Young people | Hackney Music

Join us for 30 days of Music Making in June!

May 31, 2020 by Claire Sivier

This month we would have launched the 22nd annual Hackney Music & Dance Festival, and although this can not happen like many events, we invite young people, families and more to continue the celebration of music-making across Hackney and beyond by taking part in our 30 days music-making activity calendar.

There are a wide range of activities for you to join; from dance workshops, making your own instruments, singalongs and more including a great range of activities from our partners.

Download the interactive HMS 30 Days of Music Calendar here and click the relevant box to access different resources.

Record, share and tag us in your challenges via Instagram & Twitter! #hms30days

Away you go!

Music Opportunities, Young peoplehackney, news, singing, workshops, young people

Fake A Smile – Niccole and the Hackney Borough Youth Choir.

February 20, 2020 by Claire Sivier

We are delighted to share our Hackney Borough Youth Choirs recent recording at Rising Tide Studios.

As well as performing the song Fake A Smile live at the 2019 Hackney Music Service Gala at the Hackney Empire, HBYC provided backing vocals for this original song written by a pupil at Stormont House School an outstanding Hackney secondary school for pupils with complex and inter-related special educational needs.

The studio experience was quite different from the live performance experience as the choir were not recorded as one big group, but instead recorded in small groups of three, in a recording booth, with headphones and monitoring. There was no opportunity for singers to ‘hide’ in the crowd. We are very proud of our choir and all involved!

You can listen to the recording below and see a photo montage created of the experience below.

Hackney Music Service would like to give a huge thanks to our Network Partner Paul Ryan at Rising Tide for accommodating us, to David Harries for recording the group, to Lauren Dyer for arranging the backing vocals, to Jane and Lauren for their wonderful vocal work with the choir as HBYC Leads, to Kelvin Ghann for being everything always to everyone, to families for all their support bringing singers along to rehearsals and performances, and last but not least to the singers for all their tremendous hard work – and a special thanks to Niccole for involving us all in her beautiful song!

We look forward to further collaborations with Rising Tide in the future – they are the most fantastic local resource, and if you are not already aware, please visit their website here – there are opportunities for rehearsal space, mentoring, holiday projects, and we will be working closely with Paul to work out a programme to increase opportunities for primary-aged pupils to access their offers – watch this space!

To find out more about our Network Partners – visit our partner’s page here

For more information about HBYO and all of our wonderful ensembles and groups, visit our Ensembles page.

Network Partners, Young peoplechoirs, ensembles, Network Partner, news, young people

Sing Every Day

December 9, 2019 by Claire Sivier

Photo credit – Andrew Wilkinson Photography

In 2019 Hackney Music Service Network Partner the VOCES8 Foundation led a special project with year 1 children and their teachers at Shoreditch Park Primary and Thomas Fairchild Community School. Called Sing Every Day, the project involved teacher training for the classroom teachers and singing workshops for the children led by members of the a cappella group Apollo5. Below, Ann Wright, Director of Education, VOCES8 Foundation reflects upon the project.

The children and teachers learned a variety of warm-ups for their bodies, brains and voices that included creating a magic potion, Peanut the cat on a trampoline and singing I’m alive, alert, awake enthusiastic. They also learned rhythms and melodies from the VOCES8 Method and explored body and vocal percussion through this Method.

Both schools learned a wide variety of songs to use as part of lessons (Mr Double Trouble for Maths was a favourite at Shoreditch Park); to perform in assemblies including One in a million by Emily Barden which celebrates the power of working together to achieve our dreams; and to mark the 50^th anniversary of the moon landing including Apollo5’s arrangement of When you Wish Upon a Star which the children performed at the VOCES8 Centre in concert with Apollo5.

The project was evaluated by Professor Graham Welch and a team of researchers from UCL. Their findings point to the wonderful way in which the classroom teachers embraced the project learning to lead singing confidently and use it every day. The children’s singing improved significantly and at the end of the project scored well above a national database of singing evaluations conducted in UK schools. Additional wider benefits of the project include a positive correlation between the children’s singing development and aspects of executive function, particularly their phonological working memory.

You can see and hear the children and their teachers in this short film about the project:

For more information, about VOCES8 Foundation please visit their website here.

Network Partners, Uncategorized, Young peopleNetwork Partner, schools, singing, workshops, young people

Join the LSSO – London’s premier Youth orchestra

October 2, 2019 by Claire Sivier

Join the LSSO – Auditions will be held from October 21^st 2019

Hailed by Sir Simon Rattle as “an incomparable ambassador for the dynamism and excellence of British youth” the London Schools Symphony Orchestra (LSSO) has for over sixty years been celebrated as a potent symbol of the talents and achievements of London’s finest young musicians. Managed by London’s Centre for Young Musicians, a division of the Guildhall School, the orchestra aims to give its members a complete experience of the orchestral repertoire, from Bach through to Beethoven, Bartok and beyond.

More information:

Courses take place during school holidays in Dec/Jan, April and July. Venues for rehearsals take place in SE1. 3 concerts a year held at the Barbican. Course dates and further application forms available on the CYM website – www.cym.org.uk.

How to apply?

Applications forms and further information available from Elaine Lewis – elewis@cym.org.uk.

Centre for Young Musicians (CYM) is a Hackney Music Network Partner. Enquires regarding this opportunity should be directed to CYM via the contact information above.

Deadline, Holiday Courses, Music Opportunities, Network Partners, Young people

Urban Artist School – Open for applications

June 5, 2019 by Claire Sivier

Urban Artist School’s Level 4 is a course for urban music artists who are serious about entry to the music industry. Our course focuses around the concept of you as an individual artist and supports you in developing your repertoire, recorded catalogue and brand development towards the music industry.

They are looking for talented musicians to join the Urban Artist School – a one year accredited programme, which aims to develop artists and help create sustainable careers. They will support your development to enable you to generate ideas quickly and respond to the creative potential of your work effectively and fluently.

They are looking for talented musicians to join the Urban Artist School – a one year accredited programme, which aims to develop artists and help create sustainable careers. We will support your development to enable you to generate ideas quickly and respond to the creative potential of your work effectively and fluently.

The course starts in September 2019 and runs for 30 weeks. Classes will run over 2.5 days per week. All participants will work towards a level 4 qualification – equivalent to the first year of a degree.

For more information, please visit the Urban Development website.

Run by Urban Development and supported by Arts Council England, The Brit Trust, Youth Makes Music PRS Foundation, Vivendi, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation,

Network Partners, Young peopleNetwork Partner, news, workshops, young people

Hackney Music Service Monthly Spotlight – Finn

May 30, 2019 by Claire Sivier

This month we would like to shine the spotlight on one of our Hackney Borough Youth Orchestra members, Finn. Finn has recently achieved a Grade 8 distinction, an absolutely fantastic achievement. And she is only 11 years old!

What made you decide to play your instrument?

When I was three I went to the Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre in London with my parents. We passed a group of young cellists doing a concert and I pointed them out to my mums. I told them that I “wanted to do that instrument” and they agreed, so a few months later I got my first tiny cello and started playing.

What do you love most about it?

I love how the cello can sound playful or melancholy at any time and I love the way it can blend into the background but still be easily noticeable and beautiful at the same time.

How often do practice?

I practice every day when I get home from school. Or as Sinichi Suzuki said “only on the days that I eat”

Do you play in any ensembles – orchestras, bands, in or out of school, or with HMS?

Yes, I play in the National Children’s Orchestra, Hackney Borough Youth Orchestra, Hackney Youth Orchestra my school Chamber Group, and I sing and play in my school Jazz Band.

What has been your most exciting musical experience so far? (any particular performances that you have taken part in that really stand out, or a particular music lesson that really changed things for you?)

I think my most exciting experience has been at a fundraiser for building classrooms in Kenya down at St. Paul’s West Hackney Church. I did play a solo too but the most exciting part was that I played Popper’s Requiem for three cellos and piano with my cello teacher and his daughter. I felt like that was quite a big achievement for me because my teacher is actually quite famous amongst cellists and his daughter is much older than me. Getting my Grade 8 also felt amazing.

What musician would you most like to meet or perform with?

I wouldn’t’ think twice about meeting Jacqueline du Pre. She has always been my ultimate role model and I have loved her playing, especially her rendition of the Elgar cello concerto and Faure’s Elegie.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world to listen to / learn more music or even travel back in time to a different musical era, where would you go and why?

I really have no idea! I think maybe later once I know more about what I want to do later in life I might get some ideas. I will keep that question in mind.

How does being a musician / performing music make you feel?

I always feel proud when I watch other musicians. I always think “hey, I’m one of you!” When I perform I often find myself thinking about how other cellists would play this piece, or what they would be thinking or feeling.

Any words of advice to someone just starting out on their instrument now?

I would say try to enjoy it. If you feel like it’s something that’s been forced on you, you’ve got no hope of developing. If you feel forced into it, you won’t enjoy it, so you won’t want to do it, so, try to enjoy it, and practice.

Scholar, Young people

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Category : Young people