19/03/2008
Music Manifesto signatory Sense of Sound (left) is to be part of the Olympic Torch Relay, as the flame travels Europe on its way to Beijing. Sense of Sound has been working with primary schools in Greenwich on a new piece developed by poet Lemn Sissay and jazz musician Laka D. Young students Jetta John-Hartley, James Norton, Dave O'Grady and Daniel Sharples all helped in the writing of the piece, which will be performed as part of an energetic outdoor show on 6 April at London's Southbank Centre. Sense of Sound choir has also been confirmed to play the JazzWorld stage at Glastonbury this summer.
The deadline is pending for the 2008 Awards for Young Musicians. Applicants have only until 5 April to get their entries in. The awards of between £200 and £2000 are given to outstanding musicians aged 5-18 who need help with their music expenses. Musicians from any genre can apply as long as they can show they are talented and committed and in financial need. For more info go to www.a-y-m.org.uk, email awards@a-y-m.org.uk or call 0117 9049906.
Teaching Music is a new social networking portal for music educators, to be launched in October 2008. Funded by the TDA and managed by NAME and MEC, the website will allow everyone involved in education, from teachers and community musicians to senior management and policy makers to network, share ideas, reflect on practice and contribute resources. Users will have a customisable homepage to keeps tabs on favourite resources and links. Although there are a few months to go until the launch, you can register now to keep up to date with developments at www.teachingmusic.org.uk
However, if you can't wait that long, there are other places on the net to share ideas with colleagues in the field - as well as the Music Manifesto website and forum of course! Yamaha Education Friends is one such place, where a bank of resources is already being built, including video and audio downloads, and lots of tips on using Yamaha products of course. There's more online musical chat in the blogosphere - check out Bobbie Gardner's excellent Music in the Community blog, Michael Griffin's Music Education World and school sites like the Thomas Adams School music department blog.
And if your eyes aren't too tired from all that web surfing, there are musical delights to be had at www.classics24.tv, the first video-on-demand broadband TV channel for classical music, opera and ballet. Videos include archive performances from the Berlin Philharmonic, Mstislav Rostropovich, Luciano Pavarotti and Evgeny Kissin's amazing Moscow Conservatory debut aged 11! A monthly subscription costs £3.99 but you can currently preview many of the vids for free. Log on!