HMDT Music News

Saturday Programme A Level Success!

Congratulations to our 2 longest standing Saturday Programme students, who have been learning with us for over 10 years, who achieved 100% in their A-level performance music exam!

We will miss them at the Saturday Programme and wish them the very best in their future ventures!

One Spirit – Update June 2024

Since the easing of Pandemic restrictions (2022) One Spirit has developed and extended its delivery to weekly provision in 5 establishments, both custodial and alternative provision education, and intensified its community offering, including curating Release on Temporary Licence provision for young people referred from HMYOI Feltham and Cookham Wood, as well as working with young people referred from custody and/or Children and Families agencies (YOT, Social Care etc) in local authorities across London and South East.

 

A new relationship with the Beckmead Trust and TeachRock (US) has enabled the OS team to deliver weekly sessions in Roundwood School PRU in Harlesden, and additional funding from the Mayor of London’s Propel fund has enabled work to expand in HMYOI Cookham Wood, other custodial settings and in the community, as well as plan for upcoming delivery of the project in New Rush Hall SEMH school in Hainault.

 

The need for the One Spirit project in custody has intensified. The project has always enjoyed very high retention and the queue of young people on referral lists waiting to get on to the project remains consistently full. There are various reasons for this, which speak to the core of One Spirit’s success:

 

– Consistency of staffing: OS tutor/mentors have been working on the project for 10+ years

– OS staff develop long-term relationships with the management and staff in the settings in which they deliver (10+ years, without pause, in HMYOIs Feltham and Cookham Wood)

– OS tutors/mentors develop successful, long-term relationships with participants, causing participants to voluntarily spread awareness of the project amongst their friends (and case workers where relevant) both in custody and community

– The project delivers a consistent level of quality and impact: in the last year HMYOIs Cookham Wood, Feltham and Oakhill STC, as well as Roundwood School PRU have all had Ofsted (and YCS) inspections in which One Spirit was mentioned as a successful and crucial intervention project by inspectors

 

Additionally, delivery is flexible. This means that during times when staffing has been particularly problematic in custody and movements of young people to activities and education has not been possible, OS tutor/mentors have been able to continue delivery in alternative spaces, including on residential wings, prison libraries and meeting rooms, ensuring that participants can still engage in the project even if education is not running.

 

Another reason for One Spirit’s uninterrupted success is the switch to working 1to1 and with smaller groups. In the 15+ years of working in this environment it has never been so difficult to get groups of young people together – not so much because of low staffing but because of the ‘keep apart’ issues and risk assessments. Working 1to1 and with smaller groups (1to2 or 3), and allowing young people to choose other young people to work with, reduces the risk elements and enables safer movements.

 

And then there is the project content and the way it is delivered, which year on year has frequently been quoted by young people as the most enjoyable activity they have engaged in whilst in custody, as well as the plaudits from management and inspectors:

 

“I was very impressed by the way N——- was able to articulate what she was doing in the HMDT Music project, and express some very complex emotions through metaphor, as well as sounding nice. From what I understand from Oakhill’s education management, she has come a great distance since arriving here and the HMDT Music project has clearly played a very important part in supporting her on that journey” – Ofsted Inspector 2023 Oakhill STC

 

Participant feedback from Oakhill STC:

“This is definitely the best thing I’ve done since being here. Unfortunately, I’m going to be in Blackpool when I am released, so I guess I won’t be able to keep working with you, but I’ll stay in touch. Also, I’ve told my ‘boy’ [ie: friend] he needs to get on this project. He’s got a few more years left to go and mostly at the moment he just refuses education and stays in his room. He needs to do this” – MA, Oakhill STC (MA’s friend has since started attending sessions and engaged successfully).

 

Delivery of the project at HMYOI Cookham Wood has expanded to include weekly delivery to Rule 49 young people (Phoenix wing) – young people segregated from the general population because of risk of harm (to themselves and others) or significantly complex mental health (or other) needs. This cohort can experience a lack of access to general education and activities because of the complexities around their situation, making it all the more important that they receive quality provision of some sort. HMDT Music has successfully fulfilled this demand, and in spite of various challenges in setting up the delivery, has now been consistently engaging young people in this cohort since the start of the year, with great results:

 

“I’m so glad we’ve managed to get you on to Phoenix now. It’s so important that these boys get meaningful engagement and the feedback from boys and staff on Phoenix has been excellent!” – DT, Governor HMYOI Cookham Wood.

 

Delivery in HMPYOI Aylesbury has been a mainstay of the prison’s outside agency provision since the start of 2023 and has now developed to working with NHS Pathways in the jail, engaging young adults with complex mental health issues.  Similarly, NHS staff working in Oakhill STC and HMYOI Feltham have shown interest in working more closely with the project, with one Clinical Practitioner at HMYOI Feltham stating:

 

“HMDT Music offer a vital service to young people at HMYOI Feltham. The project […….] allows them to express and process their emotions connected to their experiences in a meaningful way. HMDT Music are one of the only (if not the only) agency currently able to offer ‘through the gate’ support to their participants [……..] the value of this cannot be underestimated at what is a potentially highly vulnerable time for a young person, enabling continuity with established relationships” – KH, Child and Family Psychodynamic Psychotherapist HMYOI Feltham A.

 

As part of One Spirit’s expansion into more community / non-custody-based delivery, the project has been delivering weekly sessions at Roundwood School PRU in Harlesden, NW London. Young people attending PRU have either been temporarily or permanently excluded from mainstream education, or for other reasons simply do not have a school place yet. PRU has long been identified as a ‘brief stop’ on the downward journey of the most marginalised young people from mainstream education into detachment from education and services and into eventual incarceration; not surprisingly, the need for meaningful engagement with young people in this setting is very high. It also completes the circle in terms of One Spirit’s 3600 delivery in this environment – from community, to mainstream and alternative provision, to custody and back to community. Further project activity is planned for the summer term in New Rush Hall SEMH School in Hainault, as well as other AP sites in Croydon.

 

Since the Pandemic, the project has engaged more and more young people through intervention activities in the community – young people who have come to the attention of services (Police, YOT, Children and Families) but have not received custodial sentences – whilst continuing to support young people in the community recently released from custody. At One Spirit’s premises on Brixton Road, Kennington, South London, mentors are engaging participants in music-based mentoring, supporting and helping to divert young people, as young as 13 years old, away from criminality and towards more positive pathways, with the help of HDMT Music’s community partner referral network, which includes a range of organisations that offer training and wider opportunities in sports, leisure, creative industries, hospitality and construction, amongst other sectors. The familiar story is that there is huge demand for meaningful engagement in this area, and a lack of effective services, making One Spirit stand out and receive referrals from all over London as well as outside the capital (Northampton, Essex). It is testament to how effective the project is that some young people travel for over an hour to get to their session with their mentor. One young person recently fed back “Everyone’s on my case to ‘pattern up’ [start behaving], but no one has really put it to me like you just did. I appreciate that; you really made me think about this differently”.

 

The project is constantly evaluated; participants self-assess at the start of their engagement and revisit their assessment throughout. The nature of the activities encourages regular reflection, but the project has also developed an element of peer evaluation, where young people will develop their own ways of rating their experience. Staff/managers in custody also have provided regular observations and feedback, as have family members, case workers, YOT and other agency staff in charge of caring for participants.

 

Data gathered from and submitted by participants and staff in custody reveal that:

  • 100% of participants said they enjoyed the session
  • 100% declared they had learned something new
  • 91% declared increased self-confidence
  • Of those questioned (approx. 60%) 100% remarked how the project had helped their well-being/mental health
  • 70+% of those who had mentioned issues with anger/frustration at the project start declared the project had helped
  • 82% said they felt better about the future

 

In the community:

  • 100% of participants said they enjoyed the activities (even if at first they said they “weren’t sure if this was for me”
  • 100% said they learned something new
  • 25% are in employment
  • 69% are in education/college/FE
  • 91% have NOT reoffended in 6+ months

 

HMDT Music’s Gavin Stewart completes his PhD

Gavin Stewart playing the flute

 

We’re extremely proud to announce that our Senior Manager, Gavin Stewart, has completed his PhD, and is now officially Dr. Gavin Stewart! Here’s what he has to say on his research:

 

“I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself to explore what my instrument and I can do, and this research was a natural convergence point of my practice and academic interests. This project allowed me to work with an incredible team of collaborators creating a new body of repertoire for the amazing Kingma System flute whilst developing a visual model of collaboration between performer and composer that draws together two approaches already well-explored in literature and practice. I’m really excited to start bringing these pieces to life in my performances – should you fancy a listen you can explore them here!”

 

Congratulations Dr. Stewart; all your hard work has paid off!

The Big Give 2024 Update!

The Big Give has officially ENDED! We are blown away by your support and would like to express our gratitude for your generous donations which have enabled us to over-reach our target and raise £10,459 for Music Treehouse which will help us ensure that we can sustain this transformative programme for children and young people with SEN/D.

 

We would like to share a clip from our older Music Treehouse participants’ performance from Saturday, where they were able to perform the music that they’ve been working on throughout the Spring Term for family and friends.

 

Music & Drama Expo 2024

 

On 22nd and 23rd February, HMDT Music exhibited at the Music & Drama Expo at the Business Design Centre in Islington. At the Expo, our CEO and Creative Director, Tertia Sefton-Green, along with Composer, Music Educator and Saturday Programme tutor, Vahan Salorian, gave an introduction and practical demonstration of the E Project; our inclusive education initiative using the arts to embed diversity across the primary school curriculum.

 

We would like to thank everyone who came to our stand to learn more about our award-winning music and arts education programmes in schools and in the community, and it was a pleasure to meet you all and hear about the work you do!

Tony Clark (1946-2024)

Tony Clark, 1946-2024

 

We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tony Clark, HMDT Music Trustee since 2003.

 

Tony was a recording engineer and producer who started his career at Abbey Road Studios and worked with The Beatles, Yehudi Menuhin, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and with Sir Paul McCartney on Wings, amongst others. He was also a founding member of The Brit School.

 

Tony was a key part of our working lives at HMDT for over 20 years and contributed hugely to all our productions and projects. He was also a friend with whom we shared many laughs and ideas, enjoyed many opportunities to see the impact our work was having on all the children who participated, and vented our frustration together at the short-sightedness of elements of society that didn’t understand its value.

 

Tony recorded and produced our large-scale theatre productions: On London Fields, Hear Our Voice, Confucius Says, Shadowball and The Brown Bomber enabling us to offer all the performers an incredibly high-quality memory of their experience and for HMDT to be able to showcase our work in style. We had such fun together recording our storybook An Invite from the Queen which allowed us to really see Tony in his element in the recording studio, but he also gave his time and skills to setting up equipment to record in schools, rehearsal rooms and wherever else we needed them. Nothing was ever too much for him and his belief in what we were doing and his boundless enthusiasm helped us ride the tide of all difficulties.

 

Tony was a man full of love; for his family and friends but also for music and his commitment and beliefs in the impact it could have on wellbeing, creativity, skills and the better good for us all as human beings.

 

We will miss Tony greatly and are immensely grateful for all the many generous gifts he gave us through his work, warmth and friendship.

 

Photo: Tony in rehearsal for On London Fields in 2004

The Big Give 2024

From 19-26 March, HMDT Music will be taking part in The Big Give ‘Arts for Impact Appeal’, a funding initiative for charities. Through the Big Give, we are able to raise up to £5,000 and have the total funds raised doubled through match funding!

 

We will be raising money for Music Treehouse; our weekly creative music making project for SEN/D children with a wide range of mild to severe, profound and complex needs. Since 2015, Music Treehouse has offered a much-needed means of social interaction and skills development in a fun and secure environment, supported by a team of skilled specialist practitioners, including a music therapist.

 

To ensure Music Treehouse continues to be accessible for everyone, we rely on the support of funding and donations and would greatly appreciate any contributions. Please help us in supporting this campaign by sharing our posts on social media with your friends and family!

 

Click here to visit our campaign page and find out more information.

 


 

Meet us at the Music & Drama Expo 2024

Next week on 22nd and 23rd February, HMDT Music will be exhibiting at The Music and Drama Expo at the Business Design Centre in Islington! Come and meet us at stand A62 to find out more about our schools’ workshops, Saturday Programme and community project, One Spirit.

 

On 23rd February in the Seminar Theatre from 11:00 – 11:45, our CEO and Creative Director, Tertia Sefton-Green and Composer and Music Educator Vahan Salorian, will give an introduction and practical demonstration of the E Project; our inclusive education initiative using the arts to embed diversity across the primary school curriculum.

 

Follow the link below to register for the Music and Drama Expo 2024. We look forward to seeing you there! #MDEE24

 

https://mdee-london-2024.reg.buzz

Shakespeare Days of Performance 2023

Last month saw the 9th year of our annual Shakespeare Days of Performance, which we devise for Creative Education Trust, which brings together 11 schools across the Midlands and Great Yarmouth who each produce a half hour Shakespeare production. These schools then come together to perform their productions over two days at Abbeyfield School in Northampton.

Each school is given a day of vocal delivery and textual interpretation with actor, Ryan Early, and design workshops with Mark Friend in order to develop, create and make props for their performances which are produced with school staff.

This year’s highlights included a Carnival inspired Merchant of Venice, a Steampunk Victorian factory setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a Taming of the Shrew reflecting history’s oppression of women and a futuristic Macbeth, in a world torn apart by nuclear war.

HMDT Music’s E Project

 

HMDT Music’s E Project sets out to empower, enrich, equalise, expand, embed, engage, and evaluate through the creation of an arts-embedded curriculum focusing on themes and issues of inclusion, diversity, racial inequality and anti-racism. Over three years primary schools in Stoke on Trent, Lytham St Anne’s, Luton and Hackney are receiving drama, art and music workshops delivered by guest artists who link curriculum topics and HMDT projects such as Trench Brothers, Shadowball, Hear Our Voice, STEM Sisters and An Invite from the Queen, in order to build a bank of resources for long term use.

 

In recent workshops, our workshop leaders have explored themes of racism, Antisemitism and discrimination with the participating E Project schools. Through the lens of Hear Our Voice, students have explored the experiences of Jewish children during the Holocaust, what it would have felt like to leave their home behind and move to the ghetto, and the resilience they showed when faced with moving to the concentration camps. During this workshop, students created portraits relating to identity and the appalling treatment of people stripped of their sense of self during the Holocaust in addition to techniques such as automatic drawing, drawing continuously to poetry and music.

 

 

One of our workshop leaders, Sophie Gresswell, expressed that:

“The artworks pupils made during a poem reading of To Belzec, written by a child during the Holocaust, were very moving. In the world we live in it can be rare for us to take a calm moment like this to reflect, the artworks the classes made show the importance of art in processing our emotions and experiences. One teacher commented that she would use the technique again in her lessons, and I heard a pupil say they would draw more after the session”.

In another recent workshop, students explored Floella Benjamin’s early life in Trinidad, giving thought to her home, cultural celebrations, and schooling. As a class, they then created a soundscape to accompany her journey to England, focusing on her hopes and fears and exploring the differences between her expectations of England and the reality of the life and the racism she faced here.

 

More here > The E Project

 

JJJA Students Accepted to Prestigious Purcell Music School

This academic year, Otto Jacovides & Jacob Deegan began studying at the Purcell School of Music, one of the country’s finest musical education institutions which boasts alumni such as Jacob Collier and Yiruma. Both students are long-term members of the Saturday Programme, starting their journeys in CYMH classes – Otto in Green and Jacob in Jazz Blues -before advancing through to the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy.

 

Both students are incredibly talented instrumentalists; Otto excels in saxophone and clarinet; and Jacob is a self-taught drummer who reached grade 8 in only two years, alongside playing trumpet and piano. Jacob and Otto both highlight the importance of attending JJJA on their success, with Jacob stating that “JJJA has shown me the career that I want; the faculty have not only pushed and inspired me but supported and taught me to recognise the downside of being a musician, where it is not always an upward trajectory”. Otto also expressed that JJJA is his ‘musical family” and stated, “the teachers at JJJA are amazingly supportive and helped to develop my confidence by teaching me to play in different groups, as well as encouraging me to play in front of people when I didn’t want to, which I now don’t have a problem with!”.

 

JJJA tutor, Alex Thomas-French, who has supported both Otto and Jacob throughout their jazz journey, stated:

“At JJJA we work hard to cultivate an inclusive community of jazz-minded people where students of all ages and abilities collaborate and grow together. Here, students get to know and play alongside many other highly talented and inspiring young musicians, and it continues to humble us to see that bright young people like Jacob and Otto reach greater heights because of this environment. We are immensely proud of both of them for all their various achievements and the challenges they have both had to overcome to get to this point. We also applaud the hard work we know their parents have put into supporting Jacob and Otto’s musical passions. Well done all!”

 

All of us here at HMDT Music and JJJA wish Otto and Jacob the best in their new venture and we look forward to watching them flourish as musicians in the coming years!

Celebrating the NHS

 

On its 75th Anniversary, we’re proud to share our tribute to the NHS, which formed part of our I Can Sing! music theatre programme’s show The Platinum Treasure Hunt celebrating the Queen’s Jubilee last year.

 

Clink here to watch the performance!

 

 

Music Treehouse awarded funding

 

We are delighted to be awarded funding from the Postcode Community Trust and The D’Oyly Carte Foundation for Music Treehouse, our SEND creative music making project which goes from strength to strength. Many thanks to all our funders.

 

Her social interaction has improved dramatically, she wants to always communicate her love of music. Parent

 

It is fantastic … the level of participation at the end of term performances is amazing! Parent

 

She has been coming for 5 years and just loves coming here, she loves the structure of the sessions and the performances and enjoys that it is sociable. Parent

 

 

HMDT Music introduces: The E Project

 

 

 

We’re excited to launch the E Project which sees us working with primary schools in Luton, Stoke-on-Trent, Fylde and Hackney for 3 years to develop an arts-embedded curriculum focused on anti-racism, diversity, inclusion and equity. Big thanks to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation for making this exciting journey of workshops, CPD training and curriculum development possible.

The Platinum Treasure Hunt

To celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee we created a show for our I Can Sing! music theatre programme reflecting important events that have helped define our history each decade since 1952. Our journey included winning the World Cup in 1966 and celebrating the 2012 Olympics. On the way we entered the realm of protest with the 1970 Women’s Equal Pay Act and the 1980s Miners Strikes and explored the realisation of climate change in the 2000s and the importance of the NHS, with their 50th anniversary in 1998. The Finale Hope, was a new commission composed by Saturday Programme coach Vahan Salorian, which offered all the ICS! students who contributed to the lyrics and music, an opportunity for reflection on the past decade.

 

Bringing back alumni ICS! students in our Saturday Programme’s new Rooftop Academy allowed us to both have a band for the first time and enjoy a ‘royal’ joke with their repertoire of Queen. We wanted too, to pay tribute to our parents and created a Parents’ Choir with a section of the new song written just for them.

 

We are grateful to the Arts Council for a Jubilee grant which has enabled us to celebrate in style.

 

 

 

I wanted to say again my congratulations for an absolutely fantastic and very poignant show, … I just loved it. Parent

It was an amazing show, we really enjoyed it. Thank you all for your hard work! Parent

 

I also highly enjoyed singing that beautiful song with the parents’ choir. Parent

 

 

 

 

 

One Spirit – Update July 2022

The pandemic restrictions that started in March 2020 affected some parts of One Spirit’s delivery more than others: project delivery in HMYOIs Feltham and Cookham Wood went on hold for over 12 months and the Mayor of London funded ‘YLF’ project, due to have started in HMP Aylesbury in late March 2020, had to be postponed.

 

However, work in Oakhill STC and mentoring in the community could continue due to the high demand and extremely vulnerable nature of the cohort. Additionally, young people being released from custody were still able to be referred to One Spirit on release and engage with us in the community and several boroughs’ YOT/S teams regularly met with their young people at the One Spirit premises in Brixton as council offices remained closed.

 

Lockdown then eased, but restrictions and unpredictability in the secure estates continued as staff shortages hit critical levels and the pandemic’s effect lingered with many staff being off sick. To some extent, these issues are still affecting the smooth running of prisons and YOIs, but since September 2021 One Spirit has returned to HMYOIs Feltham and Cookham Wood, delivering the project weekly; has continued to run in Oakhill STC uninterrupted; has begun the project at HMP Aylesbury that was postponed at the start of the pandemic and has delivered 2 short projects in HMP Woodhill.

 

Lockdown in prisons and YOIs continued long after restrictions were eased and eventually lifted in the community. Many of those serving sentences in custody were locked up for up to 23 hours per day. In the youth estate, ‘essential’ activities got young people out of their cells for a couple of hours a day from late summer 2020, but face to face delivery and mixing in education was still restricted for months longer. When the doors finally opened and young people in Feltham and Cookham Wood were allowed back in education a huge release of pressure inevitably occurred, manifesting in various ways, not all of them positive. Fortunately for One Spirit, the young people’s eagerness to get back into music sessions manifested in ferocious engagement. Working in smaller groups has allowed participants to get closer attention from One Spirit staff, energy levels have been consistently high and success stories, in terms of the impact that the project has had on young people, have been frequent. One young person remarked “Since you guys have been coming back in there’s just a buzz on the landing. Every man’s got their book out now and is writing bars in their cells”. It’s not uncommon to find highly talented and confident young men amongst this cohort, but since September it has perhaps been more impressive to see how many young people who have not engaged in any kind of music, and in some cases anything positive at all, have really opened up and found things out about themselves they didn’t know and done things, in many ways very well, which they have never done before. Teachers of other classes have noted how the project has improved young people’s behaviour and engagement in their classes; officers have noted that those involved with the project are often easier to manage, especially on days when they are due to attend One Spirit, and YOT/S teams have remarked that the sessions in the community are often the only activity that their young people will attend and engage in. Education Manager at Oakhill STC fed back:

 

“…. We have also seen an increase in the children’s focus and attendance in all aspects of their curriculum and the positive feelings they feel about themselves following a One Spirit session allows them to achieve more in lessons, resulting in an increase in successful qualifications for each child”.

 

One positive that seems to have come out of the pandemic and the restrictions applied, which saw many young people and adults locked up for up to 23 hours per day for over 12 months, is the boost it has given to the general discussion about wellbeing and mental health issues experienced by those in custody, as well as an increase in discussions around trauma-based approaches to working with this cohort. One Spirit’s participants have long been feeding back on how sessions, both in and out of custody, with One Spirit have helped them to ‘feel better’. Several young people have consistently called their One Spirit music sessions ‘therapy’ and more recently a young participant fed back “It’s mad, but every time I lie down to sleep and close my eyes, I just see violence, like all the things I’ve done and that have happened. I’m not serious about being a music artist, but doing this helps me to get a lot of stuff off my mind”. Ofsted have recently observed One Spirit’s sessions in both Oakhill STC and HMYOI Feltham, giving very positive feedback and noticing how the One Spirit method creates a classroom environment that fosters high engagement, trust and improved well-being amongst participants. One Ofsted inspector remarked:

 

 “In the HMDT Music session children write well-written, emotional songs that help them to express how they feel and to cope with their earlier traumatic experiences”.

 

Over the past 12 months the project has engaged over 180 participants in custody and 41

‘through the gate’ in the community. Activities have ranged from song/lyric writing and recording, music technology (composition, engineering and mixing music), music business study and developing entrepreneurial skills, personal skills development (preparing for employment, personal finance and other) and the crucial peripheral activities such as drama games, general group discussion and warm up activities. The successful impact of the project is borne out through direct and anecdotal feedback from participants and the staff in custody (see above) as well as statistics collected, such as:

 

99% of participants said they had learned something new; 92% of participants declare an increase in self-confidence; 76% of participants said they feel better about the future;

64% said they feel they are better at taking criticism and 58% said they feel more motivated.

 

Of the participants that engage with One Spirit through the gate, post their release from custody, 93% have not reoffended in 6+ months since their release, 67% are in employment and 27% are in college/FE.

 

Over the next 12 months, in addition to continuing to serve the young people/adults in Oakhill STC, HMYOIs Feltham and Cookham Wood as well as those released from custody and resettling back in their communities, One Spirit will:

 

  • Initiate a ROTL provision (release on temporary licence), which allows eligible young people in custody the opportunity to be released during the day time to engage in activities in the community; this opportunity will serve the young people/adults in HMYOIs Cookham Wood and Feltham;
  • Continue the project at HMP Aylesbury, which was postponed in 2020;
  • Increase its presence in HMP Woodhill, where two pilot projects have led to the prison asking for a more consistent and regular provision.

 

HMDT Music’s Music Treehouse is shortlisted as a finalist in the Music & Drama Education Awards 2022 for Excellence in SEN/D!

HMDT Music’s Music Treehouse is shortlisted as a finalist in the Music & Drama Education Awards 2022 for Excellence in SEN/D for its work in 2020-21.
“This is a fantastic achievement and recognises the quality and innovative nature of the work you and your team are doing.” – Music & Drama Awards Team

 

Music Treehouse is HMDT Music’s SEN/D programme which offers free weekly creative music-making and music therapy for children with a wide range of mild to severe, profound and complex needs including developmental disorders, mobility issues and ASD non-verbal as part of its Saturday Programme.

 

The uncertainties of Covid were particularly difficult for SEN/D children and their families last year, with so many of their support structures not functioning and schools closed and so keeping Music Treehouse going throughout the year was essential. Having initially offered a series of specially made videos for children to enjoy at home we moved to zoom sessions.

 

We would like to say a big thanks to Tim for his online videos. Our son is really enjoying them. 

 

Once all children had access to an instrument, (delivering them as needed), we continued to offer weekly sessions to each group and 1:1 music therapy. Despite the difficulties of working over zoom; technical difficulties of sound, limited equipment and WiFi costs for many families, we continued to engage around 50 participants across the year.

 

C was ecstatic – she loved her online session!

 

When we returned to distanced sessions in the summer at our home Bridge Academy in Hackney, many shielding joined online from home or continued 1:1 online therapy sessions, alongside those attending in person. We then continued the programme online across the summer holidays.

 

K has loved coming to Music Treehouse. He’s grown from a 10 year old who joined to a cheeky teenager! Thank you Music Treehouse and Sylvia for helping K to grow into this confident young man! It’s been great to be able to continue this in lockdown.”

 

The impact has been immense; empowering participants to actively take part in, contribute to and take ownership and pride in music-based activities, developing their social engagement and abilities to respond and communicate. Despite the complexities of the year we’re delighted that Music Treehouse has significantly helped young people improve their well-being and develop their creative expressive and key life-skills through music:

 

Thank you for everything, it’s brilliant and a real life line and we really appreciate all the hard work it must be. 

TIME School achieves OUTSTANDING Ofsted rating!

Lytham Hall Park Primary School have recently achieved an OUTSTANDING rating with Ofsted, and cites their involvement with HMDT Music’s TIME project as part of their success.

 

I honestly believe that without our participation in the TIME project our curriculum, and our teaching and learning, … would not be as strong as it is now. I feel this was a significant contribution to the standards reflected in our Outstanding OFSTED outcome.

Sharon Bowker, Headteacher at Lytham Hall Park Primary School.

 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR TIME PROJECT HERE!

 


 

At Lytham Hall Park Primary School we have always been passionate about ensuring our team can access high quality professional development.  When we wanted to improve our curriculum offer the TIME Project offered us exactly the support we needed.  This was the opportunity to ensure that high quality teaching and learning in the arts.

 

The TIME project has awakened our school to the power of the arts and the importance of creativity within our curriculum. It has enabled our school to connect with inspiring artists, musicians and dramatists to support teachers in their approaches to planning and delivering high quality learning experiences. Incorporating the arts into our classes has seen an increase in our children’s motivation, engagement and self-esteem. The impact of this project is being felt across the school with renewed enthusiasm for the wider curriculum.

 

The difference for us was the access to high quality professional development from the skilled practitioners working closely with our teachers.  It developed subject expertise in the wider curriculum with particular impact in music and art & design. Our school was judged to be outstanding in our most recent OFSTED inspection in October 2021.  There was a ‘deep dive’ in Art & Design and also a focus on the curriculum in Music. There is no doubt that without our long term involvement with the TIME Project our curriculum would not have been judged to be outstanding.

 

“Teachers introduce new learning carefully, so that it builds systematically on what pupils have learned before.”

“[teachers] support pupils to remember what they have learned so that pupils can embed and use their knowledge fluently. All pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve exceptionally well.”

OFSTED OCT 2021

 

Over three years all our teachers, and particularly our subject leaders, have learnt from the artists we have worked with through the TIME project and this has then led us to change our curriculum to ensure long term sustainability.  An example of this is the introduction of a composition unit for music in all our year groups.  This was as a direct result of the professional development we received from TIME, introducing us to techniques such as soundscapes.  It truly has been transformational.  In Art & Design we have previously struggled to introduce sketch books, ensuring all teachers had an understanding of how these benefit teaching and learning in art.  The TIME project allowed us to provide training for all our team and model how these could be used effectively.  The impact again has been transformational.

 

We have now moved to a point where we see the arts as a strength in our curriculum and in fact we invited the inspection team to Deep Dive Art & Design.  TIME has filled our team with confidence.

 

This is directly referenced in the OFSTED inspection report,

“Leaders have constructed an ambitious and well-planned curriculum for all pupils, including children in the early years. Leaders and governors have ensured that staff are experts in the subjects that they lead. Subject leaders have been able to benefit from high-quality training to develop their curriculum expertise. They have carefully considered the important knowledge that pupils should learn and when. Throughout the school, subject leaders support teachers effectively to introduce new learning and vocabulary with precision.”

 

We know that one aspect of the inspection framework that schools struggle to evidence is

Leaders focus on improving teachers’ subject, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge in order to enhance the teaching of the curriculum and the appropriate use of assessment. The practice and subject knowledge of staff, including ECTs, build and improve over time. (OFSTED Handbook 322)

 

Schools may have this in place for core subjects but not for the wider curriculum including the arts.  However, the work we had done as part of the TIME project, and the way this has then influenced our curriculum design, meant we could evidence this as a strength, supporting our outstanding judgement.

 

I honestly believe that without our participation in the TIME project our curriculum, and our teaching and learning, particularly in art and music would not be as strong as it is now.   I feel this was a significant contribution to the standards reflected in our OFSTED outcome.

 

However, more importantly, I now am seeing the impact in terms of our pupils’ outcomes.  For example they have built their art skills over a number of years and now they are producing art work of an incredibly high standard, but also with a love of learning in the arts.  They see themselves as artists, musicians, performers.  We see them focus on their art work for hours, engaged and enthralled, and this is facilitated by the confidence they now have as they have a toolkit of knowledge and skills.

 

In remote education, throughout both national lockdowns, our team prioritised the arts,  I think this reflects the teachers’ confidence and valuing of the arts built through the TIME project.  We continued with music, drama  and art work as part of our curriculum delivered remotely and we saw the well-being impact of this for our pupils.  TIME helped us all to love the arts and prioritised them and protect them in our learning  and in our lives.

 

SHARON BOWKER, HEADTEACHER OF LYTHAM HALL PARK PRIMARY SCHOOL

Congratulations to former student Jas Kayser, winner of the 2021 Jazz FM Breakthrough Act Award!

HMDT Music and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy would like to extend huge congratulations to the recently crowned the Jazz FM Breakthrough Act for 2021, drummer Jas Kayser!

Jas is a Julian Joseph Jazz Academy Alumni, who went on to study at Berklee. Here she is playing at our 20th anniversary concert at Wigmore Hall back in 2015. Congratulations again, we’re so proud of how far you’ve come!

*NEW FOR AUTUMN 2021* SATURDAY ROOFTOP ACADEMY

Saturday Rooftop Academy is HMDT Music’s new band programme for Year 9+ students to work with industry professionals.

Students will learn established standards, and learn how to arrange and compose both their own songs and existing material. They will also benefit from: the experience of a professional recording artist, learning about the music industry, how to plan a set and a range of performance opportunities.

Who is it for?

If you’re Year 9+, minimum Grade 4 or equivalent on an instrument or voice, and want to have fun making music in a band or group and explore music from different genres, cultures and eras, then this is the programme for you! If you are also taking or thinking of taking GSCE or A-Level music this will be a great opportunity to enhance your musical skills and knowledge.

What does it offer?

  • Performing music you enjoy in our new Rock/Pop Band and creating your own;
  • Composition with professional composers who cover a broad spectrum of genres;
  • Guest masterclasses from specialist artists from across the industry;
  • Performance opportunities;
  • The option to add an individual instrumental or singing lesson.

 

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

or

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

HMDT Music is delighted to have been awarded the London Youth Bronze Quality Mark!

NEW Arts CPD Programme for Primary Schools

HMDT Music’s new TIME CPD Programme: Embedding the Arts across the Curriculum  embraces our award-winning methodology refined over the past twenty years. The online year-long programme delivered by a team of expert artist educators builds technical skills for teachers in a range of art forms and introduces new ideas, methodologies and resources to support use of the arts to enhance the curriculum, raise achievement and inspire learning. The 12 sessions in art, music, drama, film and puppets are designed to give teachers confidence and expertise to help enhance students’ creativity, imagination and curiosity by delivering a broad and rich curriculum.

 

It has developed my classroom practice immeasurably, constantly being inspired by the new approaches to learning. Teacher

For more information

CLICK HERE

 

One Spirit – Update June 2021

At 8.00am on Tuesday March 24th 2020 we (One Spirit team) had just pulled into the car park of HMYOI Cookham Wood when we received a call from Cookham Wood’s education manager asking us to stay put; she’d call back in 5 minutes and update us on their ‘Covid plan’. Sure enough, 5 minutes later she called back and apologetically told us the prison was now fully locked down.

 

For the next 6+ weeks all face to face / in person One Spirit activities ceased; mentors switched to communicating with their mentees, and where appropriate delivering sessions by zoom and / or phone.  This worked well if the mentee had good Internet access – one mentee in particular was able to continue working on his business plan and setting up his record label with the mentor’s remote help – but with many of the cohort it was a poor substitute for the support they continued to need, if indeed it was possible at all.

 

By mid May face to face sessions gradually started to resume. It was noticeable that most of the young people (especially the younger ones) enrolled in the One Spirit mentoring program appeared generally nervous and confused about coming out, more unwilling than ever to use public transport and, given the stereotypes of this cohort being lawless and irresponsible it was surprising to see how confused and in even more need of solid guidance and direction they appeared to be.

 

The intensification of 2020’s BLM movement and the events preceding and following the death of George Floyd had no small impact on the individuals One Spirit works with in the community, 96% of whom are black or of mixed race heritage, and in what is almost post-Lockdown UK 2021 this impact continues to resonate. In addition and further heightening the intensity and vulnerability of the young people we work with the teenage murder rate in 2021, after only 5 months, has already surpassed that of 2020.

 

All these events combined have proved to be both a positive and negative motivator. Positively, the demand for our services from YOT has increased, young people’s attendance at sessions in the community has improved and it has been noticeable that most of the young people we are working with seem more motivated to find employment and / or enquire about further education. Negatively and perhaps predictably, the issue of isolation intensified during 2020, along with boredom, hopelessness and the loss of motivation. It was hard to get some young people to come out immediately after the first lockdown, but mentors kept up constant communication with their mentees and by late June 2020 face to face sessions gathered pace. This included mentors travelling to see young people in their communities around Greater London, and in some cases further afield if the young person had been re-housed outside London, as well as delivering sessions in one of the One Spirit mentor locations in either North West or South London.

 

In July of 2020 the education manager at Oakhill STC (formerly of HMP Aylesbury) contacted HMDT Music requesting the support of the One Spirit programme.  Oakhill houses 14-18 year olds, who for various reasons have been deemed too vulnerable to serve sentences in ‘mainstream’ YOIs. One Spirit delivery started with groups of up to 4 young people within the main education timetable; as soon as One Spirit staff had keys delivery switched to 1to1 support sessions for specific young people, identified as such either because of their resettlement plans or because of other specific needs. One Spirit staff have forged great relationships with staff at the centre and delivered some crucial and valuable work with young people, some of whom have already connected with the programme in the community post-release. Ofsted recently inspected the centre and rated HMDT Music’s provision there very highly amongst the aspects of education and care that are working well:


The link with the Hackney Music Trust is both interesting and meaningful.  It provides a very effective hook to engage the learners in other activities including self-evaluation and reflection.  It provides an emotional outlet for the teenagers and work has been done with the management to secure an understanding that “what is said in the room, stays in the room” (unless there are security/safety concerns).  The music activities provide a channel for the development of communication skills as the learners develop lyrics.  As well as providing an opportunity to develop a long-term hobby, this work has a resettlement aspect as the young people are followed up on release.  There are very close and effective links with the Music Technology teacher to ensure meaningful cross-over of technical and creative activities.

Gemma Howarth, Head of Education, Oakhill Secure Training Centre

 

In the last month (May/June 21) the prison service has given the go ahead to YOI establishments to restart work with outside agencies; HMYOIs Feltham and Cookham Wood and HMP Aylesbury have all been in touch with HMDT Music to discuss a resumption in delivery.

 

Work in the community continues apace, and of the 24 young people / adults currently accessing the programme:

 

  • 33% are in college or further education
  • 54% are in full or part time employment
  • 91% have not reoffended

 

Young people, their parents / carers, and the staff working with them in statutory settings continue to give positive feedback about One Spirit’s programme:

 

I can go studio with my boys, but it’s not the same. You were there with me when I was in jail and you’ve continued to be there since I came out. I’m not saying you’re my counsellor, but coming studio with you is like counselling, I need it. It’s fun and all that, but also it really helps.

Young person engaging with One Spirit in the community

 

We’ve just been talking for like 45 minutes and hardly done any music, but it was a sick lesson; thanks Sir.

Young person after 1to1 session at Oakhill STC

 

This is so helpful, there should be more things like this. I’m really glad I came with D today.”

Young person’s mother, attending a session in the community with her son

 

I just wanted to thank you for sending over the updates on the young people’s progress.  I wanted also to feedback to you on the service you offer as we have just undergone an inspection and your work was highlighted as a particularly positive intervention.

 

 What stood out to inspectors was the fact that you were able to open up and remain a safe environment during much of the lockdown – providing a much-needed outlet for our young people.  You were one of the few agencies to do this and this was appreciated hugely by the young people we work with and practitioners alike. Furthermore the fact that you continue to work with young people after their Order or YOT involvement is complete provides us with an excellent ‘exit plan’ for our young people and means that they continue to engage in positive activities.

 It was also noted that through the excellent work you do in Oakhill and HMP YOI you have been able to offer some continuity for our young people from your work with them both in the community and in custody- this is hugely comforting to them at a time when they feel most alone and vulnerable.

 

Basically just a big thank you for all you do – please keep doing it!!”

Manager, Merton YOT

Thank you to the Masonic Charitable Fund for supporting Music Treehouse

In World Autism Awareness Week, we are delighted to announce funding from the Masonic Charitable Fund to support Music Treehouse: which enables SEN/D children to unlock and share communication, creative expression and joy through music-making.

 

Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green says “We are incredibly grateful to the Masonic Charitable Fund for enabling us to continue and develop Music Treehouse. It has already had a huge impact on the many young people it supports and seeing the joy on a child’s face and the pride they feel when they have the ability to make music cannot be underestimated. We look forward to sharing the impact of their support with MCF and in the words of one of our parents; to watch the growth of a child “who is usually an observer engage, make friends and have a voice”.

 

For more information about our Music Treehouse programme, please click HERE.

 

LAST CHANCE to buy tickets for “Jina and the STEM Sisters”

★★★★

“Jina and The STEM Sisters seeks not solely to promote creativity … but opens arms to young girls, advocating them to be courageous in the face of oppression, be proud in the curiosity they demonstrate and be weird, be clever, and driven to explore the world.”

The Reviews Hub

 

 

Preview 7: We asked our female team to sum up the project in just one or two words. It proved quite a challenge! How would you summarise the show?

 

PREVIEW: The one word challenge to describe the show!

 

★★★★★

“This is a production that can be appreciated on several levels and it is most definitely worth seeing with your children.”

London Living Large

 

Featuring puppeteers Ruth Calkin and Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.

 

For ALL ages from 8+.

 

Streaming NOW! until 11 April.

 

Find out more and book tickets HERE!

ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT! “Witty as well as enlightening” – Preview 6: The STEM Sisters Team!

★★★★
“I was thrilled to “meet” Hedy Lamarr, the American actress whose scientific work led to wifi, Bluetooth and GPS. Her puppet sings all about it. Why had I not heard of this woman? Because we’re taught/told only about male achievers, I suppose, and that’s the whole point of the enjoyable Jina and the STEM Sisters”.
Musical Theatre Review

 

 

Did you know that Jina and the STEM Sisters isn’t just about inspirational women, but created by an entirely female team? This week we hear about what drew Director Clare Whistler to the project, and who else was involved in creating our “enchanting and “inspiring puppetry musical”.

 

 

Why not make an event of it and share this with your friends and family?

 

★★★★★
“This is a production that can be appreciated on several levels and it is most definitely worth seeing with your children.”
London Living Large

 

Featuring puppeteers Ruth Calkin and Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.
For ALL ages from 8+.
Streaming NOW! until 11 April.

Roadmap to Return – The Saturday Programme

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

Unfortunately in accordance with the recent government guidance, we’re not able to return in person this term.

 

This is however set to change on 12 April meaning we are expecting to be in person at Bridge Academy, for the summer term starting on 24 April. Music Treehouse will return on 1 May.

 

If you wish to read the government guidance in detail, please see the two links below:

 

 

 

Best wishes
The HMDT Music Team

“Inspiring Puppetry Musical” – Preview 5: Designing the Puppets

“Sophia Lovell Smith’s rod puppets don impressively intricate costumes and are controlled by Calkin and Wood with pin-point precision and distinctive choreography that lends each character a unique personality.
The Stage

 

This week Sophia Lovell Smith talks to us about Designing the Puppets. Each of our powerful STEM Sisters comes from a different time period, and Sophia brings those different styles, as well as an element of each STEM Sister’s skills and knowledge, into their costume: Computer Programmer Ada Lovelace has computer punch cards in her crinoline, and astronomer Hyaptia has stars in her skirt. What other character-defining elements can you see in our other STEM Sisters costumes?

 

 

Why not make an event of it and share this with your friends and family?

★★★★★ 
This is a production that can be appreciated on several levels and it is most definitely worth seeing with your children.”

 

Featuring puppeteers Ruth Calkin and Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.
For ALL ages from 8+.
Streaming NOW! until 11 April. 

 

Find out more and BOOK tickets HERE!

5* “Most definitely worth seeing…” New Preview

★★★★ ★
“Jina and the STEM Sisters enchanted us with ingeniously presented puppetry which invited us to join young Jina’s quest for some unusual birthday presents… This is an intelligent and entrancing entertainment… A gift that is very evident here is that of creativity; the show looks simply gorgeous throughout… Most definitely worth seeing…”
 
 
In this week’s preview, composer Jenny Gould speaks to us about Composing the Music for Jina and the STEM Sisters, and the freedom of composing in so many different styles to bring our individual and inspirational STEM Sisters to life. Listen out for musical styles inspired by Gilbert and Sullivan, funk, Handel and “even rap“!

 


Why not make an event of it and share this with your friends and family?
 
★   ★   ★   ★ 
A “wonderment of conversations and musical numbers” by Rachel Barnett-Jones and Jenny Gould’s “sumptuous compositions..The artistry and craft reach the outer pinnacles of brilliance as they ascend into Sophia Lovell Smith’s creative designs of puppetry, animation and set aesthetics.”
 
Featuring puppeteers Ruth Calkin and Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.
  
For ALL ages from 8+.
 
Streaming NOW! until 11 April. 
 

PREVIEW: “Rap, laughs, multi-media and amazing puppetry”

This week’s preview from our new show Jina and the STEM Sisters gives you an opportunity to Meet the Puppets! Our curious, brave and fabulous STEM Sisters are brought to life by puppeteers Nix Wood and Ruth Calkin. Watch them sing, dance, and guide Jina home through the forest.

 

“Rap, laughs, multi-media and amazing puppetry – this online theatre show about history’s most influential women has it all!” National Geographic Kids

 

PREVIEW: Meet the Puppets

 

Why not make an event of it and share this with your friends and family?

 

This entertaining new puppet musical by writer Rachel Barnett-Jones and composer Jenny Gould whose eclectic score is inspired by rap, opera, funk, Handel and musical theatre, premieres in Clare Whistler’s inspiring production which brings Sophia Lovell Smith’s stunning puppet and set designs to life.

 

It features puppeteers Ruth Calkin, Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.

 

The supporting primary schools’ project includes science workshops, a bank of teaching resources and an online heritage zone.

 

For ALL ages from 8+.

 

Streaming from THIS MONDAY:15 March – 11 April. 

 

FIND OUT MORE AnD BOOK TICKETS HERE!

A quirky way of making science and history fun – NEW PREVIEW VIDEO

We are delighted to share our next PREVIEW from our new show Jina and the STEM SistersDesigning the Show gives a visual insight into how Sophia Lovell Smith created the magical set drawing inspiration from scientific forms and journeys to create Jina’s world.

 

One of StageSavvy‘s five shows to see celebrating International Woman’s Day: “a quirky way of making feminist history fun”.

 

PREVIEW: Designing the Show

 

Why not make an event of it and share this with your friends and family?

 

This entertaining new puppet musical by writer Rachel Barnett-Jones and composer Jenny Gould whose eclectic score is inspired by rap, show tunes, funk, Handel and musical theatre, premieres in Clare Whistler’s inspiring production which brings Sophia Lovell Smith’s stunning designs to life.

 

It features puppeteers Ruth Calkin, Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.

 

The supporting primary schools’ project includes science workshops, a bank of teaching resources and an online heritage zone.

 

For ALL ages from 8+.

 

Streaming 15 March – 11 April. 

 

Find Out More and BOOK tickets HERE!

 

HMDT Music is grateful for the support of:

 

Jina and the STEM Sisters: celebrating astonishing women in science and maths

We’re delighted to invite you to our new show Jina and the STEM Sisters celebrating historical STEM women.

 

Join budding scientist Jina as she seeks her way out of the forest helped by some of history’s amazing female scientists and mathematicians. Digital-coder rapper Ada Lovelace, glamorous inventor Hedy Lamarr, and ‘radiating’ Marie Curie are amongst those empowering Jina with scientific gifts to help her get home and become the best scientist she can be!

 

Watch weekly feature videos HERE!

 

Why not make an event of it and share this with your friends and family?

 

This entertaining new puppet musical by writer Rachel Barnett-Jones and composer Jenny Gould whose eclectic score is inspired by rap, show tunes, funk, Handel and musical theatre, premieres in Clare Whistler’s inspiring production which brings Sophia Lovell Smith’s stunning designs to life.

 

It features puppeteers Ruth Calkin, Nix Wood, singers: Nadine Benjamin, Eloise Eisenberg, Abigail Kelly, Susan Moore, Jessica Gillingwater and the I Can Sing! Children’s Chorus, with the STEM Sisters band directed by Jenny Gould.

 

The supporting primary schools’ project includes science workshops, a bank of teaching resources and an online heritage zone.

 

For ALL ages from 8+.

 

Streaming 15 March – 11 April. 

 

Find out more and BOOK tickets HERE!

 

HMDT Music is grateful for the support of:

 

Congratulations to former student Deschanel Gordon, winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2020!

HMDT Music and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy would like to extend huge congratulations to the recently crowned BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year, pianist Deschanel Gordon! We are all so excited for you.
Deschanel was one of the first students at the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, playing both Saxophone and Piano. A local Hackney boy, he was discovered first at a Julian Joseph Yamaha Masterclass event in Central London where he had been taken by his inspirational school music teacher. From here he auditioned at Ronnie Scotts for JJJA, and the rest is history!
Aside from Julian Joseph and a host of fantastic guests, at JJJA Desch had the opportunity to learn from some of the greats in the British Jazz Scene: Tony Kofi, Byron Wallen and Trevor Watkis; artists Deschanel has credited in interviews as being some of his greatest inspiration.
If you are interested in more information about the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy please visit: http://www.hmdt.org.uk/saturdayprog/jjja/ or drop us an email! saturday.programme@hmdtmusic.org.uk

We’re Open! Autumn 2020 Term

Dear Parents and Guardians,

 

We hope you’re well and had a good summer. We are pleased to announce that we will be opening in person from Saturday 26 September, and look forward to seeing you all back at Haggerston School! The Julian Joseph Jazz Academy will continue at Bridge Academy.

 

Term dates for the 2020-21 academic year can be found HERE.

 

We have spent the past few weeks putting in place several measures to ensure our return is as safe and enjoyable as possible. We will be sending out more information about our Covid-19 Guidance and Protective Measures in due course.

 

You will receive your new schedule by no later than Friday 11 September.

 

We look forward to welcoming you all back!

 

Best wishes

 

The HMDT Music Team

Summer 2020 Holiday Courses

We are delighted to offer the following two online courses over the Summer 2020 break!


Lockdown Cannot Stop Us – Holiday Course
27-30 July 10:00 – 1:00pm
School Years 5 – 10
Cost £100.00

Come and join HMDT Music’s online Summer Course!

Together we will create our own multi-media piece. Just because we’re not in the same room, doesn’t mean we can’t create exciting work!

Working with a range of artists, the devisary course will include:

  • song-writing
  • creating dialogue
  • film-making

Bring your imagination, your voice, any instruments you play and any technical skills you already possess and might want to develop!

The course will use your individual interests and ideas as well as provide a chance to socialise online and have fun creating something together. Be prepared to carry out some afternoon tasks such as learning/recording songs, creating some designs, trying some animation, practising an instrumental accompaniment leading to an end of course Showing.

Please note: we are aware everyone enjoys different elements and has different strengths. If you like some but not all of the areas being covered, do still sign up!

Don’t miss out, click here to sign up by Saturday 18 July!

 


Music Lessons for you! – Instrumental Lessons

Want to develop musically over the Summer 2020 break? Do you have an instrument gathering dust in a corner you would like to learn? We can get you started online!

Beginner students

We can offer the following instruments to students who have NO experience, but DO have access to an instrument:

*Piano *Guitar *Violin *Cello *Aural/Theory

Already learning?

We can offer lessons to students with experience on, and access to, the following instruments:

*Piano *Flute *Clarinet *Bassoon *Violin *Cello *Trumpet *Trombone *Tenor Horn *Percussion *Guitar *Aural/Theory

Cost

Lessons are available in blocks of 5 or 10, at the following rates:

£225.00 for a block of 10x 30 minute lessons

£132.00 for a block of 5x 30 minute lessons

Lessons are available in blocks of 5 or 10, at the following rates:

£285.00 for a block of 10x 30 minute lessons

£162.00 for a block of 5x 30 minute lessons

Sign up now by clicking here!

Support Music Treehouse

Please help support our Music Treehouse project for SEN/D children!

 

 

Aviva’s Community Fund has given us the opportunity to fundraise to help ensure this vital life-line of creative music making can continue to help alleviate isolation and offer much needed support to children with a wide spectrum of needs through lockdown, across the summer and beyond.

 

Any help you can offer is much appreciated.

 

CYMH: Instrumental School

Looking for instrumental lessons for your child? Live in Hackney, Islington, Tower Hamlets but not sure where to start or what instrument? Why not give us a call? The HMDT Music Saturday Programme has something for everyone and is the ideal place for your child to start learning an instrument. Our music lessons for children aged 5 plus take place within an extensive curriculum including group and individual instrumental tuition, singing, musicianship and ensembles, as well as the Orchestra and Choirs!

 

So what can we expect from CYMH Instrumental School?

 

For students in school years 1 and 2, we offer the Minis programme. Minis have two classes – a singing and drama/movement class building performance skills and a Recorder and General Musicianship class to develop all-round musicianship skills. Students will take part in dynamic and engaging music theatre and movement, learn instrumental skills, benefit from increased confidence, and participate in exciting performances and develop strong team building skills. Students going into school year 2 will take part in the Autumn term instrumental tasters, alongside the group session. At the end of the Autumn term, students will then select which instrument they wish to learn for the Spring and Summer terms.

 

Students then progress up a programme ladder as they increase in confidence and ability with more exciting opportunities including ensembles, bands & choirs. Those students interested in taking exams are able to do so at our centre, we also have aural preparation sessions, and extra Grade 5 theory classes to support those at that stage in their learning.

 

This sounds amazing – but, my child is older than school year 1. Is there an opportunity to get them involved? Of course! We can offer individual lessons through our Music Lessons for you Scheme, and once they are playing at a similar level, they can either choose to join as an ensemble student and continue with their private lessons, or join in with an appropriate level group.

 

My child is playing at a Grade 4 level or above – is there anything for them? Absolutely! We have two programmes – The Blue Programme or Jazz Blues programme. These are by audition only and like all the programmes are tailored to that specific experience level. Also – NEW this year is the rooftop Academy for students in year 9+ who are grade 4 and above. Interested? Please drop Sabina a line on 020 8882 8825 or team@hmdtmusic.org.uk

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

OR

APPLY NOW

I Can Sing! Music Theatre School

Interested in Music Theatre or the Performing Arts? Live in Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Islington or East London? Look no further! At I Can Sing! we offer the opportunity to train in a variety of stage disciplines with leading professional artists, gaining new skills, confidence and firm friendships.
Entry is non-auditioned with the focus on reinforcing the ensemble performing tradition. To do this we draw of repertoire that includes classic Broadway numbers alongside our own original traditions.

 

With programmes for students from Year 1 upwards, there is something for every school age! Uniquely since I Can Sing! is part of a larger Saturday Music Programme, students can also opt to take additional instrumental or singing lessons (subject to availability).

 

So what can I expect to receive from I Can Sing!

 

School Years 1 & 2 are a little different as they are aimed at aimed at developing all-round musicianship – the foundation for all musical styles, and also give students the opportunity to try an instrument so that students are given the tools and opportunities to try both Musical Theatre, and more classical music training before choosing which direction they wish to go at the end of Year 2.

 

From Year 3 onwards, each group at I Can Sing! goes into a structured specific Music Theatre training where there are a series of classes in: Singing, Dance, Drama & Stagecraft. They work towards termly performances which gives everyone the opportunity to showcase the musical theatre repertoire that they have been learning, or even in some cases, been creating!

 

This is truly the most fantastic programme, and although we do not have an agency attached, students should they wish to audition at the right time for productions, will be given support. Past students have gone on to appear in a range of productions including We Will Rock You, as well as our own large-scale productions, the most recent being Trench Brothers at the Brighton Dome.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

OR
APPLY NOW

Saturday Early Years Music Classes: The Music Box

Looking for a Saturday Toddler Music Class? Do you live in Hackney, Islington, Tower Hamlets or East London? Look no further! Come and join us at The Music Box, the programme that is more than just a baby or toddler music class. In this Early Years Music Class all music is performed live (no recorded music allowed!) with regular guest artists to introduce the whole family to different genres, cultures and traditions. One week you could find yourself immersed in the world of Klezmer, another you could be discovering the music & instruments that form a Classical Brass Quintet. You could be learning how to dance like a traditional Chinese Dancer or how to play and make a digeridoo!

 

We have two classes aimed at different age brackets each led by a different wonderful leader in order to ensure progression. In each session families will do a number of activities that help introduce and develop the fundamentals of music. As well as being introduced to our Guest Artists each week Singing, Movement and Music Skills are integrated into the classes. You can expect yourself to be singing a selection of songs from the favourite nursery rhymes (these are always requested in the ‘childrens choice’ section), to musicals and even songs from our very own early years song books (available to purchase at the Saturday Programme). Early Musical Skills are introduced from around 12 months as concepts such as pitch, rhythm and tempo are introduced through percussion instruments, focusing on developing listening skills and concentration in a group environment. All these skills also help prepare children for nursery and school by introducing concepts such as team work, sharing and instilling structured learning whilst having a huge amount of fun! Music is also fantastic at developing speech, vocabulary, and general communication.

 

Sounds like fun? Classes happen at Bridge Academy on Laburnum Street –  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

HMDT Music is committed to ensuring that music is for all – we also have a specialist SEND Music Box programme for the over 2s. You don’t need to have a specific diagnosis at the time of applying as many children don’t receive these until later. The class operates very slightly differently to what is described above – for more information please do email team@hmdtmusic.org.uk.

 

APPLY NOW

 

Commemorating VE Day

To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, our I Can Sing! students have been rehearsing We’ll Meet Again, a show of music from several of our commissions commemorating different aspects of the Second World War.

Here is the Finale – a fantastic medley of war songs arranged by Matthew King, which students have contributed to from lockdown, as part of our new online programme. Although we haven’t yet been able to complete the project in the way we planned, a film version of the whole performance will be available soon.

THANK YOU: Launch of Online Hub

We would like to say a massive thank you to all our tutors, students, parents and staff who made the launch of our new Saturday Programme Online Learning Hub a huge success this morning. A very special thank you also goes out to our amazing graphic designer Raphael for working into the small hours to create such a beautiful webspace for us at such short notice! 

 

The feedback we have received has been overwhelmingly positive and the spirit of our Saturday Programme undaunted by these trying times. This was truly a Herculean task, and you should all be extremely proud of yourselves! Your dedication and hard work is inspiring. 

 

We’re sorry that we weren’t able to provide something for every group today, but we will be sending you learning materials early next week. We will be working to resolve inevitable technological issues and the Hub will continue to deliver group and one-to-one music lessons and workshop sessions whilst we all work to make the best of this difficult situation in which we all find ourselves.  

 

We look forward to you joining us next Saturday (our last Saturday before Easter) and for the Summer Term. 

 

We will be in touch with further details and updates from the Online Learning Hub during the week, and we will continue to work remotely during normal office hours. 

 

Do all take care in the meantime and stay safe! 

Winners for ‘Excellence in Musical Theatre’ at the Music & Drama Education Awards

We are delighted to announce that HMDT Music has won the Music & Drama Education Award for ‘Excellence in Musical Theatre’, for TRENCH BROTHERS.

‘Lauded as innovative, interesting, original and, representative with a wide range of easily useable resources’, Trench Brothers commemorated the achievements and contributions made by ethnic minority soldiers in the First World War with a cross-curricular education programme for primary schools, culminating in a new music theatre work by composers Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor, and librettist Tertia Sefton-Green, directed by Clare Whistler, and Freya Wynn-Jones, and designed by Neil Irish.

 

The project toured schools across London, Lancashire and Staffordshire culminating in October 2018 with large-scale performances at Brighton Dome featuring 250 local school children, students from our I Can Sing! programme and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, and artists including acclaimed singers Cleveland Watkiss and Damian Thantrey, actor Richard Sumitro, and the Singh Degun Duo, conducted by Lee Reynolds.

 

The Brighton performances included Letter songs written over the project’s duration by composers Michael Betteridge, Jenny Gould, Matthew King, James Redwood, and Omar Shahryar with participating schools.

 

Congratulations and thanks to all the schools, artists, educators, volunteers and partners who’ve participated in and contributed to the project since 2014.

 

To see performance highlights, the pre-performance talk, and the electronic programme, please click HERE.

You can also visit our legacy site to see the work of the London and Lancashire Schools by clicking HERE.

Tertia Sefton-Green and Adam Eisenberg being presented with the award by ABRSM Executive Director Jeremy Phillips [Left] and host & presenter Alan Titchmarsh [Right].

STEM Sisters – New project featuring historical women in STEM

STEM Sisters is HMDT Music’s exciting new project which celebrates the achievements of historical female mathematicians and scientists to inspire primary school children, especially girls with the stories of women whose pioneering work was so often unrecognised. It includes a new theatre show and a range of research, schools and outreach interactive activities, which use our cross-curricular creative approach to stimulate learning, participation and enjoyment.

 

We are delighted to have been awarded a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to start the project which will be launched next year. Many thanks to all your lottery players out there!

Watch this space for more information!

One Spirit – Update March 2020

Over the last 12 months One Spirit has delivered its music and resettlement focused projects across HMYOIs Cookham Wood and Feltham and HMP Highdown, as well as continuing to support those released from custody with opportunities to carry on their music/creative arts work with a One Spirit mentor, receive support with their transition from custody to community and guidance for next steps to employment and/or further education.

 

This year OS projects have engaged a total of 213 young people/adults in weeklong Residency projects, 1to1 In-Custody Mentoring sessions, Introductory/Induction sessions and/or 1to1 Through The Gate Mentoring sessions in the community. 147 were unique users and 39 young people/adults engaged more than once and/or in more than one strand of the project, 8 engaged in all 3 strands of the project.

 

HMDT Music has also set up a new One Spirit project in HMP Aylesbury, with funding from the London Mayor’s Office. This project will build on the success of several one-off One Spirit residencies delivered over the last 3 years and will run until 2022 allowing One Spirit to deliver its provision weekly in the prison. The project will contain the usual elements of social and functional learning based around music, creative arts and business but will also offer participants the chance to train with HMDT Music when released and, for those on longer sentences, the opportunity to develop a ‘career in custody’, gaining peer mentoring skills in One Spirit’s music education methodology.

 

This year One Spirit’s work at HMYOI Cookham Wood has expanded to include working with some of their most vulnerable and unsettled residents: yps on ‘single unlock’ and yps with mental health issues. These sessions have delivered vital support and been gratefully received by the participants and staff alike, with one young person remarking “thanks for coming to see us, Sir; it’s nice to be taken seriously’.

 

Delivery at Cookham Wood has also included working with yps who are working towards clearance for ROTL (Release on Temporary Licence). 7 participants have been released from this unit into the community over the course of the year, all of whom have accessed support via One Spirit’s Through the Gate program.

 

Sadly the number of young people serving sentences for violent crimes, particularly murder, has continued to rise over the year, at the same time behaviour on the wings, in the corridors and classrooms has been more challenging than ever, with frequent disruption and violent occurrences including a rise in assaults on staff.  Frustration, anger and fear are never far from the surface of most (young) people serving time, often rising and boiling over in education. Perhaps this is why so many participants (71% of those who fed back) highlight social group activities such as warm ups, game playing and focus exercises as some of the most enjoyable in the One Spirit project.

 

In other feedback collected from participants 72% declared they felt better about working with others; 69% felt better about taking criticism and more equipped to give constructive criticism; 90% declared increased self confidence; 84% (of those who initially revealed it as an issue) felt better able to manage their anger and 92% said they felt better about the future. 100% of those asked said they had learned something new on an OS project.

 

In the community One Spirit has continued to support young people/adults during their resettlement and beyond. 8 young people/adults who engaged with One Spirit whilst in custody have been released over the last 12 months and accessed the Through the Gate mentoring program either remotely or in person (distance and safety of travel remain a challenge for many). One Spirit has been working with several YOT/Ss across London to ensure that their mentees have got ‘joined up’ support and have their time with One Spirit timetabled into their licence conditions.

 

Several longer term mentees have enjoyed success in their onward journeys, including one former mentee gaining a role in a major TV soap opera, another working as freelance A&R for major record labels and one signing a publishing deal with a successful top 10 music production company.

 

Currently there are 37 young people/adults accessing the program variously from once every 6 months to once a week in the case of the newly released.

At the time of writing

 

  • 56% are in college, training or further education
  • 41% are in employment / self employment
  • 87% have not reoffended (national average approx. 35%)

 

Across the board the verbal feedback from participants and staff has been very positive; this is what they said:

 

“I like ‘Hackney Music’, it’s a different kind of class, we all got on together and it’s actually worth behaving for” Residency Participant HMYOI Cookham Wood

 

“This is definitely the best thing I’ve done since I came to prison – it doesn’t even feel like jail when I’m down here” Mentoring Participant HMYOI Feltham A

 

“Thanks for the work you have done with RS, especially around peer mentoring. He has visibly matured in the last few months and I am not so concerned about him moving up to HMP now” Dep Manager HMYOI Cookham Wood

 

“Your project is crucial for the guys interested in music and media and really helps to put what we teach in the classroom into a real world perspective; this has been a very important part of their preparation for employment” Education Manager at HMP Highdown

 

Article: Charlie Parker, Project Manager, One Spirit

 

With thanks to:

 

Julian Joseph Jazz Academy Junior Easter Course

Monday 6 April – Thursday 9 April 2020 at Bridge Academy, E2 8BA

 

A unique, four-day course designed for students aged 9 – 14, who want to learn jazz – or more about jazz.

Using the methodology developed at the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, students will be introduced to the rich history and styles of the great jazz masters through the focused study of classic jazz recordings. They will be taught how to access, appreciate and perform this great music through a series of workshops – and make firm friends in the process!

 

The 4 day course costs £199.00 (£179.00 for Jazz Blues & JJJA Members)

 

Click here for more information

 

SIGN UP NOW!

 

For more info call 020 8882 8825 or email info@hmdt.org.uk

One Spirit Extended

A new strand of our successful rehabilitation and mentoring project for young offenders will take place in HMYOI Aylesbury thanks to a new grant from the Young Londoners Fund.
Read More about One Spirit.

Shortlisted for the ‘Music & Drama Education Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre’

We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for the ‘Music & Drama Education Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre’, for our work on Trench Brothers.

More on the project can be found HERE on the website.

Shakespeare Days of Performance 2019

Next week sees the 6th year of our annual Shakespeare Days of performance in partnership with Creative Education Trust. Bringing together 11 schools across the Midlands and Norfolk at Abbeyfield School, Northampton, the project features half hour performances of: Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, King Lear, Hamlet and Julius Caesar on 27 and 28 November.

Watch excerpts from last year’s performances HERE

Julian Joseph Jazz Academy – Duke Ellington Summer Course

MONDAY 26 AUGUST – THURSDAY 29 AUGUST
at Mossbourne Academy, E5 8JY

Come and join us for a special four-day course focusing on the masterworks of one of America’s greatest composers – Duke Ellington.


You will develop the following skills:

  • Playing from direct, professional transcriptions taken from the original recordings.
  • Learning the rich history behind each piece of music being played, and the band behind it.
  • Gaining experience playing as part of a large jazz ensemble.
  • Building confidence reading and interpreting big band charts.
  • Socialising and meeting like-minded, driven young jazz musicians.

The four days will culminate with a relaxed performance for all friends and family.

 


The course will be at Mossbourne Academy, E5 8JY, and is specifically for sax, trumpet, trombone and rhythm section players (approx. grade 5+, no audition required) though places are limited (especially for rhythm section players), so book now to reserve a place and avoid disappointment.



The full four-day course costs £179.00
Payable when you accept the place.

Discounted fees £159.00 available for students who attend the Jazz Blues Course or the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy.

APPLY NOW WHILE PLACES STILL REMAIN!

APPLY NOW!

New Saplings Programme at Music Treehouse: Interactive music making

The Music Treehouse programme at HMDT Music’s Saturday Programme, offers younger disabled children access to high quality interactive music making, boosting social skills and confidence, and offering pathways to learning through songs and participatory musical activities. The relationship between singing and speech (in the context of people with special needs) is well researched, and we find there are linguistic breakthroughs among some of the children as they become more familiar and more confident with the songs. We focus on simple tasks, encouraging the young people to join in, and even lead activities, and there are no barriers in terms of ability. For us as a team of skilled musicians we keep musical standards high, even if words and melodies have to be easy enough to encourage participation. But the combination of keyboard, percussion, flute and guitar to accompany the songs, as well as the team’s skills in improvisation, mean that we can change soundworlds in an instant, and maintain focus throughout the sessions.

 

As the year has progressed we have seen huge changes in the attention levels of some individuals, as they grasp the fact that making music is both fun and empowering, and that they are free to take part at any level. We try to make every moment of a session joyful, and we introduce different elements to increase stimulation, including puppets and movement work. It’s really a whole body, whole mind, whole voice approach. Some children are non-verbal/vocal, but they often have acute understanding, and certainly can participate to the same level as vocal students, even if their participation is expressed in different ways. When percussion is introduced, every child can contribute equally, and the combination of sound and rhythm changes the dynamic of the room, often dramatically, with individuals often becoming confident enough to lead sections.

 

This year the overarching theme has been the animal world. We have made from scratch songs about hounds, birds, geese, moles, tigers and lions. Puppets help tell the stories of these creatures, and we always bring animals to life through movement work as well as sound. Often, we travel from one animal environment to another with the help of a bus song. And each session begins with a familiar hello song, as well as songs to warm up the body, and get us in the mood to make music. The session ends with a bespoke goodbye song, which is calming and which sends the participants away on a quiet note. Our autistic children respond particularly well to these more calming activities.

 

Tim Yealland MBE
Music Treehouse Saplings Workshop Leader

 

 

National Commemoration Days

Our first National Commemoration Days were launched in 4 schools to 1000 children. Students participated in art workshops, learning First World War songs, meeting an Indian Soldier costumed interpreter and exploring artefacts. The days culminated in moving commemoration services bringing together all the activities from the day including laying poppy wreaths and placing newly made medals onto barbed wire in remembrance alongside army drill and songs.

 

Berger School

The team were amazing, helping the children explore each activity and the range of sessions gave each child an opportunity to play to their strengths. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves

Teacher

As always with HMDT Music, it was thoughtful and meaningful and gave us all a lot to think about

Student

The WW1 workshop day was very interesting and the artefacts were really unique. It was a once in a life experience

Student

I really enjoyed the singing workshop because the warm up and songs were fun and catchy

Student

The best day in Year 5!

Student

I was looking forward to it all week but it was even better than I thought it would be!

Trench Brothers at Mayor’s Diwali Festival at Trafalgar Square

On the 28 October 2018 The I Can Sing! Music Theatre Programme Seniors and Richard Sumitro performed excerpts from Trench Brothers to a crowd of thousands (including the Mayor himself), at the Mayor’s Diwali Festival at Trafalgar Square.

Alongside the performance, The Royal British Legion showcased the Indian section of our Trench Brothers Exhibition at the Festival.

We were very honoured to be part of this great event – a fitting end to the Trench Brothers project.

Trench Brothers Performances at Brighton Dome

The Music Teacher

This was a truly incredible and moving performance that serves as a fitting tribute to the soldiers whose stories are too often left out of the narrative of the war.

On the 17 October 2018 HMDT Music’s Trench Brothers was performed to great acclaim, at Brighton Dome to audiences of around 1,500 people. The finale of four year’s work around the country, it brought together songs written with schools in London, Lancashire and the South East in a unique collaboration of musical genres alongside the core music theatre work by composers Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor set to a libretto by our Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green.

It was performed by children from 7 local schools, Seniors from our own I Can Sing! programme and top artists Cleveland Watkiss, Damian Thantrey and Richard Sumitro accompanied by students from our Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, our CYMH tutors and the Jasdeep Singh Degun Indian Sitar and Tabla duo.

 

The Music Teacher

Tertia Sefton-Green’s libretto masterfully engages its adult audience while ensuring that the content remains accessible and understandable to the young people taking part. Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor’s music help to elevate the performance into something wonderful to experience – each character’s culture is reflected in their music and it is a joy to hear different genres and influences being woven together to reinforce the narrative’s themes of camaraderie.

London Jazz Review

An affecting music theatre work……. ‘letters home’ …. have all the poignancy, humour, sadness, bitterness and gritty historical detail that you would expect.
HMDT Music have form for taking on projects with big themes.

Trench Brothers: an ode to whitewashed war heroes – an article by Kamila Shamsie

Ahead of HMDT Music’s Trench Brothers premier on Wednesday 17th October at Brighton Dome, award-winning Kamila Shamsie has written this wonderful article about not only the history behind the project but also its relevance for today.

Read her article HERE.

New Whole School Project Launch – National Commemoration Days

National Commemoration Days : Armistice Centenary 2018

HMDT Music presents a unique opportunity to commemorate the centenary of Armistice Day with a one day whole school ever offering a series of activities and guest visits. The event is inspired by its successful Trench Brothers project commemorating the contribution of ethic minority soldiers in the First World War.

The day includes:

  • Artefacts handling sessions looking at weapons, uniforms and memorabilia from the First World War;
  • An Indian Soldier costumed interpreter sharing his experiences of life in the trenches on the Front Line;
  • Artist workshops to create a visual and creative response to the First World War;
  • Singing sessions to learn First World War songs;
  • Online toolkits to research specific soldiers leading to students writing Letter Home from the Front;
  • Access to the Trench Brothers Education Zone offering contextual information and 90 lesson plans and activities linked to the curriculum;
  • A commemoration event bringing together all the elements explored during the day.

 

Available 5 – 16 November 2018.

 

Cost: FROM £1,500 Dependent on school size.

To book your place contact: info@hmdt.org.uk or call HMDT Music on 020 8882 8825

Trench Brothers – Performance at Brighton Dome

TRENCH BROTHERS 

7pm on 17th October at Brighton Dome

 A new music theatre work commemorating ethnic minority soldiers in the First World War

Music:  Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor

Libretto:  Tertia Sefton-Green

 Tickets are available through the BRIGHTON DOME and cost £12. 

BUY TICKETS HERE

A new music theatre work commemorating the contributions of ethnic minority soldiers during the First World War through music, theatre and puppetry, bringing to life their hopes and fears, their longing for home, their camaraderie, courage and valour.

Directed by Clare Whistler and Freya Wynn-Jones to Neil Irish’s designs, it features over 250 children from local primary schools in Brighton, Newhaven, Lewes and Seaford alongside acclaimed jazz vocalist of the year and MOBO nominated Cleveland Watkiss and ‘superb’ (The Times) opera singer Damian Thantrey.

Renowned jazz composer Julian Joseph and award-winning composer Richard Taylor are joined by composers Michael Betteridge, Jenny Gould, Matthew King, James Redwood and Omar Shahryar in a unique collaboration drawing together work developed with schools across London, Lancashire and the South East since 2014.

This powerful centenary event is made all the more poignant by its location in Brighton Dome, which served as an Indian Military Hospital during the war.

The Trench Brothers Exhibition will be at Newhaven Fort from 4 August to 5 November offering a creative response to the untold stories of ethnic minority soldiers in the First World War. For more information on the interactive exhibition, please see our EXHIBITION PAGE.

Trench Brothers was created with support from Heritage Lottery Fund.

Trench Brothers at the National Memorial Arboretum

On 4 July, HMDT Music’s Project Trench Brothers, written by Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor to a libretto by Tertia Sefton-Green, was performed as part of the Lichfield Festival at the National Memorial Arboretum’s unique outdoor setting of remembrance. The spirit of remembrance was well and truly alive for this performance which featured MOBO nominated Jazz Singer Cleveland Watkiss, opera singer Damian Thantrey, puppeteers Anna Pool and Jane O’Donoghue, and 120 local school children.

In the lead up to the performance, the school children had taken part in a series of workshops and rehearsals based around World War 1, and teachers worked with over 90 lesson plans, all linked in to the National Curriculum, to further enrich and expand the student’s knowledge. Students had the opportunity to ‘meet an Indian World War 1 Soldier’ in a session led by Ranj Nagra; handle and ask questions about WW1 artefacts with John Meredith, make puppet soldiers led by the Little Angel Theatre and even compose their own letter song ready for the performance at the NMA with composers Jenny Gould and John Webb. On top of this, they also took part in two full day rehearsals with Freya Wynn-Jones (Director) and Jenny Gould (Musical Director) prior to transferring to the NMA stage!

The performance itself was a huge success and a credit to the young people and the whole team – but you don’t need to take our word for it! A reviewhas been published on the Lichfield Festival’s website, written by Oliver Gill, a young person who attended the performance at the National Memorial Arboretum.

HMDT Music and Trench Brothers has also taken part in other events at the NMA – as part of the British Legions’ Youth Thank You project to which two of our Indian Costumed Interpreters ran inspiring drill sessions, and our designers held ‘Design a Memorial’ workshops.

Also appearing at the NMA was the Trench Brothers exhibition. The exhibition, a creative response to the untold stories of minority ethnic soldiers in World War I, which was visited during the month of July by over 24,000 people.

I Can Sing! Taster Session – 22 Sept 2018

 

Do you enjoy singing, dancing and acting?

Come and join HMDT Music for a one-off  I Can Sing! Taster on Saturday 22 September, and experience the excitement of music theatre, led by our fantastic team of professional artists.

The morning will offer prospective I Can Sing! students the chance to watch a performance by current students, gain new skills, build confidence and make new friends!

Sessions will include singing, dancing and drama and require no previous experience. I Can Sing! is for ages 5 – 14 and draws on repertoire that includes classic Broadway numbers alongside our original commissions.

What are the timings?

The taster students are invited to join the first session of the term (22 September) with our I Can Sing! Groups according to their school year.

Minis (Years 1 & 2) – 09:50am – 11:25am

Junior 1 (Years 3 & 4) – 10:00am – 12:45am

Junior 2 (Year 5 & 6) – 10:00pm – 1:45pm

Seniors (Year 7 +) 09:00am – 12:45pm

This sounds great – how do I sign up?

 

CLICK TO APPLY NOW!

 

Spaces are limited so make your application now. We will get back to you ASAP to confirm your place. The taster session costs £20.00 – payable when you accept your place.

If you sign up for the term the taster fee will be deducted from the first term’s fee!

Where does the taster take place?

At HMDT Music’s Saturday Programme in Haggerston School, E2 8LS.

For more information on I Can Sing! and the rest of the Saturday Programme click here.

To discuss I Can Sing! or any other part of the Saturday Programme, please contact the office on 020 8882 8825.

Julian Joseph Jazz Academy – Summer Courses

SUMMER JAZZ COURSE FOR BEGINNERS

TUESDAY 28 AUGUST – FRIDAY 31 AUGUST 2018
10.00AM – 5.00PM  at Bridge Academy, E2 8BA

 

A unique, four-day course designed for students aged 9 – 14, who want to learn jazz – or more about jazz.

 

Using the methodology developed at the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, students will be introduced to the rich history and styles of Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock and Charles Mingus through the focused study of a small number of classic jazz recordings. They will be taught how to access, appreciate and perform this great music through a series of inspiring workshops – and make firm friends in the process!

 

The course culminates in a relaxed and enjoyable performance at the end of the last day, open to all family and friends.

 

For more detailed information about the course, click HERE.

 

The full four-day course costs £199.00  – payable when you accept the place.

Discounted fees £179.00 available for students who attend Bridge Academy, the Jazz Blues Course or the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy.

BIG BAND COURSE

TUESDAY 21 AUGUST – FRIDAY 24 AUGUST
10.00AM – 5.00PM  at Bridge Academy, E2 8BA

 

Come and join us for a special four-day course focusing on the music and styles of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Students will learn the rich history behind the music; gain experience playing as part of a large jazz ensemble; build confidence reading Big Band charts and meet like-minded musicians in the process.

 

Each day will be split into three sessions:

  • Full Workshops
  • Sectionals
  • Jam Sessions

 

The four days will culminate with a relaxed performance for all friends and family.

 

The course will be at the home of JJJA, Bridge Academy, E2 8BA, and is specifically for sax, trumpet, trombone and rhythm section players (approx. grade 5 +, no audition required) though places are limited (especially for rhythm section players), so book now to reserve a place and avoid disappointment.

 

The full four-day course costs £179.00  – payable when you accept the place.

Discounted fees £159.00 available for students who attend Bridge Academy, the Jazz Blues Course or the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy.

 

APPLY BELOW NOW WHILE PLACES STILL REMAIN!

 

APPLY NOW

 


 

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Trench Brothers – New Performance Dates launched

TRENCH BROTHERS 

17 October. Brighton Dome. 7pm

 A new music theatre work commemorating ethnic minority soldiers in World War One
Music:  Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor
Words:  Tertia Sefton-Green
 Tickets are available through the BRIGHTON DOME and cost £12.

A new music theatre work commemorating the contributions of ethnic minority soldiers during the First World War through music, theatre and puppetry, bringing to life their hopes and fears, their longing for home, their camaraderie, courage and valour.

Directed by Clare Whistler and Freya Wynn-Jones to Neil Irish’s designs, it features over 250 children from local primary schools in Brighton, Newhaven, Lewes and Seaford alongside acclaimed jazz vocalist of the year and MOBO nominated Cleveland Watkiss and ‘superb’ (The Times) opera singer Damian Thantrey.

Renowned jazz composer Julian Joseph and award-winning composer Richard Taylor are joined by composers Michael Betteridge, Jenny Gould, Matthew King, James Redwood and Omar Shahryar in a unique collaboration drawing together work developed with schools across London, Lancashire and the South East since 2014.

This powerful centenary event is made all the more poignant by its location in Brighton Dome, which served as an Indian Military Hospital during the war.

The Trench Brothers Exhibition will be at Newhaven Fort from 4 August to 5 November offering a creative response to the untold stories of ethnic minority soldiers in the First World War. For more information on the interactive exhibition, please see our EXHIBITION PAGE.

Trench Brothers was created with support from Heritage Lottery Fund.

 

Trench Brothers visits the National Memorial Arboretum as part of the Lichfield Festival!

4 July 2018, 6pm.

FREE : Pre-booking required through the NMA website.

Performed in National Memorial Arboretum’s unique outdoor setting of remembrance, this inspiring and moving performance features MOBO nominated jazz singer Cleveland Watkiss, opera singer Damian Thantrey, puppetry and 120 local school children.

The Trench Brothers performance is a culmination of a project with local primary schools in which students explore the contributions of ethnic minority soldiers in the First World War though a series of workshops including artefacts handling, a visit from an Indian Army costumed interpreter, a composition session to set their Letters Home from a given soldier to music and puppet making to create their own force of Trench Brothers puppets. Their learning is supported by the Trench Brothers Education Zone offering contextual information and 90 lesson plans and activities linked to the curriculum

Trench Brothers also has a temporary exhibition at the NMA which is also FREE to visit – for more information please see our EXHIBITION PAGE.

 

Check out Saturday Programme News

This is the New Sat prog news page – check back soon.

 

Days of Shakespeare – Fear, greed, treachery and hatred

Weavers Academy opened Creative Education Trust’s double Days of Shakespeare with Richard III; the drama and background narrative cleverly integrated in three ingenious twisting frames and several excellent performances: villainy never looked so good. Lynn Grove’s Romeo and Juliet proceeded from comedy to sorrow with elegance and charm. Caister’s As You Like it closed the first day; this complex tale of exile and disguise brought into relief by the students’ confident and energetic use of the stage. As the company of actors transformed themselves with props and sound and movement into the forest of Arden, a memorable image was created for everyone in Abbeyfield’s auditorium.

Abbeyfield themselves opened the second day with Julius Caesar; grand and classical in its themes of republican power and politics, but with an undertow of moral complexity and decadence. The exemplary diction of the sixth form actors was an inspiration to younger players in the audience. Thistley Hough re-cast Twelfth Night in the campsite of a rained-out music festival, Count Orsino importuning music, the food of love, to his iPhone while Olivia scowled at hers. Ash Green’s Macbeth drew outstanding performances by the leads, supported by a confident cast of witches and men. The Hart School’s Much Ado About Nothing reminded us that we were watching human fauna at play in pursuit of love, as an anoraked cast of birdwatchers returned iteratively to their binoculars.

The Days of Shakespeare was devised for Creative Education Trust by HMDT Music four years ago and includes early interventions on text and design by the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Michael Corbidge and the designer Mark Friend. They have become treasured opportunities to perform some of the greatest works in English literature and design an absorbing visual spectacle. Most importantly, it is a chance for students to see what other schools in the trust have done and to witness their own creativity and skill in a wider perspective. Congratulations to the actors, designers and directors and an especial thank you to Richard Walker-Glen and his technical team at Abbeyfield School.

Article by Emily Campbell, Creative Education Trust

Meet our Team! Interview with Jason Rowland – composer and workshop leader

Artist Name: Jason Rowland
Artist Role(s): Leader for Music Treehouse
Date first worked with HMDT Music: 11/10/16

What you remember most:
The performance that I really remember was based on a photograph of a “lit grapefruit segment” (The SP theme that term was fruit!). It had 13 segments which led us straight in a time signature of 13/8. Each of the 3 groups had created a movement for the piece and each one led into the next and had overlapping moments. The rhythms and melodies created were quite complex and a real challenge for the group. The excitement and sense of achievement for the group after the performance was incredible and gave the group a real boost forward.

Project impact:
We had a session recently where a participant started to play the piano, something that he hadn’t shown an interest in before. As happens in this session he led the piece and the group followed. It has to be just one of the best musical moments so far. A duet started between him and a tutor whilst the rest of us gave accompaniment. There was everything you would want from a piece of music, dynamics, space, musical control and awareness. The piece lasted for a good 15 minutes and we all agreed afterwards that the piece could easily fit into our CD collections!

What do you like most about Music Treehouse?:
Music Treehouse is a fantastic project as whilst we have structure to our sessions they are musically led by the group. Their role is to create music with their instruments or voice and then go through the more traditional processes of refinement and rehearsal. We allow the group to make musical decisions and have control of everything that they do in the sessions which is something that they are not always able to do in their everyday life.

What else are you working on at the moment?:
I’m currently working with The Philharmonia on a music technology project, an SEND project with Snape Maltings writing new songs in response to the Friday Afternoon Songs, LPO and Trinity Laban’s Animate Orchestra and All in sound, a singing project for dementia sufferers.

Any advice to young artists wanting to work in the arts or music?
Work hard, have fun and opportunities will come to you.

Trench Brothers 2018

Trench Brothers at NMA

We’re delighted that St Joseph’s RC Primary School, Lichfield and Blackwood School, Sutton Coldfield will be taking part in Trench Brothers this summer and performing with team of Cleveland Watkiss and Damian Thantrey in the grounds of The National Memorial Arboretum.

NMA’s centre of Remembrance offers a spiritually uplifting setting honouring the fallen and those who have sacrificed and given service, giving the project a unique new dimension for its first public outing. Alongside the performances on 4th July (which are the culmination of schools’ work with artefacts handling, a costumed interpreter, song writing and puppet making), our Trench Brothers Exhibition will be showcased in NMA’s temporary exhibition space which is expected to be visited by 40,000 people during the month of July.

In partnership with    and      

 

Thanks to support from     

 

 

 

 

Trench Brothers South East

 

This new phase of the Trench Brothers’ journey includes a research project by local volunteers led by partners Strike a Light (link) to explore the impact the presence of the Indian Military Hospitals in Brighton and the British West Indies training camp at Seaford, had on local communities at the time. Our 18 volunteers will undertake research at The Keep, visit the Chattri Memorial and a tour of Seaford’s historical sites as part of their research which will lead to the creation of new exhibition material.

 

The Trench Brothers Exhibition will be shown in the extraordinary setting of Newhaven Fort’s Grand Magazine from August to November and will include both artwork and writings by local schools and the findings from the research project, supported by a programme of Family and Public events.

 

From April we will be working with 6-8 schools across Brighton, Newhaven and Lewes who will undertake a range of workshops and cross-curricular study in preparation for rehearsals in the Autumn term.

 

Trench Brothers at Brighton Dome will be a large-scale performance of the music theatre work by Julian Joseph and Richard Taylor, under the dome which housed an Indian Military hospital over a 100 years ago. It will involve nearly 300 children, musicians including students from our Julian Joseph Jazz Academy, Indian tabla and Sitar trio and artists Cleveland Watkiss and Damian Thantrey, directed by Clare Whistler and Freya Wynn-Jones. Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green is expanding her libretto to include many Letter Songs by children who have participated across London and Lancashire since 2014, which will be orchestrated by Michael Betteridge, Matthew King, Jenny Gould, Omar Shahryar.

 

This promises to be an extraordinary event and tickets will be on sale soon.

Photo: Clive Barda

In partnership with     

 

Thanks to support from

            

 

 

Trench Brothers Performance Photo: Clive Barda

Theory of Everything Creative

Theory of Everything Creative, our new project with Creative Education Trust, engages their seven secondary Academies across the Midlands and Great Yarmouth in the creation and development of a new song-cycle. It is inspired by CET’s teaching methodology: Knowledge Connected which embraces key concepts of structure, pattern, meaning, performance, human interaction and practice.

 

In October 2017 20 Year 8 students from each school started the lyric writing process alongside professional writers Derek Martin, Peter Spafford, Harry Oulton and Shey Hargreaves. Each school was allocated a key concept and together they explored basic lyric writing techniques and styles before developing ideas and creating their own lyrics.

 

These lyrics are now being set to music by different Year 8 and 9 students supported by composers Matthew King, Jenny Gould, Michael Betteridge, John Webb and Richard Taylor. In these sessions, they are exploring different genres so that the students have ownership of their own ideas and input their own musical thoughts.

 

The finished songs will then be rehearsed by Years 7-9 choirs at each school before they all travel across the country to perform together at Abbeyfield School in Northampton on July 17th 2018. We are really looking forward to hearing what they have created – watch this space for an update!

One Spirit – update March 2018

The last 12 months of One Spirit activities have been very successful. The project has engaged over 200 young people/adults, delivering residencies in HMPs Aylesbury and Highdown and HMYOIs Feltham and Cookham Wood, and continues to work with young people/adults in the community in West, East and South London offering them further opportunities to increase their musical skills and get help and support with resettlement.

Working in custody, in general, has become more challenging over the last 12 plus months due to a number of factors: the shortages in prison staff across the whole sector has made the environment more volatile with increased security issues; the number of young people/adults in prison for violent crimes has risen, increasing the risk of violence within prisons themselves; and amidst the ever increasing need for education providers to succeed in the pay by results format OS has had to work harder to keep a space for arts based work.

A significant achievement for OS at HMYOI Feltham has been securing a separate workshop space in which to deliver its projects. It took almost 6 months, along with additional training, for OS to get the NVQ Hut in Feltham’s workshops area. The move has proved to be very successful and provided learners with a much calmer environment in which to work, and the participants have appreciated this; one young person commented “the environment was very calm and I felt I was able to be myself”. The quality of work, depth of engagement and general behaviour has increased and this has had a clear benefit for all participants. Another young person, frequently involved in fights with other yps, commented “There’s no point getting involved in stupid fights because if I do they won’t bring me down to you in the Hut”.

Projects at HMYOI Cookham Wood have continued to yield great results, with some participants winning Koestler Awards for their work. At HMP Highdown and Aylesbury OS has helped participants to apply entrepreneurial thinking to their musical work and enabled participants to make sense of what they can do with their musical skills once they leave custody.
93% of all OS participants in custody declared they felt better about the future after working with OS; 71% admitted feeling more motivated and self disciplined; 98% declared they felt generally more confident in themselves after working with OS. Of those who highlighted issues with anger and frustration 100% declared that working on the project had helped them to cope with these issues.
“I enjoyed working with the Hackney Music staff as they taught me a lot and helped me develop as a person”.

In the community OS has worked with a range of young people/adults on release, 31 in total, whose needs and progression varies enormously. One young person is about to complete a university degree and go into event management, some are finding their feet in the world of employment or further education and some are still struggling to avoid the influences and pitfalls that led them to prison in the first place. 84% of those on the Through the Gate program have not reoffended in 1+ year of release, 63% are in full or part time employment, 32% are in or have recently completed college/FE.

Article: Charlie Parker, Project Manager, One Spirit

 

With thanks to:

        

 

I Can Sing! Taster Session – 24 March 2018

 

Do you enjoy singing, dancing and acting?

Come and join HMDT Music for a one-off  I Can Sing! Taster on Saturday 24 March, and experience the excitement of music theatre, led by a fantastic team professional artists.

The morning will offer prospective I Can Sing! students the chance to watch a performance by current students, gain new skills, build confidence and make new friends!

Sessions will include singing, dancing and drama and require no previous experience. I Can Sing! is for ages 5 – 14 and draws on repertoire that includes classic Broadway numbers alongside our original commissions.

What are the timings?

11:30am – 12:30pm – Come and watch current I Can Sing! students in their end of term showing. A fantastic opportunity to see what it is all about!

12:30pm – 1:30pm – Group 1 Taster Session

12:30pm – 2:00pm – Group 2 Taster

We will assign you to a group based upon age and participant numbers, the week of 20 March. Each session will finish with an informal showing to parents so that they can see what the students have been working on!

This sounds great – how do I sign up?

Apply here for a place on the taster day.

Spaces are limited so make your application now. We will get back to you ASAP to confirm your place. The taster session costs £10.00 – payable when you accept your place.

Where does the taster take place?

At HMDT Music’s Saturday Programme in Haggerston School, E2 8LS.

For more information on I Can Sing! and the rest of the Saturday Programme click here.

To discuss I Can Sing! or any other part of the Saturday Programme, please contact the office on 020 8882 8825.

Trench Brothers – Lancashire Tour: An update

The touring Trench Brothers Exhibition has enjoyed a fantastic stay at the Lancaster Maritime Museum and Fylde Gallery and is currently on display at Clitheroe Castle, alongside a programme of family events.

Phillipa & Eva

/ Visitor

Very interesting exhibition which I didn’t know anything about. Very factual and entertaining. Lovely work by the children.

It uses elements of the Trench Brothers project to introduce the context of soldiers from the Indian Army, British West Indies and black British soldiers. It focuses on stories of eight soldiers and shows some of the many responses from children participating in the project through art, creative writing and music.

Carla

/ Visitor

A moving exhibition. Well done.

On Remembrance Day itself, over fifty participants took part in a creative exercise where they constructed their own model Sopwith Camels to commemorate the life of Hardit Singh Malik, whose story is told in the exhibition.

 

Daphne

/ Visitor

Thank you for this exhibition. My grandfather died at the Neue Chappelle battle, and my great-uncle was shot at dawn, as a deserter. He was 19 and obviously suffering from shell-shock!

PLUS

The Exhibition will be shown at Newhaven Fort from August 2018. A large-scale commemorative performance of the Trench Brothers music theatre work will take place at Brighton Dome on 17 October 2018.

TIME – Video update!

This video is one example of the culmination of HMDT Music’s TIME (Testing the Impact, Measuring the Effect) project. The final phase of TIME was for Queen Eleanor Primary Academy to develop its own project supported by guest artist visits and for this, they chose to focus on their school values and visions and find ways of expressing these through the arts with a view to creating a permanent record and display. We chose to explore a range of genres through music and the visual arts, and create art works to be displayed across the school together with songs representing each value and vision.

 

Year 2 were given Endeavour as their value and they chose to represent this through an animation about their class mascot, Engelburt the Elephant. They decided to use the character to demonstrate how endeavour fits in with their daily lives at Queen Eleanor Primary Academy.

 

Film Maker – Stacey Hembury
Composer & Pianist – Jenny Gould

Fundraising for Music Treehouse

You may have heard about the Music Treehouse, our SEN/D project that runs as part of our Saturday Programme – it’s offered for free but many of the students who desperately need to attend are unable to do so due to the cost of taking a weekly specialist taxi.

 

We have tried to cover this cost as much as possible but there are still many students that we are unable to help. This is where you come in – we’re asking you to help us provide the transportation that these young musicians need.

 

Every little helps and please feel free to share the link as much as possible – we’re hoping to meet our goal by Christmas!

You can find out more about the campaign and donate by clicking here.

Aviva Community Fund

We are competing for the Aviva Community Fund and we are through to the public voting stage. In order to secure a place in the final, we need to gather as many votes as possible during the voting period.

What are we hoping to fund?

Music Treehouse (MT) is for SEN/D children who have a wide spectrum of needs. It includes children who are isolated and struggle with issues around communication and interaction, who have profound Autism, difficulties with Mental and Emotional Health and sensory and physical disabilities. MT is a hugely important project for a community of young people and their families who struggle to find out of school activities that are accessible, engaging and life-enhancing. It provides a fun, secure, environment where children can learn and practice vital life skills, and are provided with a safe environment in which to develop their confidence and well-being.

 

Seeing a child’s face and the pride that they feel when they have the ability to make music is simply exhilarating and the health benefits of the sensory and kinaesthetic nature of music cannot be underestimated. Assisted by a specialist team, they learn to play and interact through creative music composition creating personal, and intricate pieces of music.

 

 

However, they really need specialist equipment which fulfils different needs as having the right instruments is hugely important. MT is still in its infancy but is already oversubscribed meaning we desperately need to purchase a collection of specialist instruments to supplement the ones we currently borrow. We currently have no electronic instruments, so can’t properly serve students with severe mobility disabilities and only a very limited range of standard percussion. A £5,000 grant would allow us to purchase a pool of instruments enabling us to create a fully inclusive ensemble and the impact would be immediate for our students.

 

• Large strengthened drums which students can sit on to feel the vibrations;
• Tuned percussion with specialist mallets to facilitate grip for students with limited dexterity;
• Kaoss Pads and amps for students with limited mobility;
• Specialist non-tuned percussion: bracelet shakers, mark trees, afruches, and soundboards;
• Nuvo clarinets, flutes and pBones: lightweight plastic instruments which can stand a lot of use, and are wonderful for students with more movement and less profound disabilities.

 

We currently have 40 core students at Music Treehouse, who would greatly benefit from this grant and a reach of over 100 more in collaboration with local special schools who are extremely supportive of the programme:

Teacher

/ Ickburgh School

My pupils are thrilled to take part. Their enthusiasm is outstanding and they love to tell their friends at school about MT. This has helped build their confidence and discover hidden talents they never thought they had!

 

The families of children with SEN/D often feel very isolated – the SP has a thriving and supportive community spirit with parents and students from across all programmes forming new friendship groups. The Programme is a place for families to meet other families in similar situations over coffee and cakes in our tuckshop. Likewise, the students not only have the opportunity to socialise with their group but also with the other students at the Programme. This social aspect is hugely beneficial to MT families’ well-being, with our staff always finding time for those who need a helping hand.

 

Music Treehouse Parent

A really happy environment to learn and have fun. My child so looks forward to attending – thank you for everything!

What we need you to do:

1. Visit our page & register CLICK HERE
2. You will be sent an activation link via email when you register (check spam).
3. Click that link & complete your profile.
4. Return to our page and use the VOTE button – you have TEN (10) votes so please make sure you use all TEN (10) for us!
5. Share this post or our Aviva page with your friends & family, encourage them to register and vote.

 

What else can I do to help? 

We are also raising money for the Music Treehouse transport fund through GoGetFunding

DONATE NOW!

Brandenburg Choral Festival supporting HMDT Music

HMDT Music is delighted to announce that the Brandenburg Choral Festival is supporting HMDT Music at one of their concerts in their Autumn 2017 Series. Taking place on the 5th November at 5pm in the beautiful St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, this concert given by the Minerva Consort and conducted by John Andrews, will feature Mendelssohn’s Hear my Prayer and a stunning A Cappella programme including music from Bach, Schütz and Eric Whitacre.

 

We hope that you will come and join us for a wonderful Sunday afternoon concert!

 

Tickets cost £23 (premium), £18 (unreserved) and Children £5.

 

To purchase tickets please visit this PURCHASE PAGE LINK which will ensure that a proportion of your ticket cost will go towards supporting HMDT Music.

Trench Brothers Exhibition

Today sees the launch of our long awaited Trench Brothers exhibition! 

Touring three locations around Lancashire, the interactive exhibition is a creative response to the untold stories of ethnic minorities in the First World War.

For further details, check out the dedicated exhibition page on this website and feel free to explore and discover more about the project.

ABRSM Success, Yet Again!

We are pleased to announce that our latest batch of students to take their ABRSM exams have done very well, with all of our students passing their exam, with over half of them achieving a merit or distinction grade – 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, with better results coming from students who do a full day at the Saturday Programme, beyond one-to-one lessons.

As with the last batch of results, 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. We hope that our recent introduction of the All-In-One Music Theory book, along with other resources that we will be looking to offer to parents, will 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.

Impact tested, effect measured – TIME comes to an end.

The end of time is usually a cause for concern, but with the conclusion of our TIME project, the end of TIME (testing impact, measuring effect), is a chance to celebrate and reflect upon more than a year of hard work. The project saw as its conclusion the launch of a DVD and book, which detail the responses of the children of Queen Eleanor Primary Academy to their school’s vision and values.

Daniel Smith

Headteacher / Queen Eleanor Primary Academy

This project has been all about what it adds to our school and there is no doubt that the additions have been significant – both in terms of professional capital and collective achievement.

We worked with teachers throughout the year to deliver a way for them to enrich their own teaching by sharing our tried and tested methodology of embedding the arts within all aspects of the curriculum.

Daniel Smith

Headteacher / Queen Eleanor Primary Academy

The initial workshops helped to focus the teachers on the importance of skill development within the more creative subjects as well as to get to know their classes better as budding artists, musicians and actors.

Working together, the school decided that the end product would take the form of each class responding to a specific vision or value, through the arts. At the very start of the project, it would not have been possible to predict the enthusiasm and creativity that the children would display as the weeks and months passed. Each class worked with a composer to write and record a song that exemplified their value or vision, utilising a wide range of genres and influences including jazz, rap, gospel and soft rock.

Daniel Smith

Headteacher / Queen Eleanor Primary Academy

At the outset, it was really important to ensure that the work that we undertook complemented and indeed enhanced the school’s journey towards excellence whilst also providing something substantial and lasting. I am pleased that this has been the case. The use of our school vision and values as the subject matter certainly helped with this endeavour.

Alongside the song, each class worked on more varied projects that allowed them to explore their theme in greater detail with the help of a specialist in different artistic fields. This ranged from building a rhino sculpture to demonstrate Resilience…

 

The mighty rhino of Resilience!

The mighty rhino of Resilience!

 

to collaborative collages to celebrate Collaboration…

 

All hands on deck!

All hands on deck!

 

as well as photography, puppetry and animation.

 

The songs, recorded in a professional studio, are celebrated on a DVD to keep a lasting record of the pupils’ works. This, along with QEPA’s Fantastic Book of Values, will allow the school to look back at what they have achieved and serve as a positive reinforcement of their values and visions.

Daniel Smith

Headteacher / Queen Eleanor Primary Academy

I’m absolutely delighted with the quality of the finished articles.

For us, it has also been a valuable opportunity to evaluate our methodology in detail and assess its impact, as well as to develop it through CPD training to enhance teachers’ skills, an experience we are looking to expand and replicate.

We would like to extend our thanks to the staff and students of QEPA for their commitment to the project. The TIME project was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, whose generosity made all of this possible, for which we are very grateful.

Trench Brothers – Lancashire Tour

Trench Brothers is our First World War project that brings to life the lives of Black and Indian soldiers and commemorates their contributions. After running the project in schools around London, this summer saw the project taken on a tour around Lancashire in partnership with the Heritage Team at Lancashire County Council. The tour covered the length and breadth of the county, visiting primary schools from Blackpool to Burnley and was well extremely well received wherever it went, but don’t just take our word for it:

 

Justine North

/ Worsthorne

As a school located in a traditionally ‘White English’ village, we often find our children and families have little knowledge or empathy with other cultures. It has been valuable for our school to embrace the contributions made to the war effort by black soldiers.

 

We have been thrilled by the warm reception that the project received in every school that it visited. The pupils, teachers and parents showed our team nothing but a tremendous amount of appreciation and enthusiasm.

 

Students receive four workshops along with over 90 commissioned lesson plans, which inform their understanding of the topic by integrating learning about the First World War across the curriculum. You can learn more about this by clicking here.

 

For the tour, we partnered with several local organisations and performers to deliver the workshops.

 

The artefact handling workshop was provided by Lancashire County Council Heritage team:

 

Ruby Patel

/ St. Augustine’s

When the children wrote their diary extract, they wrote descriptively and passionately about their experience of being a soldier in the British army.

Justine North

/ Worsthorne

The children appreciate that there was a lot more to life in the war than fighting. It made them think more about life in the trenches.

 

Ranj Nagra played the role of an Indian Havildar to give students a first-hand experience of what life would have been like for young recruits.

image1

Claire Clarke

/ Willow Lane

[One child] adored the Havildar session and stayed in role as a soldier throughout. She wrote an excellent piece in role as a Havildar talking about him and how he treated the other soldiers.

 

Led by puppeteers from the Horse and Bamboo Theatre, students crafted their own puppet in the likeness of an Indian or BWIR soldier.

 

puppetpilling

A student from Piling St. John proudly shows off his BWIR puppet.

 

Colette Hardman

/ Reedley

Most of our children find art and craft skill difficult, however, Horse and Bamboo engaged the children with their step by step instructions. This allowed the children to keep focus, follow the instructions and complete the task that they are proud of.

 

Once all the workshops are complete, the students prepared for their final performance of our Trench Brothers music theatre piece by composers Julian Joseph, Richard Taylor and libretto by our own Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green. They learnt the songs for the show, including their Letter Song about a given soldier they have written the lyrics for and set to music with a composer.

 

Justine North

/ Worsthorne

They learned that they can be song writers and composers. They gained confidence to sing in front of their peers and were proud to have their ideas included in the song.

 

On the day itself, our team of 8 turned up in each school with all the necessary equipment and, in the space of a few hours, got the children ready for their performance! We are delighted to say that each school put on a fantastic performance, one that will be recorded on our Legacy Site shortly.

 

Chris Allton

/ Cliviger

I could not believe the amount of time and resources provided to the school and the final product at the end.

 

Claire Clarke

/ Willow Lane

What an opportunity for our children! We have never done anything like this before at our school and I was astonished with the results. We loved learning our songs and taking part in a show with another year group. All the children were so proud of the part they’ve played and the feedback from parents has been amazing. One parent said ‘Best thing I’ve ever seen.,

 

francisveterans

The students of St. Francis of Assisi invited local veterans to watch the performance.

 

The schools involved in the project will also be contributing some of their work to the Trench Brothers exhibition, which will shortly begin its own tour of Lancashire starting on 10 August at Lancashire Maritime Museum. There, the children’s work will be found alongside fascinating memorabilia and displays that will bring the Trench Brothers experience to life.

 

Colette Hardman

/ Reedley

I have learnt from the staff provided new ways to engage children’s learning. I have developed as a teacher to engage students in new ways.

 

We would like to extend our thanks to all of our partners on this project, as well as the Heritage Lottery Fund, whose generous support made the project possible.

*NEW FOR AUTUMN 2017* – CYMH ACADEMY

Who is it for?

  • Secondary School Students only
  • Grade 5 plus on instrument / voice
  • Students who are taking, or thinking of taking GCSE, A-Level Music or IB Music at Standard or Higher Level.
  • Students who want to make music with other like minded students
  • Students who are interested in exploring music from different genres, cultures and eras.

What will the Academy offer students?

  • The opportunity to take part in masterclasses in composition, leadership, conducting and performance technique with specialist guest tutors across a broad range of genres.
  • Support for their school studies – CYMH Academy offers a perfect complement to GCSE, A-Level music classes, IB Music at Standard or Higher Level.
  • Sessions including: Ensemble, Conducting, Composition, Performance, Analysis and History of Music.
  • Orchestra – singers/pianists are encouraged to hone their ensemble skills by playing in the percussion section of the orchestra!
  • The option to participate with or without individual instrumental lessons
  • Proposed guest artists include: Natalie Clein (cellist), Paul Griffiths (Composer and leader), Katie Thomas (conductor and Monteverdi Choir) and Jacquelyn Hynes (Irish Cultural Centre Flautist).

Is it auditioned?

  • No audition will be required for Autumn 2017 term. Confirmation from your teacher of your grade (if you don’t take exams), or your latest grade certificate is all that is needed.

When / Where does it happen? 

  • Between 12.30pm and 3.15pm Saturday at Haggerston School, Hackney, E2 as part of the Saturday Programme.

How much does it cost? 

  • £198 (no instrumental lesson)
  • £291 (with 30 minute individual instrumental lesson)
  • £12 one-off membership fee
  • Bursary rates available.

How do I join? 

Please fill in THIS APPLICATION FORM

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the office, either through email: info@hmdt.org.uk or via phone 020 8882 8825

JJJA Junior Summer Course – Now accepting applications!

Jazz fans rejoice!

HMDT Music and the Julian Joesph Jazz Academy are offering an exciting new Summer Course.

Students will spend four days getting to grips with the building blocks of Jazz, familiarising themselves with these elements so that they have the confidence they need for improvisation and performance.

 

Held at Bridge Academy, the usual home of JJJA, this course has been carefully constructed by Alex Thomas-French using the well-loved methodology developed by the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy. Through intense study of jazz, students will learn what it means to be a jazz musician, their place in the world of jazz and how to work effectively with other musicians.

 

This is a wonderful opportunity for any aspiring jazz musicians to explore their passion in depth and to share that passion with others. Firm friendships are sure to be forged through the playing of jazz – friendships which will make the resulting performances all the much better.

 

If you know someone who might be interested, you can find more details on this website through the sidebar or by clicking HERE

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

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

Print

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

 

 

 

 

Music Treehouse: An exciting new music project for Students with SEN/D

When? Saturdays at 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Where? Haggerston School, Weymouth Terrace, E8
What? Students will work with specially trained musicians and a music therapist to have fun creating music using a range of instruments and resources.
How much? This branch of Music Treehouse is FREE

Music Treehouse is a two year project that will run on Saturdays for 10 sessions during the school term.
In the Autumn, the pilot project took place on: 5, 12, 19, 26 November 2016

To find out more or sign up your child just CLICK HERE.

TIME: Testing Impact and Measuring Effect

Thanks to a generous grant from Paul Hamlyn Foundation, TIME enables us to work closely with Queen Eleanor’s Primary Academy in Northampton to both help develop their use of creativity and the arts across the curriculum and measure the impact of our methodology in embedding the arts, using skills development and performance projects.

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HMDT News

One Spirit - Update June 2024

Since the easing of Pandemic restrictions (2022) One Spirit has developed and extended its delivery to weekly provision in 5 establishments, both custodial and alternative provision education, and intensified its community offering, including curating Release on Temporary Licence provision for young people referred from HMYOI Feltham and Cookham Wood, as well as working with young […]

Read More

HMDT Music's Gavin Stewart completes his PhD

  We’re extremely proud to announce that our Senior Manager, Gavin Stewart, has completed his PhD, and is now officially Dr. Gavin Stewart! Here’s what he has to say on his research:   “I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself to explore what my instrument and I can do, and this research was a natural convergence point […]

Read More

The Big Give 2024 Update!

The Big Give has officially ENDED! We are blown away by your support and would like to express our gratitude for your generous donations which have enabled us to over-reach our target and raise £10,459 for Music Treehouse which will help us ensure that we can sustain this transformative programme for children and young people […]

Read More

Trench Brothers Lancashire

trenchbrothers_logo4_500x310pxFollowing the success of our First World War project, Trench Brothers, which focusses on the contributions and achievements of ethnic minority soldiers, we are delighted to be expanding the project to Lancashire.

Working in partnership with the Heritage Learning Team of Lancashire County Council, Trench Brothers will be delivered in local primary schools supported by a new interactive touring exhibition and family events, inspired by the children’s response to the subject matter.

Go to Trench Brothers site

Go to Trench Brothers Education Zone

We are extremely grateful to Heritage Lottery Fund for its generous continued support of Trench Brothers.

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HMDT News

One Spirit - Update June 2024

Since the easing of Pandemic restrictions (2022) One Spirit has developed and extended its delivery to weekly provision in 5 establishments, both custodial and alternative provision education, and intensified its community offering, including curating Release on Temporary Licence provision for young people referred from HMYOI Feltham and Cookham Wood, as well as working with young […]

Read More

HMDT Music's Gavin Stewart completes his PhD

  We’re extremely proud to announce that our Senior Manager, Gavin Stewart, has completed his PhD, and is now officially Dr. Gavin Stewart! Here’s what he has to say on his research:   “I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself to explore what my instrument and I can do, and this research was a natural convergence point […]

Read More

The Big Give 2024 Update!

The Big Give has officially ENDED! We are blown away by your support and would like to express our gratitude for your generous donations which have enabled us to over-reach our target and raise £10,459 for Music Treehouse which will help us ensure that we can sustain this transformative programme for children and young people […]

Read More

We’ll Meet Again – Secondary School Students Commemorate the Second World War

We’ll Meet Again commemorated the 70th Anniversary of the Second World War, with performances and Art Exhibitions by Year 7 students from eight Secondary schools in Norfolk and The Midlands.

On 17 March 2016, over 200 students came together from across the country to perform We’ll Meet Again a new work comprising world premieres of new song-cycle commissions by writer Stephen Plaice and Composer Matthew King and revivals of excerpts from three existing HMDT Music commissions by composers Jonathan Dove and Matthew King and writers Alasdair Middleton and Tertia Sefton-Green.

Each section, allocated to a different school, represented various aspects of the War and with it a range of emotional experiences embracing themes of fear, humour, loss, friendship, family, patriotism, defiance and above all, as was overwhelming displayed by children living through the experiences of the Holocaust, that of hope.

The large-scale performance was preceded by local showings in schools and community venues, supported by Art Exhibitions showcasing work from each of the 8 participating schools in every venue.

We’ll Meet Again was developed by HMDT Music for Creative Education Trust

Video by Primo


 

HMDT News

One Spirit - Update June 2024

Since the easing of Pandemic restrictions (2022) One Spirit has developed and extended its delivery to weekly provision in 5 establishments, both custodial and alternative provision education, and intensified its community offering, including curating Release on Temporary Licence provision for young people referred from HMYOI Feltham and Cookham Wood, as well as working with young […]

Read More

HMDT Music's Gavin Stewart completes his PhD

  We’re extremely proud to announce that our Senior Manager, Gavin Stewart, has completed his PhD, and is now officially Dr. Gavin Stewart! Here’s what he has to say on his research:   “I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself to explore what my instrument and I can do, and this research was a natural convergence point […]

Read More

The Big Give 2024 Update!

The Big Give has officially ENDED! We are blown away by your support and would like to express our gratitude for your generous donations which have enabled us to over-reach our target and raise £10,459 for Music Treehouse which will help us ensure that we can sustain this transformative programme for children and young people […]

Read More

20th Anniversary Fundraising dinner and concert

On Wednesday Evening, HMDT Music held a dinner and concert in the Parliament Chamber of the Inner Temple to celebrate our 20th Anniversary. Guests enjoyed performances from our patrons Natalie Clein and Julian Joseph, and students from the JJJA finished off the evening in style. The evening raised around £8,500 towards our 20th Anniversary Fundraising Campaign, which goes towards continuing to give young people a musical future.

 

We still have a long way to go to reach our £20,000 goal, so help us if you can! You can contribute towards the Campaign HERE.

 

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Celebrating 20 Years

HMDT Music, twice winner of the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Education (2004 and 2008), is a leader in developing inspiring arts projects, which support other areas of learning. Working with world class artists and leading experts, HMDT increases access to high quality musical experiences by commissioning new performance works, developing resources, creating enduring partnerships, and sustaining an extensive outreach programme to schools and the community, particularly in areas of significant disadvantage and deprivation. Each new commission is underpinned by an education programme, which enriches participant experience, increases their skills, raises aspirations and has a transformative effect on other areas of learning and social interaction. We are delighted to be celebrating 20 Years! Please see the flyer below for more information, and visit our 20th Anniversary Campaign Page to book tickets to our Fundraising Dinner and Concert or to donate.

 

20th Anniversary Campaign and Fundraising Event

 

Download PDF version >

 

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!

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Music and Literacy Project at Abbeyfield School with Shlomo

Over the past term HMDT Music has been working with Abbeyfield School in Northampton on a Music and Literacy project. This project saw three groups of year 7s working with the world renowned beat-boxer Shlomo to create their own pieces of work ready for performance at the end of their 5 day project. The project started off with an introductory session where the three groups came together for a fantastically exciting and explosive beat-boxing introduction by Shlomo. The excitement was palpable in the room, and looks of disbelief at what a voice could do! (Not only from the students either!). Students then had two lyric writing sessions, and two composition sessions before the final rehearsals. The project concluded with a fantastic performance in front of their families and friends where they showcased their new beat-boxing skills and their compositions. The audience was already overwhelmed by the whole experience, when Shlomo gave an impromptu performance at the end as well!

 

Photos: Hannah Hall
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Trench Brothers visit Parliament

Heritage Lottery Fund’s Understanding WW1 Event

Trench Brothers made a great impact at Heritage Lottery Fund’s Understanding WW1 event at the Houses of Parliament yesterday, after which local MP David Burrows tweeted that the puppets were the star attraction! HMDT Music’s Creative Director Tertia Sefton-Green and Projects Coordinator Helen Kelly are pictured with David Burrows MP, historian Dan Snow and Carole Souter Chief Executive of Heritage Lottery Fund and with Dr Andrew Murrison MP. We’re delighted to have the Little Angel Theatre as partners to share their amazing puppet-making skills!

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Private music lessons from HMDT Music

HMDT now offers individual instrumental or vocal lessons either on Saturday afternoons in Hackney or in your home.

To find out more click here