Musical Inclusion: Who’s In?
With the launch of Musical Inclusion in Teesside (Fri Sept 21st @ MyPlace), there are challenges indeed in “one of the hardest-hit areas in the country, with Middlesbrough Council estimating that 10,000 children in the town live in poverty”
Like many musicians, I love all that romanticism about how music changes peoples’ lives, how it enhances the soul, fills the heart with joy and brings people together. And as a musician and music leader, I am grateful for the opportunities to see this in practice, and to feel those joys at first hand.
Enough of me already …
This coming week, Musical Inclusion launches in Teesside, a 2 year Youth Music funded endeavour to identify ‘cold spots’ and provide / enhance music activity in areas where barriers to participation exist.
In some areas of the country, this might appear straight forward. Music Projects will already exist, experienced music leaders and professionals will be in abundance, everyone is speaking the same language, joined-up thinking is the norm and the creative flow has the benefits of financial input from above, peer pressure from alongside, and youthful enthusiasm from below.
Here however, we have one of those areas left out in the cold by multi-government ignorance of hard facts that force the population to be, generally speaking, suffering on many, many levels.
It isn’t just a lack of work and money that creates poverty. There’s the destruction of human spirit that comes when the hard knocks of failure and rejection are constant across different generations; the lack of belief, of enthusiasm, and the fear to dare to believe and achieve should the next knock-down be just around the next corner.
This again may appear romanticised, however it’s the truth that tempers the expectation for Lizzie Clapham, who as Middlesbrough Council’s Arts Development Team lead with this new push, has the job of fronting the project through what might well be a steep learning curve.
She’s been busy though, comparing notes with projects in other regions whilst maintaining a sense of regional identity in her outlook; busy building a small team of realistic professionals; networking with an open mind; busy spinning other plates in her weekly work schedule whilst keeping a special eye on this exciting opportunity to make a real difference.
Musical Inclusion may become a buzz word in Teesside for a little while, but as everyone involved knows, it will take more than words to make a real change in the area. It will take a coming together of many agencies, most of whom may well not have a music agenda, to first and foremost keep all opportunities open to communicate and share positivity with young people, and then hopefully use this project’s vision and developing networks to encourage music as a power tool for cultural and social re-building.
Those working to develop Musical Inclusion in all areas may well consider there are easier, more rewarding roles in life, however should good things come to fruition, there won't be many areas of work where the achievements will be felt so closely and with as much meaning.
Musical Inclusion in Teesside launches at ‘musinc 2012’ on Friday September 21st. The day will include 1-1 Advice and Guidance, a mini-conference on ‘Working with Children in Challenging Circumstances’, and the launch itself, with a number of music-making workshops available to musicleaders and young people alike.
Registration is advised and free, and all event information can be found at www.musinc2012.eventbrite.com.