some fantastic video footage of The Walk Centre Choir performing and answering the questions that were originally posed.

Participating Southampton schools are now going to start to help with fundraising for their new friends in Nakuru Kenya. A final video of this performance and the footage from our partner school will be available for participants friends and family to watch after making a small donation to African Adventures Foundation.

Nia Collins, Partnerships Manager, says:

“We are looking forward to getting some of our young people back together on a Zoom call with our counterparts in Kenya afterwards to see what they all thought of their performances and to continue to grow the connections between us.”

A participant says:

“ I loved hearing the children from Africa sing because it made me feel so happy. It was really great being able to do a concert with children from another country. I would like to do more of that.”

Kath Page, Hub Lead, says:

“This has been such an amazing project to be a part of, designed and led by the children themselves. This concert is really the tip of the iceberg and it will be fascinating to see what kind of music the children would like to perform in the future – their voices will be paramount in shaping the music hub offer in the future.”

Rachel Northover, Head of fundraising at African Adventures Foundation, says:

“African Adventures Foundation was delighted to collaborate with Southampton Music Hub on this fantastic event to celebrate cultural exchange and the power of music to connect children from different backgrounds. It was really special to see the enthusiasm and efforts of the pupils from the various schools involved, and they created an amazing atmosphere for the choral exchange. This has been an exciting project for African Adventures Foundation to be involved in and we are keen to maintain a connection with the schools to continue the exchange that has been initiated.”

On Tuesday 7 June schools and young people from across the Isle of Wight came together at Osborne House for an outdoor concert celebrating the Platinum Jubilee. A wonderfully wide-ranging programme included rock bands from secondary schools, primary choirs, the Isle of Wight Music Centre ensembles and soloists performing in the carriage ring outside the main house while spectators sat on the Durbar lawn having their picnics.

In the run up to this project the Isle of Wight Music Hub worked with many primary schools and the home learning network to teach our specially commissioned Jubilee Song It’s The Platinum Jubilee composed by Jo Downs. The concert closed with a massed sung performance of this song with 100s of students from primary schools represented singing together in this appropriately Royal setting.

This event was organised by the IOW Music Hub and the Education team at English Heritage with sound a production support from IOW based production company Widget.

Nia Collins, IOW Hub Lead says:

“Well I think we can safely say that the future of music on the island is in good hands! We have seen such an incredible array of musical talent on display this evening and there’s something very special about being able to do this in such a magical and historically significant setting as Osborne House”

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