Intern Diaries: Community choirs, Christmas songs & back to school

Two months have passed since my last post and I’m now just over half way through my internship. The L&P calendar for Spring 2012 is super busy, full of really interesting and enjoyable projects.  I was recently at a session in Osmani Primary School with a Year 3 class and they were starting work on a joint project with the Royal Academy of Music. I’m enjoying the variety of work that I’m experiencing as part of my internship and all the lovely people I’m getting to meet!

Neighbourhood Songs at the Spitalfields Music Winter Festival 2011

Recruitment has started once again for the two community singing groups, Spitalfields Singers and Women sing East.  I’m really looking forward to working with both these choirs again and will be very sad to say goodbye to them at the end of this term!  The Women Sing East concert in our Winter Festival was a definite highlight for me.  With the support of Clare I was project managing this concert.  As a musician I have played in many concerts, but this was the first time that I had been on the other side – managing the musicians! The concert was a huge success – the choir sounded absolutely fantastic and Laka sang a wonderful arrangement of the ‘Christmas Song’ to get us all in the Christmas spirit.  This was a truly magical concert – my face muscles ached from smiling so much!

Kathryn Allnutt                                                                                                    Learning and Participation Intern

Intern Diaries: Meet Kathryn

Kathryn Allnutt has joined us as our new Learning and Participation Intern! She plays the French horn, and enjoys chilling in the garden during her free time (even in November!) She shares with us how she has found her first month as a Spitalfields Music intern.

It has now been four weeks since I started my internship working within the L&P team at Spitalfields Music and I’m loving it!  I have been made to feel very welcome in the office (with the frequent offerings of chocolate and brownies!) and I’m now feeling very much part of the team.

My main focus over the past four weeks has been to recruit members for Spitalfields Singers, an exciting new community singing group that meets on Thursday lunchtimes at Hanbury Hall (it’s still not too late to join us!)  The first two rehearsals have been a huge success, with membership now double that of the previous year!

The past four weeks have zoooomed past SO quickly – they do say that time flies when having fun! My initial impression of the office and of Spitalfields Music is one of amazement – amazement both at the exciting and interesting programme of concerts and education projects that they run within Tower Hamlets, but also at how cool, calm and collected everyone is (or at least, appears to be!) in the office despite having so much going on!

I had my first monthly review with Natalie this morning, reflecting on the past month.  Scary to think that I’m already one –sixth of the way through! If the first month is anything to go by, I think I’m in for a very enjoyable (and busy!) six months!

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