You may remember reading Rus Pearson’s blog (and if not you can here!) about working with pupils at Phoenix School earlier this year. With the project over and the performance done, Programme Manager Cathy Birch went back to school to talk over their memories and experiences – a visit from which has emerged this audio blog.
In it you’ll hear comments from students, workshop leaders & audience members; all accompanied by a piece Rus put together from recordings of our sessions.
Sadly we had to say goodbye to our Learning & Participation Intern Alex yesterday. But before the cake and thank yous she reflected on the last two months here with us. Read on to find out more…
Two months have passed since my last Intern Diary entry, and as corny as it sounds, I feel like I’ve undergone a bit of a metamorphosis. Through all the madness leading up to the festival, I was transformed from a measly intern, furiously scribbling notes during team meetings, to an integral co-ordinator in the execution of events attended by hundred of guests. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to help produce and assist with a festival of such high standards and with such dedicated and passionate folk.
One of the most incredible parts of the experience was being able to see the immediate results of all our hard work. Unlike other jobs, our sure sign of a successful event was in faces of the audience members attending it. I was able to see little babies laughing with joy, families and friends cheering for their loved ones, and whole audiences brought to contemplative silence by beautiful music. People came up to me and thanked me for providing them with an amazing musical experience; performance artists thanked me for my support throughout the entire process. And all of this invaluable feedback only fuelled my desire to work harder and more diligently at producing the best two-week festival we could possibly create.
Alex with Music Animateur Apprentice Bimbi Urquhart and Programme Manager: Learning & Participation Cathy.
More than that, I also had the opportunity to bear witness to a lot of remarkable music myself! Despite the fact that every day and every performance with which I was involved was unique and exciting, there are definitely some highlights that stand out in my mind. My personal favourites include:
Musical Rumpus: A Fairy Queen in the Forest
As I tidy my things and empty my desktop recycle bin, I only wish I had bit more time to fully digest the scale of what I helped accomplish in these last few weeks. For that, I’d like to wholeheartedly thank every member of this extraordinary team for welcoming me into the Spitalfields Music family and making these past three months unforgettable.
Alex Lepinski
Learning & Participation Intern
This term we’re working with the fantastic students from Phoenix School, who for the first time, will be joining other students from Tower Hamlets Arts & Music Education Service (THAMES) for the Platform event this Summer. Rus Pearson has been working with the students and tells us more about his experience.
As part of this year’s Summer Festival, members of the Spitalfields Music team led by Julian West, will be working collaboratively with seven music students and staff from Phoenix School to devise, compose and premiere a brand new 5 minute work in the THAMES Platform event “One day like this…” at Shoreditch Church.
Many of the participants will be leaving Phoenix at the end of this academic year and our project aims to provide them with the opportunity to create a work that celebrates their experiences and to showcase their unique talents through a collaborative process of high quality music making alongside members of the musician team.
The group is nearly halfway through the workshop process and has spent time exploring the rich array of musical and artistic interests that it represents. From classical music to grunge to beatboxing, Israeli folk songs to Jazz and Japanese contemporary music, these diverse musical genres have provided fascinating sources to draw upon when devising the piece. Not only have the group discovered each other as musicians, but also as people. A really strong sense of community has emerged from the time spent together and Wednesday afternoons now feel like a group of old friends coming together to make music, there is an atmosphere of trust and certainly no shortage of laughter!
In order to devise the new work the group have being exploring various methods and techniques of music making including sound painting, improvisation, cryptography, conducting, electronic processing, sound art, representing sonically various atmospheres, locations and emotions through solo and group performances.
The group has amassed a huge amount of music that exists in various forms as either single ideas or concepts for improvisation, notated scores, lyrics and recorded material. Currently the ensemble are at the stage of orchestrating, editing and arranging all of this amazing musical material into a 5 minute work, in preparation for further rehearsals.
The project has created an atmosphere of exploration and experimentation, with the group discovering new sonic possibilities and the exchange of creative ideas. This is a really exciting point in the project as the work evolves and the group grows together to create a fantastic musical happening. This is a performance not to be missed. To find out more about the event, visit our website.
Tickets are free but booking is required – so don’t miss out on this Summer’s hot ticket!
The musician team:
Julian West – Workshop Leader, Oboe
Amelia Jones – Violin
Rus Pearson – Double Bass/Electronics
Alice Howick – Violin, Music Animateur Apprentice
Sally MacTaggart – Saxophone, Music Animateur Apprentice
with support from Cathy Birch
Rus Pearson
This time it’s the turn of our swashbuckling Programme Manager: Learning & Participation, Cathy to bare her soul for the blog!
What was the first gramophone cylinder you bought? *
Sadly my penchant for a nice charity shop bargain hasn’t yet stretched to a phonograph, though I did once have a tinkle on a player piano.
Do you have a favourite composer? If so, who?
Enduringly Shostakovich, though I’ve been known to veer into the Hindemith camp from time to time over the years. I think there’s a starkness in both that appeals to me, but also a great deal of wit and inventiveness in texture and harmony that keeps you on your toes.
Almost a dancer, now an L&P Programme Manager
What was the last concert/gig you went to?
Not sure if it quite counts but I went to the semi final of the Musical Comedy Awards recently which was brilliant. Really good to see also that those through to the final are “musicians that are really very funny” rather than “comedians who throw in some music as something a bit different”.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
As a small child a ballet dancer, despite the best efforts of my formidable teacher to dissuade me. I believe the exact words she used to my 6-year-old self were, “You’ll never be a dancer, you’re too tall and your feet are too big. The only good thing about you are your shoulder blades”, before vigorously impaling hair pins into my bun and – I maintain – head. Luckily the lady who played piano for our class was more on the relaxed side and took me under her wing as a piano pupil. Probably worked out for the best as she was right, I do have pretty big feet.
What were you doing before coming to work with Spitalfields Music?
Before coming to Spitalfields Music I spent a year as Orchestral Assistant at the Royal Academy of Music, busily trying to ensure that the right music and the right students were in the right place at the right time. Not always an easy task!
Prior to that I did my master’s with research focused on an impossible (literally!) piece of Ferneyhough, Cassandra’s Dream Song, which I also attempted to play. Luckily for me the score comes with lengthy instructions including that “a ‘beautiful’, cultivated performance is not to be aimed at”. Phew!
Red or white wine?
Ooo, yes please. That would be lovely.
What excites you most about working with Spitalfields Music?
My role in L&P means that I’m out and about lots of the time making music with different groups from all over our community. When every day is different they’re mostly pretty exciting.
Who inspires you?
I’ve always found explorers and travellers inspiring. Not just for heading out into the unknown, but for having the even greater courage to up sticks and leave the comfortable behind.
And finally, would you share an interesting fact about yourself with us?
I am a pirate. No, not really. Though I do live on a sailing boat that looks like this…
*We should point out that this was a reaction to Cathy complaining that she was too old for her first recording to have been a CD.
If you passed by the Attlee Youth & Community Centre last week you may have wondered – as did the guys who turned up for their usually quiet Tuesday evening football match – what was going on as scores of people poured in through the door. This was the first gathering of the “Fire choir”, coming together for some fun singing, to meet the composer David Bruce, and to give a section of his new commission Fire a whirl.
Sam Chaplin and the 'Fire' singers
The 96 amateur singers in attendance were in fine voice and quickly built up into part singing under the direction of chorus leader, Sam Chaplin. After a break to catch up with faces old and new it was time to tackle Fire. This they did with admirable ease, the section worked on coming together quickly and sounding very fine – which bodes well for the performances in June and July!
The more experienced in the group ably supported those new to choral singing, including one young woman who’d turned up for something else but got gathered into the fold. Her parting remark was “I never thought music could be fun; but I’ll be back!”
If you’d like to join her in giving at a whirl there are still places available, especially for male voices. To find out how to get involved contact Natalie Ellis on 020 7377 0287 or send an email.
Cathy Birch
Programme Manager: Learning & Participation
