All Together Now: Surrey Music Hub Education Hub Conference
Conferences are a great opportunity to network, learn and remember why we do what we do as well as see what everyone in the community has to say, share best practises and build and maintain partnerships. On 14 July, as part of my Arts placement with Rhythmix I attended the Surrey Music Hub conference at the GLive! the theme was All Together Now.
Warm Up - Getting Inspired I got to witness the very talented music leaders from Inspire Works lead the audience in exercises to get CYP active and inspired. From various rhythm patterns and acapella singing we were entertained and made to work hard! They also spent some time explaining various instruments from the Music trolley and the ins and outs working with and repairing such instruments. No doubt hugely beneficial to upcoming arts practitioners, music teachers and leaders.
The Keynote Speech
Mitch Winehouse from the Amy Winehouse Foundation gave a timely reminder about the importance music plays a part in healing our souls and that putting a musical instrument in front of a child can and has the ability to keep them away from trouble. It was inspiring to see him look at such a tragedy in such a positive light and he said that him and his family could have folded and disappeared from the face of the earth but they chose to embrace it and hope to impact more young people, something he believed Amy would have wanted.
The Amy Winehouse Foundation was presenting Rhythmix with funding for a new music programme that reaches out to young people with mental health issues in the South East and Mitch talked about the potential benefits from the outcomes and outputs of this programme. As an arts practitioner, future music leader and arts champion it is always heartening when a foundation as prestigious as the Amy Winehouse foundation speaks highly of the charity you work with.
Young People: Performances and Case Studies come a full circle. Shortly after the keynote speech we were treated to a special performance from a collaborative group from various Hub partners.The Lead singer Autumn has outstanding vocal abilities and really impressed me with her vocal abilities, She was on a Child in Care programme through Surrey Arts and is now being mentored by Rhythmix through a Youth Music funded Mentoring Module.
It was great to see four wonderful individuals come together so quickly on such a united front. I think this credit goes to the wonderful and inspirational abilities of the music leader to be able to lead young people to such heights.
I also got a chance to meet some young people volunteering at the event who have been through various music programs by Rhythmix and Surrey Arts. Hearing them speak about loss of the parents and their transformation stories really moved me. The involvement with the various Hub partners has been very important to them and this was a small way of them giving back. It made me think about when we believe in and help our young people giving them new opportunities how much that can impact their lives - another inspiring aspect of my time here.
A very heartening day indeed.