Intern Diary: 180 Days of Summer

I know. You wish summer could be so long. Who wouldn’t daydream of sunny days, bright colours or contagious happy smiles?
Although you might get a bit jealous now, believe it or not, this year I somehow had a six month summer. It started sometime in February with brochures, research, planning sessions and lovely people, all heading towards the Spitalfields Music Summer Festival.  More like a time travel, every working day on Brushfield Street was directly related to June 2011, or most precisely 10-25 of June.  A lot of cups of tea, laughs, Tuesday meetings, brainstorming sessions, Learning & Participation workshops, leaflets and communications plans.

 And one day, Friday 10 June was actually here.  The Sounds of Spitalfields invaded the market and the summer frozen in time came to live. It was music all around for two weeks. From baroque, contemporary classical and jazz to an extremely one of a kind experience: a musical secret hidden under the monotony of an office. And what the audience is never aware of: an incredibly organised team taking care of every little thing and making sure that music reaches everyone the way it was supposed to.

I find it impossible to describe in words everything that I have experienced in my 180 days of summer.  But I guess music is not about explaining and wording. It’s definitely more about listening and enjoying.  And I’ve been surely meeting and listening to a lot of interesting people and enjoyed working within such a nice team, experiencing how a music festival is brought to life.  I will definitely miss that!

Ruxandra Mateiu
Marketing & Communications Intern

The Duke of Uke!

The Crypt at Christ Church Spitalfields will be hosting a series of benefit concerts over the next few days to mark the fifth anniversary of one of Spitalfields’ most unique shops, The Duke of Uke. As Britain’s only dedicated ukulele shop, Duke of Uke, based on Hanbury Street has become a major destination in the local area, not just selling ukulele’s but also holding regular ukulele lessons and recording sessions. Unfortunately this small business is now under threat. Head over to Spitalfields Life to read The Gentle Author’s post about the Duke of Uke’s uncertain future  and why this unique shop should be saved! 

Find out how to donate to the Duke of Uke by clicking here.