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Future Doves – Update!

HMDT Music created Future Doves, a new project that took place during the Spring 2017 term of the Saturday Programme, with support from Snape Maltings through their Friday Afternoons Project Fund. The project involved over 300 students from all across our Saturday programme; Fledglings, CYMH and I Can Sing! (ICS!), and tasked them with responding to the song cycle Seasons and Charms,the Friday Afternoons project commissioned from composer Jonathan Dove and writer Alasdair Middleton.

Working with choreographer Mia Okorafor and videographer Stacey Williams, the ICS! Juniors and Seniors spent a dance workshop creating a physical interpretation of two of the songs that CYMH sung. The resulting films were projected as a backdrop to the choral performances; a new opportunity for us to integrate ICS! and CYMH through digital media!

You can watch the resulting piece below!

About Friday Afternoons

The Friday Afternoons initiative began in 2013 with the aim of encouraging young people across Suffolk to sing Benjamin Britten’s collection of Friday Afternoons songs on what would have been the composer’s 100th Birthday. The project quickly grew, and it was immediately clear that groups from around the world were keen to explore this genre of music, so every year since then Snape Maltings (previously Aldeburgh Music) and Friday Afternoons have commissioned a new set of songs inspired by the original collection. What now exists is an ever growing collection of over 40 songs written specifically for young people’s voices, and a varied selection of repertoire available completely free to anyone who wishes to use it. To date, close to 80,000 young people have taken part in the project. To find out more and get involved, visit www.fridayafternoonsmusic.co.uk

in Blog / News / Saturday Programme

Julian Joseph Jazz Academy – Student Success!

HMDT Music and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy are proud to announce that this year five of our students have been accepted into the Jazz program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, two into the course at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, one into the program at Middlesex University with another to study composition at Birmingham Conservatoire!

Most recently, two of our brightest stars, Wilfie Williams and Karen Shiraishi have been awarded major scholarships to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, with a third student awaiting his results!* Wilfie has also received a scholarship to attend the Jazz program at The New School in New York City. They still need to find further funding to cover the rest of their fees, but we are all beaming with pride over their magnificent achievement!

Congratulations to all our students for putting the hard work in and showing their dedication and love for this music, you make us all so proud.

Julian Joseph

/ JJJA

Every student at JJJA matters to us, they are our greatest treasure and we want to support and build their confidence to create positively in the world with the magical beauty of Jazz.

*Berklee College of Music has an acceptance rate of 28%, which is 39% lower than the average for all music schools.

in News / Saturday Programme

Congratulations to our ABRSM Students!

We are delighted to announce that our latest batch of students to take their ABRSM exams have done exceedingly well. The rate of Distinctions was an incredible 33%, with a further 35% achieving a Merit grade. All of our Saturday Programme students passed their exam – a testament to our methodology and the hard work of our pupils and tutors.

Our “wholistic” approach to music education on our Saturday Programme centres around equipping young people with a knowledge of music that extends beyond their chosen instrument(s), through choir practice, theory lessons and classes in general musicianship. These results help to confirm that our proven methods work, as shown by the fact that all the Distinctions came from students who do a full day at the Saturday Programme, beyond one-to-one lessons.

We know that pupils whose parents felt able to help them were more likely to achieve a distinction or a merit over a pass grade. To this end, we will be looking to improve the resources we can offer to parents to help them feel confident enough to provide assistance in the run up to exams.

Finally, we would also like to extend our congratulations to the external students who came and took their exams at our centre.

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From Haggerston School to School of Rock!

We’re pleased to announce that one of our I Can Sing! Junior 2s will be performing on the West End! Nerys Obeng has been selected as one of the children who will play the character of Tomika in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical, School of Rock, based on the 2003 film of the same name.

Nerys-Obeng.-Photo-credit-Jac-Mansfield

In the middle of what we’re sure is a busy rehearsal schedule, Nerys was kind enough to answer a few questions about what life has been like since leaving the Saturday Programme:

Can you tell me what your audition for School of Rock was like?

My audition for School of Rock was really nerve wracking as it was my debut but I got through it by believing in myself.

What are you most looking forward to about appearing in School of Rock?

I am most looking forward to performing live on stage and having lots of fun with my fellow cast mates.

What are you going to miss about I Can Sing!?

I am definitely going to miss my teachers and friends and the lovely musical atmosphere I enjoyed.  But, I will be making loads of new friends and, of course, each day I will continue my schoolwork as I perform.

Do you have a favourite musical?

School of Rock is obviously my favourite! But, I enjoy watching pretty much all musicals.

Who are your favourite actors?

I’m not sure I could pick a favourite, but Jack Black is definitely one of them.  He was so incredible in the film and I am really looking forward to working with David Finn and Gary Trainor, who play the same role (Dewey Finn) in our musical.

Do you have anything you want to say about the I Can Sing! programme?

I started with the I Can Sing! Saturday Programme and I feel I have really benefited from the great music teachers. Performing to an audience at the end of every term was something that boosted my confidence a lot. Fantastic! I wish I Can Sing! all the best.

We’re incredibly proud of Nerys and we also wish her all the best for the show!

If you’d like to hear more from Nerys and the rest of I Can Sing! Junior 2 talking about their experiences with the programme, then visit the I Can Sing! page and watch our video.

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Future Doves

HMDT Music created Future Doves, a new project that took place during the Spring 2017 term of the Saturday Programme, with support from Snape Maltings through their Friday Afternoons Project Fund. The project involved over 300 students from all across our Saturday programme; Fledglings, CYMH and I Can Sing! (ICS!), and tasked them with responding to the song cycle Seasons and Charms, the Friday Afternoons project commissioned from composer Jonathan Dove and writer Alasdair Middleton.

Having allocated songs to each CYMH group who started work at the beginning of January, on our off-timetable day in February we brought in composer and workshop leader Paul Griffiths to work alongside our Orchestra and Jazz Orchestra to devise responses to two of the songs that the choirs are singing. Both groups continued to develop their creative response and performed them alongside the original songs at the end of term concert. Alongside these, we integrated the Charanga resources that Friday Afternoons had commissioned into our General Musicianship classes.

Working with choreographer Mia Okorafor and videographer Stacey Williams, the ICS! Juniors and Seniors spent a dance workshop creating a physical interpretation of two of the songs that CYMH sung. The resulting films were projected as a backdrop to the choral performances; a new opportunity for us to integrate ICS! and CYMH through digital media!

Music Treehouse (for students with SEN/D), our newest member of the Saturday Programme, also introduced students to the songs as a stimulus for creating new compositions. Led by animateur Jason Rowland, students used their voices and percussion instruments, as well as a real-time effect sampler touch-pads to develop skills in improvisation and composition. Their hard work culminated in a performance for their friends and families.

Future Doves culminated in a series of performances on 25 March in what was a vibrant and unique event! We’ll be uploading videos from the day over the next few weeks, so be sure to check back soon.

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About Friday Afternoons

The Friday Afternoons initiative began in 2013 with the aim of encouraging young people across Suffolk to sing Benjamin Britten’s collection of Friday Afternoons songs on what would have been the composer’s 100th Birthday. The project quickly grew, and it was immediately clear that groups from around the world were keen to explore this genre of music, so every year since then Snape Maltings (previously Aldeburgh Music) and Friday Afternoons have commissioned a new set of songs inspired by the original collection. What now exists is an ever growing collection of over 40 songs written specifically for young people’s voices, and a varied selection of repertoire available completely free to anyone who wishes to use it. To date, close to 80,000 young people have taken part in the project. To find out more and get involved, visit www.fridayafternoonsmusic.co.uk

 

 

 

 

in News

The Julian Joseph Jazz Academy and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance Present: Take It From The Top!

Tuesday 4 – Thursday 6 August, 2015. 10.00 – 16.00

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, King Charles Court, Greenwich SE10 9JF

Young musicians were invited to join Trinity Laban and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy for 3 days of jazz exploration. They worked alongside internationally acclaimed jazz star Julian Joseph and a team of top jazz musicians and educators to improve musicianship, ensemble playing and improvisation, and learn about influential figures that have shaped the genre of jazz.

To take part in the project, pupils had to be of secondary school age up to 18, and a minimum of grade 3 or equivalent standard on their chosen instrument. Singers and players of any instrument were welcomed, and it was designed for both experienced jazz players and jazz first timers who were keen to learn!

JJJATrinity

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